Drying soap ..

[sena]

I have already read the threads on this subject, and I am still at a loss what to do.
I am new to this soapmaking thing, so yes my soaps haven't fully cured but I am not quite sure that this will make a big difference. I bought a local natural soap from the store which is I would say perfect to my skin. The ingredients are:

tallow
olive oil
coconut oil
palm oil
soyabean oil

Which are you suggestions in terms percentages, I am using the calculator to make my soap, but I am not quite happy with them. They work fine for hands or clothes washing, but they pinch my face. Also, I have not used coconut oil in my soaps, do you think that makes such a big difference....?
I desperately want to make all the ingredients right, and to make soap that will not be so harsh on my face.
Thank you

 

[chicklet]

Are you superfatting your recipes when you put them in the soap calculator? For a soap that is not too drying, you want to keep your cleansing numbers lower - you can even go lower than the recommended range of numbers which I think is 12 - 22 in the soapcalc app I use. You also want to have a fairly high conditioning number. Also, the default superfat in soapcalc is 5%, but you can raise that and see if that makes your soap less drying. My usual recipe is 7% SF. A lot of people do 8% SF. If you post a recipe we might be able to give you more specific guidance.

 

[sena]

Tallow Beef 18.52 % 1.764 oz
2 Castor Oil 7.41 % 0.705 oz
3 Grapeseed Oil 37.04% 3.527 oz
4 Olive Oil pomace 37.04% 3.527 oz
Totals 100% 0.595 oz

This was my last recipe, I tried it on my skin, it literally feels like tiny razors on my face. It is fine as a hand soap. I have to say though that it cured only about 8 days, but it is so harsh that I feel it will never change for better. I use CP in soapmaking, and I usually mix the oils and lye when they are room temperature as I do not have a thermometer. I only wish I knew what am I doing wrong ....
Thank you for your answers and time

 

[sena]

Sorry I tried to post with a better overview but I couldn't. In this particular recipe the supperfatting was 5%, but next time I will try 10 or 12%, I just hope the soap will not get spoiled or something because of it.
Thank you one more time

 

[chicklet]

I have never used grapeseed oil or pomace, but maybe someone will come along who uses those and can tell us whether or not they could be adding to the problem. I can tell you that you will be very surprised how nice some bars become with age so I wouldn't throw out the soap you made. Try it again in a month and you may love it. I don't have any of my recipes handy right now, but I usually use about 30 to 35% olive, 7% castor, and the rest is coconut, lard, tallow, and palm oil in fairly equal percentages, superfatted at 7%. I do use milk in a lot of my soap (milk, buttermilk, or yogurt and I do feel that add a conditioning factor to the soap. The soap I like best is my honey yogurt soap. I never have to apply lotion after I shower with the honey yogurt bars.

Some people do believe that a higher percentage superfat contributes to the soap becoming rancid, but some pretty good evidence has been presented to show that is not true, so experiment with SF % until you find what works for you. The experimenting is part of the fun!

 

[DeeAnna]

"...Some people do believe that a higher percentage superfat contributes to the soap becoming rancid, but some pretty good evidence has been presented to show that is not true..."

If you are thinking of Kevin Dunn's research, I am not sure this is entirely accurate. What Dunn's study actually reported was this--

Soap made with a 10% superfat darkened in the first 2 weeks or so after it was made. The same soap recipe, but made with 0% superfat, also darkened, but not as much. Dunn correctly observed that lowering the superfat did not eliminate the color change. He made the assumption that color change in the first 2 weeks is tantamount to the soap getting DOS. By making that assumption, he then concluded that lowering the superfat is not a surefire solution to eliminate DOS.

For the record, Dunn's 100% coconut oil soap darkened too, although not as much as his 100% olive oil soap.

While I respect Dunn's work with handcrafted soap and I do not argue with his experimental findings, I do question his assumption and the "common wisdom" that is arising from quoting him out of context. There is no research that I am aware of that shows a color change in the first 2 weeks as a strong predictor of eventual DOS.

Based on my experience with lye soap, it is my opinion that all soaps darken somewhat during the cure period, unless you add antioxidants and preservatives as Dunn's study reported. But most soaps do not get DOS.

If followup studies do (1) find a correlation between initial color change and the eventual development of DOS and (2) find this correlation is independent of superfat, I will be the first on the "superfat doesn't affect DOS" bandwagon. Until then, I remain skeptical about this "common wisdom". I just don't think the data is there to support this idea.