Essential oils at trace
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snappyllama
Supporting Member
There isn't a reason not to add it later -provided you can get it completely mixed it. I guess the danger would be that the soap starts to set up too fast... adding it at a lighter trace gives you more time and control. I actually like to add fragrance to my oils before the lye unless I need to separate out some batter to prevent discoloring it.
Thankx Snappyllama... Actually i have lost today my third batter in a row after a series of successful ones. i am just trying to trouble shoot. i will move my thinking now to the kinds of oils i used... i have doubts that i was sold palm oil instead of coconut oil. is there a way i can know the difference between them both?
snappyllama
Supporting Member
I don't use palm, sorry. Was there a difference in recipe or procedure between your successful and failed batches?
hmlove1218
Well-Known Member
I believe coconut melts at a lower temperature, but I don't use palm either so I can't be certain
well.. first two ruined batches i tried to make egg soap. i thought the recipe i followed faild cus it did not subtract the amount of egg from the amount of liquid.
so i retried using this subtraction. when it also failed, i thought it's because the recipe said that i had to wisk the egg in only a part of the oils apart, then after i add the lye solution to the rest of the oil and get light trace i add the egg/ oil mix. so i told myself maybe it has to do with the difference of temperature between oil/ lye solution part and egg/ oils part.
today i made a traditional recipe, all calculated with lye calculator... yet the texture of the batch looks like that of last time.
the onlty common factor between the three ruined batches and was not there before is the "coconut oil" i bought lately.. so i thought probably i was given palm oil instead of coconut (just troubleshooting.. iam not sure)
so i retried using this subtraction. when it also failed, i thought it's because the recipe said that i had to wisk the egg in only a part of the oils apart, then after i add the lye solution to the rest of the oil and get light trace i add the egg/ oil mix. so i told myself maybe it has to do with the difference of temperature between oil/ lye solution part and egg/ oils part.
today i made a traditional recipe, all calculated with lye calculator... yet the texture of the batch looks like that of last time.
the onlty common factor between the three ruined batches and was not there before is the "coconut oil" i bought lately.. so i thought probably i was given palm oil instead of coconut (just troubleshooting.. iam not sure)
Coconut oil is pretty close to white and palm oil is yellowish. What's happening?
Dahila
Well-Known Member
Coconut is white when the palm oil is kind of yellowish 
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Coconut 76 deg melts fast on your skin, feels oily and smooth, and smells like coconut. All of mine is bright white.
Palm is slower to melt on your skin, seems a bit more sticky to me and doesn't smell like coconut. The white is closer to ivory in my collection.
Palm is slower to melt on your skin, seems a bit more sticky to me and doesn't smell like coconut. The white is closer to ivory in my collection.
thank you guys... the oil i have is rather ivory than white, it does not smell at all yet it melts so fast and freezes very slowly. i used it in this CP recipe:
- almond oil :50 gms - "coconut oil" : 70 gms - olive oil: 250 gms - rice bran oil 50 gms - sesame oil: 30 gm. and i got something rather sticky than butter feeling and looks this translucent. is this normal? if so how much time do you think this should cure?
- almond oil :50 gms - "coconut oil" : 70 gms - olive oil: 250 gms - rice bran oil 50 gms - sesame oil: 30 gm. and i got something rather sticky than butter feeling and looks this translucent. is this normal? if so how much time do you think this should cure?
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That is a very "soft" recipe with a lot of mono-unsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. It's more extreme in that regard than anything I'd make, so I have doubts about it. But what I know for sure is that you can't expect it to firm up quickly. It's acting normally considering the oils that were used.
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And it will need to cure 4-6 weeks minimum. More if you can still dent it with light pressure at 4 weeks.
Oh! this is a good point! though it looks even softer than plain castile. So you suggest that for next time i add to this recipe either beewax or more coconut oil?
Personally I don't use linoleic oils, so I couldn't suggest any recipe like that one. The CO and OO seem like the good soaping ingredients to me .
I'm curious, have you thought of lard or tallow to harden your soap? Perhaps reduce OO by 50 g and replace with one of those (my favorite is tallow)? It may give enough hardness to the soap without changing the overall balance & texture. I know some people are vegan, but since you mentioned beeswax in a later post, I didn't think you fell into that category. Although, you may not like animal fats in your soaps for other reasons. Just tossing an idea out, not judging.
Teresa you gave me wonderful tips here! I don't yet really feel comfortable using animal products, though bees products in our culture still remains vegan, so i guess i will for the hoey wax.
Thanx everybody :*
I'm glad it helped. I hope you reconsider the tallow, though. I started with 100% lard soap. I bought some beef fat and rendered it myself. I liked the process and have been doing it and using tallow in each batch since. It gives my soap a nice texture and hardness. I also use castor oil in every batch. The other oils vary. I choose not to use palm for environmental reasons. It's funny. I'll eat animals but save the forests. Nope. Nothing wrong with my logic. (RME)
kchaystack
Supporting Member
Actually bee products are not vegan. They are usually considered vegetarian, depending on the person.
would this work for shamoo bar?
Earthen_Step
Well-Known Member
I'd leave coconut oil out or very minimum in attempting a shampoo bar. Coconut oil strips the hair - cleans too well, leaving the hair like straw.
