Feedback recipes, please?

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Putzii

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Hi team Experience,

Are these good enough recipes to use for my soap? Its very basic
and perhaps boring but if you only could have a look at it and tell me if there is anything wrong and what to tweak?

Thanks for this. 🪬⭐🪬
 

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From Top Left:
1) Go for it!:thumbs: It's similar to the Basic Trinity of Oils that I prefer and I see most often from popular brands online like Dr. Squatch. Same oils; different %s. With both your recipe and the BTOO, I would consider including avocado oil as part of the olive oil %

2) Go for it! :thumbs: Under Bar Qualities some will object to the high cleansing value of the 35% coconut oil for their preference but I believe that the SAT/UNSAT balanced ratio will help, i.e., by the also high conditioning value. So try it. See how you like it. You can always tweak it next time. ;)

3) I like it! I think you will too. :nodding:

From Bottom Left:
4) No comment. I don't do Soap Dough. HAVE FUN!!!

5) Go for it! Looks good to me. 😎 My only comment would be that 2% RBO won't provide enough substance to the overall recipe so I would skip it and add 2% to the olive oil.

TIP: I would check out @Dawni and @KiwiMoose to formulate another recipe where you either sub RBO for the Olive or do 50/50 Olive and RBO to get a feel for what RBO brings to the party.
 
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Hey Zany,

Thanks for the feedback.
I will read into BTOO to understand exactly what you mean.

Thank you Zany🌸🪬🌸

I was only wondering about the cleansing bit, the statics says it isn’t that cleansing…. Any ideas on how to ⬆️ this? Apart from a lot of COO, PO is there anything else (no lard & tallow)?
 
From Top Left:
1) Go for it!:thumbs: It's similar to the Basic Trinity of Oils that I prefer and I see most often from popular brands online like Dr. Squatch. Same oils; different %s. With both your recipe and the BTOO, I would consider including avocado oil as part of the olive oil %

2) Go for it! :thumbs: Under Bar Qualities some will object to the high cleansing value of the 35% coconut oil for their preference but I believe that the SAT/UNSAT balanced ratio will help, i.e., by the also high conditioning value. So try it. See how you like it. You can always tweak it next time. ;)

3) I like it! I think you will too. :nodding:

From Bottom Left:
4) No comment. I don't do Soap Dough. HAVE FUN!!!

5) Go for it! Looks good to me. 😎 My only comment would be that 2% RBO won't provide enough substance to the overall recipe so I would skip it and add 2% to the olive oil.

TIP: I would check out @Dawni and @KiwiMoose to formulate another recipe where you either sub RBO for the Olive or do 50/50 Olive and RBO to get a feel for what RBO brings to the party.
Will do this. Am on night shift so as soon as I get back will go for it🫧

From Top Left:
1) Go for it!:thumbs: It's similar to the Basic Trinity of Oils that I prefer and I see most often from popular brands online like Dr. Squatch. Same oils; different %s. With both your recipe and the BTOO, I would consider including avocado oil as part of the olive oil %

2) Go for it! :thumbs: Under Bar Qualities some will object to the high cleansing value of the 35% coconut oil for their preference but I believe that the SAT/UNSAT balanced ratio will help, i.e., by the also high conditioning value. So try it. See how you like it. You can always tweak it next time. ;)

3) I like it! I think you will too. :nodding:

From Bottom Left:
4) No comment. I don't do Soap Dough. HAVE FUN!!!

5) Go for it! Looks good to me. 😎 My only comment would be that 2% RBO won't provide enough substance to the overall recipe so I would skip it and add 2% to the olive oil.

TIP: I would check out @Dawni and @KiwiMoose to formulate another recipe where you either sub RBO for the Olive or do 50/50 Olive and RBO to get a feel for what RBO brings to the party.
👌🏼T Y🫧
 
Thank you Zany🌸🪬🌸
You're welcome. :)
Will do this. Am on night shift so as soon as I get back will go for it🫧
Well, don't be in a big hurry to do anything. Wait for others to add their thoughts. It normally takes about 4-7 days for them to weigh in. Today is a holiday here in the States so I imagine many regular members are enjoying the long weekend.
 
I was only wondering about the cleansing bit, the statics says it isn’t that cleansing…. Any ideas on how to ⬆️ this? Apart from a lot of COO, PO is there anything else (no lard & tallow)?
Soap values are a bit of a misnomer. You could have zero for "Cleansing" and your soap will still get you clean since that is the nature of soap...to get your clean.

