Disappointed with my soaps. :cry:

[Francis]

Although I am completely enthralled with my new hobby of making soap, I am super disappointed with my creations. I tried a few of the soaps that I made about 8 weeks ago, and they are incredibly drying. My hands have never felt so dry and rough. I am constantly having to use tons of lotion, just to keep my skin from cracking. :cry:
I don't have my notes in front of me, but those soaps were superfatted at around 5-6%. In all of them, I used much less than 30% cleansing oil. In one them, the cleansing oil was only around 20%, and the rest were conditioning oils such as OO, sweet almond oil, etc.
In the more recent batches, I am trying recipes such as 80% OO, 10% PKO, 5% shea butter, 5% castor with 8% SF. These high OO soaps are not ready to be tested yet.
I gave some of my soaps to my mom, and she prefers her Dove. She asked me, "Can't you make a soap just like Dove?" To be perfectly honest, at this point, I much prefer Dove to my soaps, too. I have mild eczema, and I've been using Dove all my life, and have never had such drying issues.
I just did a brief research online, and it appears that syndet bars are milder than regular soaps. Am I wrong? Is my new found love of making soap doomed? Should I try 10-12% SF? I haven't made pure castile since I really like a lot of bubbles. Based on what I read, it seems like 100% pure castile is not very bubbly.
Thank you in advance for your suggestions. I really want to be able to continue making my own soap, and I have already invested a lot into my new hobby, but I am not sure if my skin could tolerate my soaps.

 

[MeadowHillFarmCT]

Don't be sad. You will find the right recipe... Try going to 8% SF

I use Veg shortening, CO, PO, OO, RBO and Castor in my batches and usually SF 8% with Goat Milk and it is very conditioning....

Don't give up.

 

[Soapy Gurl]

It is trial an error, I have had recipes that are more drying than others. Make small test batches, 1lb of oils. This way you don't need to waste a lot. Cleansing and drying aren't really the same thing. Someone will be able to explain this better than me!

 

[Hazel]

Did you double check your calculations on a lye calculator? If your soaps are that drying after 8 weeks, it sounds like there might be too much lye.

Ruth made a good suggestion about adding milk to your recipe. Some of the mildest and most conditioning batches I made had heavy cream in them. You could try goat milk, heavy cream, yogurt or buttermilk. She also mentioned vegetable shortening. I've used Crisco and it really boosts conditioning. I also use a higher percentage of castor (7%-10%). I generally use coconut at 25% and superfat between 6%-7% and most of my batches are conditioning.

Could you post the recipes of these drying soaps so we can troubleshoot?

 

[Bubbly Buddha]

It is trial an error, I have had recipes that are more drying than others. Make small test batches, 1lb of oils. This way you don't need to waste a lot. Cleansing and drying aren't really the same thing. Someone will be able to explain this better than me!

I agree!! Don't give up yet!!

 

[Sunny]

you sound like you have super dry skin I am really sorry, that is such a pain.

I would even try a 10% superfat - you may not get as bubbly as you'd like, but if they are good to your skin, then that's what matters!

Also I would do a castille (100% olive oil) and let it sit for a few months. It's ultra gentle and may be just what you're looking for.

 

[Francis]

Could you post the recipes of these drying soaps so we can troubleshoot?

Thanks everyone, I definitely won't be giving up yet, at least not until I test some of my castile type/bastille soaps. Here are two of the recipes that I find drying.

(With the above recipe, I added about 1 Tbsp of activated charcoal, maybe that was too much?)

(Interestingly enough, this one is actually less drying than the one above! :shock

Sorry Hazel, but stupidly, I didn't keep such good notes. My recipes got mixed up amongst the different batches, and I am not very sure that these are the drying recipes. :? Additionally, I need to go test my scale, maybe that's off. I want a new one, but at this point, I shouldn't spend any more money on soaping stuff. Wish me luck!

 

[krissy]

that top one looks like a very nice recipe. have you zap tested your batches? maybe you are lye heavy?

 

[MeadowHillFarmCT]

I see you made adjustments on the side - did you change the oz from the soapcal sheet? If so, did you recalc your lye?

When I first started (still new compared to most on here) my CO was at 35% and I found my fingers wrinkled when I used the soap. It wasn't dry but wrinkled like I sat in the tub for an hour. I cut it down to 27% and it stopped. Just that small change and my skin accepted it.

Pick 3 of those oils and do a batch - palm, coconut and olive. Give the OO the highest percentage like 40%. Once you perfect that group then slowly add the others... It is alot of oils to start with. JMO...

 

[Bergamia2504]

I found mine too drying on my face, I had forgotten that I had made just my basic recipe with Goats Milk at 8% SF, I have used this soap twice, (this morning, yesterday morning and only on my face) and there are less dry patches, am really pleased and will SF 8% in all my soaps.

 

[busymakinsoap!]

I have really dry skin too. I started out with a 5% superfat and found it too drying and now use a min of 8% with no issues.

I personally don't think you need to complicate things too much with loads of different oils. I make bars with lots of butters and some without, they have different textures, but are both gentle and don't strip the skin.

I would start with a 3 oil recipe, such as palm, coconut and olive, change the superfat and see how you like it, then add other oils one at a time to see what you like.

Additives can make a soap gentler too. I agree with milk but prefer tea, and my most recent finding was cucumber - it is gorgeous in soap, very mild and gentle.

 

[Fragola]

If you see little progress, a good idea is to engage in a soap trade. See how other people's stuff works for your skin ...

 

[carolyntn]

Oh don't give up! I have to keep my cleansing number between 12-14 for my skin. I use between a 5-7% superfat, too.

