critique recipe, please?

[cm4bleenmb]

I made this soap on 12/12/13, 5% SF, SoapCalc for lye and water amounts. Crisco (new) 50%, Soybean 20%, CO, Castor, and Sunflower at 10% each. The batch was 1 lb of oils, I added some yellow oxide to the sunflower and used .4 oz of Sun and Sand FO from Essential Depot. After I poured it into the mold, I put it in the garage overnight, the temp out there was probably 40 to 50 degrees F. It took a couple of days before I felt it was ready to pull from the mold, it was like very firm Velveeta to cut.

I can still squeeze the soap with moderate pressure. The lather is pretty nice, but it definitely has room to get milder--not that it's harsh--and it doesn't rinse well either. What do you all have to say? Too much castor? I would appreciate any criticism, suggestions, or advice you might have about this formula.

This was my fourth batch of soap, so any insights are valuable to me.

 

[Happysoap]

It seems to me that your soft oil content might be a little too high. New crisco has palm but it is still mostly soybean. Then you have soybean again, castor and sunflower. All soft oils and not enough hard ones that is why you can squeeze it. That would be my guess at first glance.

 

[nebetmiw]

I for one would not have used soy when using Crisco as it already has soy in it. i would have upped the sunflower if it was an HO version. CO is the only hard oil besides Crisco so it was not that issue as you are at 60% hard. So it is probably just too much soy. Soy does not make the best of soap unless you use it with lard. More often than not you will get the dreaded orange spots from soy too.

I would let it cure for the 4 weeks with maybe a week or two more before using it again. it should be fine.

 

[cm4bleenmb]

Duh. Did not think about there also being soy in the Crisco. I've seen several people claim that soy tends towards DOS so other than what is in the Crisco, I think I will just cut that out of my oil options. I know some people use it because it's economical but I'm soaping for me and gifting so I am not as concerned with that. I think I need a little more focus on quality and shelf-life, it doesn't do me any good to make a cheap soap if I have to throw it all out and go shopping for gifts instead. :smile:

Since it is only a 5% SF and I tend towards dry skin, this one would probably never be a favorite for me but I will reserve my judgement until it is a few months old. Thanks for the feedback!!!