My Regular Soap has a 'Cleansing" value of 14, and it's the same recipe I use for my Mechanic's Soap except I had some Pumice Powder to it. I used real mechanics to test my soap, both gas and diesel. They all love it because it doesn't strip their skin like Lava and 'orange' cleaners do and you'd be surprised how man of them hate the 'orange' smell.
 
Soap values are a bit of a misnomer. You could have zero for "Cleansing" and your soap will still get you clean since that is the nature of soap...to get your clean.

My Regular Soap has a 'Cleansing" value of 14, and it's the same recipe I use for my Mechanic's Soap except I had some Pumice Powder to it. I used real mechanics to test my soap, both gas and diesel. They all love it because it doesn't strip their skin like Lava and 'orange' cleaners do and you'd be surprised how man of them hate the 'orange' smell.

That is an amazing group to make for! I think they will be really overjoyed that they can say good the to broken dry skin.

Nurses and medics need this too.

🔆Happy aholidays Americans🔆
 
I have very dry skin, so all of these recipes would be too drying for me. I don’t go over 15% coconut oil and do 10% castor oil. I keep my cleansing at around 10 and my conditioning at 60+. I still get plenty of lather and my bars are hard and long lasting. That‘s just my preference.
 
I have very dry skin, so all of these recipes would be too drying for me. I don’t go over 15% coconut oil and do 10% castor oil. I keep my cleansing at around 10 and my conditioning at 60+. I still get plenty of lather and my bars are hard and long lasting. That‘s just my preference.
Thank you!

appreciate this input.
Are the bars very soft and does it take longer to unmould, what’s your experience on that?

Thanks again!

Thank you!

appreciate this input.
Are the bars very soft and does it take longer to unmould, what’s your experience on that?

Thanks again!
What can you say about this, please?
I would like to make a soap that’s soft on the skin but not too soft to tough and that doesn’t take too long to unmould.
 

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I think the first one would be too soft. I really like the 2nd one. My bars are hard. I finished making a batch at 4 pm yesterday and unmouled and cut it at 9.30 this morning. I use goats milk as full water replacement, I add 1 tsp of salt and sugar per 500gms. I also CPOP all of my soap as I prefer it to gel.
 
Wow, that’s pretty nice also time wise.

Is goat milk good to work with. I am a bit scared using milk as I read somewhere it accelerates quickly? I could be wrong reading that. Do you also use sodium lactate or does just salt fix that for you?

I can imagine goat milk being extremely gentle on the skin.

Love goat 🧀 a lot so maybe in the future will give it a try. Does the typical goat smell leave the soap after curing?

Sounds very interesting tbh. Would you like to show your soap or perhaps later?

I’m sure you are really experienced working for a sensitive skin type. It is a very interesting subject because a lot of people are sensitive also because so many products are so synthetic and harsh.

Cheers Vivhalaska.🪬🫧🪬
 
I freeze my goats milk, in ice trays, so it doesn’t scorch and I don’t have to wait for the lye to cool. Also I don’t get any vapours. I don’t find it difficult at all to work with but when I first started soaping I used water. The soap smells awful when first cut but that disappears within about an hour and no the goat smell doesn’t come through at all. I will take a photo in the morning. I’m in bed now, it’s 9.30 in Sydney.
 
Soap values are a bit of a misnomer.
True. The "Recommended Ranges" are more "Guidelines" than "Rules". Staying within the recommended numbers will deliver a soap that does what you expect more often than not.

Screen Shot 2022-09-06 at 7.52.46 AM.png


But there are exceptions -- 100% Olive Oil is a good example of that.

Screen Shot 2022-09-06 at 7.59.54 AM.png


I made my first Castile in 2004. Following a recipe from @Bunny, the "Castile Queen", l HP'ed it (Hot Process). It took forever to trace, 10 hours (!) to cook. Once poured it stayed in the mold for 1-2 weeks before it was firm enough to unmold, another week before it was ready to cut.

Cure: 12 weeks / 3 months. It was hard enough to use then and became better over time.

As the printout suggests, it was a soft bar (17) but highly conditioning (82) with minimal creamy lather (17) -- more like a lotion than soap -- and it had the characteristic "slime" Castiles are known for. People either loved it or hated it.