 

[skyfarms]

Maybe your soap will get better with an even longer cure time? A friend of mine says she breaks out in hives when she uses fresher bars of handmade soap, but swears that after a year or more of curing they're wonderful for her to use.

Do keep experimenting - that's part of the fun

 

[saltydog]

Don't give up, Francis. *hugs*

I'm pretty new too, so I don't know that much, but what I have learned is that my skin likes CO at 20% or lower and my cleansing # around 14 or 15. I usually add some sugar to my lye water to bump up the bubbles and always use Castor, usually in between 8-10%. Every thing else I'm free to play around with. I usually SF at 7%.
When I first started to make soaps, I was looking for lather and my cleansing numbers were in the 20's- I was definitely feeling the 'squeak' and not enjoying them, just like you. I ADORE my soap now!

Like everyone else said, it's just trial and error, but certainly no reason to give up :wink:

 

[Hazel]

[Sorry Hazel, but stupidly, I didn't keep such good notes. My recipes got mixed up amongst the different batches, and I am not very sure that these are the drying recipes. :? Additionally, I need to go test my scale, maybe that's off. I want a new one, but at this point, I shouldn't spend any more money on soaping stuff. Wish me luck!

I was the same way in the beginning. I didn't keep very good notes and I regret it now. Anyway, I've learned my lesson and I save every recipe so I can track what works out well.

You can use 5 American quarters to check scales for accuracy. Five quarters weigh one ounce.

I know you've been given good advice but I'll repeat it. Don't give up. It takes quite a bit of experimenting to find what's best for your skin.

 

[Francis]

Thank you so much

Thank you everyone for your kind words of encouragement. I really appreciate it. I definitely will not give up my beloved new hobby. I will be patient and wait for my bastille soaps to cure. Now I see what everyone means when they say that waiting is the hardest part. Gosh, I wish OO soaps don't take so long to cure, because I have a feeling that I will love these new batches that I just made. After I try them, I will report back.

 

[LisaNY]

Don't give up! I encourage you to make yourself a small batch at 10% sf. Try using pko instead of co, as many find it a bit milder.

I never go above 25% for my co as I find it makes my skin itchy at higher levels.

And, at 10% sf, I get plenty of lather. )

 

[Hazel]

LisaNY already mentioned that PKO is milder than CO. I looked at what oils you had used and was played around with them. I came up with the recipe below which is milder and a little more conditioning.

45% OO
25% PO
20% PKO
10% Castor

It may not have a lot of bubbles but you could add some sugar to it. I generally add about 4% sugar per oil weight. So I would add 1.3 oz for a 32 oz batch.

I looked up the ingredients in Dove soap and it did state that Dove is 25% moisturizing lotion. This explains why it's so nice on the skin. You might want to try adding heavy cream as a portion of your liquid. I dissolve lye in water or aloe and then add the cream after I've mixed the lye solution into the oils. This way I don't have to freeze the cream.

eta: I generally superfat at 6%-7%.

 

[Stinkydancer]

Although I am completely enthralled with my new hobby of making soap, I am super disappointed with my creations. I tried a few of the soaps that I made about 8 weeks ago, and they are incredibly drying. My hands have never felt so dry and rough. I am constantly having to use tons of lotion, just to keep my skin from cracking. :cry:
I don't have my notes in front of me, but those soaps were superfatted at around 5-6%. In all of them, I used much less than 30% cleansing oil. In one them, the cleansing oil was only around 20%, and the rest were conditioning oils such as OO, sweet almond oil, etc.
In the more recent batches, I am trying recipes such as 80% OO, 10% PKO, 5% shea butter, 5% castor with 8% SF. These high OO soaps are not ready to be tested yet.
I gave some of my soaps to my mom, and she prefers her Dove. She asked me, "Can't you make a soap just like Dove?" To be perfectly honest, at this point, I much prefer Dove to my soaps, too. I have mild eczema, and I've been using Dove all my life, and have never had such drying issues.
I just did a brief research online, and it appears that syndet bars are milder than regular soaps. Am I wrong? Is my new found love of making soap doomed? Should I try 10-12% SF? I haven't made pure castile since I really like a lot of bubbles. Based on what I read, it seems like 100% pure castile is not very bubbly.
Thank you in advance for your suggestions. I really want to be able to continue making my own soap, and I have already invested a lot into my new hobby, but I am not sure if my skin could tolerate my soaps.

Syndets in theory if formulated correctly are lower in ph which can be milder to the skin especially if you choose the more mild surfactant options. The bad part for some is that it is synthetic so you don't really have benefits of the wonderful oils and such.

I would boost your SF up on the previous batches and try the trinity with maybe some shea butter or another nice oil/butter in addition to the other 3 oils.

Your high OO will be wonderful.
I do a high OO- just 80% OO, 10 Coconut or half and half Coconut and PKO, 10 Castor. This is my most favorite bar of soap. It's bubblier than you imagine especially if it sits for a good 8 weeks. It also HP's nicely so you could try that. It's uber gentle and not slimy- it leaves your skin so soft.
I have superfatted at 5% and 8%- this recipe is not at all drying and bubblier at 5% but 8% was pleasant. I did get DOS on the 8% batch which led me to 5% and I had no issues.

Being new to soapmaking- you have to find your mojo. You will it just takes recipe changes and practice.
I have been soap making for a long time and the recipe changes go on and on. Finally, you find something you love and your bored with it so you go test the waters and try some other recipes.

You'll find what your skin loves- don't let this beginning phase make you turn back to Dove.
I will say that I make soap and still use Dove sensitive on my "sensitive" area..and it's good for that. It isn't bad soap overall IMO but I would rather use my own.