I was one of the latter. I continued to "tweak" it every time I made it, which was fairly often. Hence, my 12-year journey to develop ZNSC! :nodding:
 
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Of the recipes you used so far, which ones feel good on your skin? Are they similar to or the same as any of these? How long have they cured? Cure time can alter how the soap feels on your skin, so take that into account before determining if a soap formula was good to your skin or not as desirable.

I'd suggest starting from there because some people's skin gets along better with different proportions of those 'cleansing' number values. But also sometimes, depending completely on the combinations of ingredients, a higher cleansing number is fine. So testing your previous soaps on your skin over the course of a couple of months at least is the best way to determine if you are fine with whatever mix you currently have so far completed. Some recipes require a longer cure, though and even a couple of months testing isn't enough.

For me, my skin prefers a lower cleansing number, but there are some soaps that I have made with a higher cleansing number that are fine on my skin. For example I have an egg yolk soap that has a higher cleansing number, and it does not irritate my skin like another can do.

Regarding using very low percentage of RBO, I am not sure you will experience any discernible value. The only oils I find useful at such low amounts are Beeswax (to harden soap) and Lanolin (I like the feel on my skin). So I'd use Beeswax at 3% or Castor Oil at 3-5% and Lanolin at 3%, but few other oils I'd use that low.

I have mostly use RBO at 20 or 30%, but I did once use it at only 10% (I don't really know why, perhaps I was running low of one of the oils & had to do sub).

Everyone has great input, but really it's all about trials one the target skin. If the soap is for you, yours is the target skin. If the soap is for family, they have the target skin, etc.
 
Sorry my dear. Cheers
🙃
Sleep well!
That’s OK, I do most of my shopping from bed at night, so I’m awake for a number of hours. I
01418CD8-D0BC-45FA-886B-8F1332570F9A.jpeg
didn’t answer all of your questions. I mainly use salt, I’ve used sodium lactate but can’t tell any difference. I haven’t found goats milk causes acceleration. I add everything I can to my oils before I add the lye and give it a good blend. The only thing I don’t add are the colours if I’m not doing 1 colour. I only bring the batter to emulsification before I split it off for different colours. This gives me plenty of time to mix in the colours and do swirls etc. i don’t always bring it to trace, this isn’t necessary as long as the batch has emulsified. I also add 2% citric acid. You might want to research that.
 
That’s OK, I do most of my shopping from bed at night, so I’m awake for a number of hours. I View attachment 68581didn’t answer all of your questions. I mainly use salt, I’ve used sodium lactate but can’t tell any difference. I haven’t found goats milk causes acceleration. I add everything I can to my oils before I add the lye and give it a good blend. The only thing I don’t add are the colours if I’m not doing 1 colour. I only bring the batter to emulsification before I split it off for different colours. This gives me plenty of time to mix in the colours and do swirls etc. i don’t always bring it to trace, this isn’t necessary as long as the batch has emulsified. I also add 2% citric acid. You might want to research that.
Gorgeous soaps and good colours!

The citric acid is something also I wonder about to use or not. Its good but I read about something else that could be used instead. I forgot what but will look this up.
I use it but need to calculate the extra lye in which is a pain in the behind. Unless I use the soap Calc from this website. They calculate it all within the recipe if you add it.

@earlene,

I’ve had a few people testing this on the ward and a few dr’s. They haven’t had any issues but to be on the safe side I am lowering the amount of CO because to be honest it’s can be a bit drying and that’s not what anyone wants I think.
I shall ask again. I’ve also noticed that the super hard bars don’t always have a nice feel to it.

Can feel a bit rough.

I think I will read a bit more about the base oils and their profiles, tweak all recipes. Have bought 500gr soap moulds I will only concentrate on the feel of soap long term and practice for instance a few things like wood grain and become really good at this as I like this pattern a lot.
I also would like to lean more more embeds as layers and rimmed soaps.

You mentioned lanolin and beeswax.
Is beeswax considered a hard substance. Lanoline I remember from when I was young. I had eczema and my mother used a cream called bio force on me from Dr Vogel.
Worked wonders.
How do you use this? Is this a solid substance or is it like an ointment…or something else or a liquid oil?
Why only 3 percent for beeswax? Does it harden up too much with a higher percentage?
Read something about soy wax too somewhere.

Thanks for everyone’s helpful & insightful answers. I will brainstorm a bit about a few things.

Hopefully with more tailored recipes as they are now boring and simple and not much adding much.

It can be better!

Have a lovely day.


Thank you ❣️

From Top Left:
1) Go for it!:thumbs: It's similar to the Basic Trinity of Oils that I prefer and I see most often from popular brands online like Dr. Squatch. Same oils; different %s. With both your recipe and the BTOO, I would consider including avocado oil as part of the olive oil %

2) Go for it! :thumbs: Under Bar Qualities some will object to the high cleansing value of the 35% coconut oil for their preference but I believe that the SAT/UNSAT balanced ratio will help, i.e., by the also high conditioning value. So try it. See how you like it. You can always tweak it next time. ;)

3) I like it! I think you will too. :nodding:

From Bottom Left:
4) No comment. I don't do Soap Dough. HAVE FUN!!!

5) Go for it! Looks good to me. 😎 My only comment would be that 2% RBO won't provide enough substance to the overall recipe so I would skip it and add 2% to the olive oil.

TIP: I would check out @Dawni and @KiwiMoose to formulate another recipe where you either sub RBO for the Olive or do 50/50 Olive and RBO to get a feel for what RBO brings to the party.
Yeah, the soap
Dough would like to use this for rimmed bars.

Thanks Zany
 
Gorgeous soaps and good colours!

The citric acid is something also I wonder about to use or not. Its good but I read about something else that could be used instead. I forgot what but will look this up.
I use it but need to calculate the extra lye in which is a pain in the behind. Unless I use the soap Calc from this website. They calculate it all within the recipe if you add it.

@earlene,

I’ve had a few people testing this on the ward and a few dr’s. They haven’t had any issues but to be on the safe side I am lowering the amount of CO because to be honest it’s can be a bit drying and that’s not what anyone wants I think.
I shall ask again. I’ve also noticed that the super hard bars don’t always have a nice feel to it.

Can feel a bit rough.

I think I will read a bit more about the base oils and their profiles, tweak all recipes. Have bought 500gr soap moulds I will only concentrate on the feel of soap long term and practice for instance a few things like wood grain and become really good at this as I like this pattern a lot.
I also would like to lean more more embeds as layers and rimmed soaps.

You mentioned lanolin and beeswax.
Is beeswax considered a hard substance. Lanoline I remember from when I was young. I had eczema and my mother used a cream called bio force on me from Dr Vogel.
Worked wonders.
How do you use this? Is this a solid substance or is it like an ointment…or something else or a liquid oil?
Why only 3 percent for beeswax? Does it harden up too much with a higher percentage?
Read something about soy wax too somewhere.

Thanks for everyone’s helpful & insightful answers. I will brainstorm a bit about a few things.

Hopefully with more tailored recipes as they are now boring and simple and not much adding much.

It can be better!

Have a lovely day.


Thank you ❣️
Beeswax is a solid, has a high melting point; because of the high melting point, it is treated like a hard oil. Here's an Amazon.uk search for beeswax so you can see what it may look like & how it may come. You can purchase from soap suppliers as well. Why such a small percetage for beeswax? Because it can make the soap batter very stiff very quickly. It is more commonly used using the Hot Process soap method rather than the Cold Process method because of how much heat is required.

Lanolin is a very thick substance, somewhat like Vaseline (do you have that in the UK?) Here's a link to pure lanolin, but you can probably source it from a soap supplier as well. Using lanolin in soap is less common that using beeswax or butters (cocoa butter, shea butter, etc.) or soy wax, though, so you probably won't find a whole lot of mention of it for soap in your online searches. I add it to one or two bar soap formulas, and do like the result, but you can't use a lot of it as it makes the soap very waxy feeling if used at anything but a very low percentage. I also have a liquid soap that I like for shaving my legs that has lanolin in the recipe. Very smooth shave and I never cut myself using that formula.

Yes, soy wax is a really useful hard oil to use instead of animal fats. It is made of soybean oil, and can come as a shortening-like substance, and also as solid waxy pearls, pellets or flakes. With a little research here at SMF you can find recommendations of where in your country to source it and which brand variety to buy for soapmaking. You may not have access to the exact same soy wax products that are available in other countries, so it's best to do the research before purchase.
 
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