First time making soap.. Need some help

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Jen74

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Hi everyone, so glad to have joined this forum. I am new to this whole thing so trying to get some information about where to begin with making my own soap. The reason I am making my own soap is because I am Highly sensitive all most of the ones on the market due to scents and other ingredients. I found one that worked Very well for me, but the company changed their ingredients and the soap. I want to make my own soap using these same ingredients that I tolerated well before they changed their soap, However, I cannot seem to find anywhere that sells the stuff I need. These are the ingredients I am looking for to make my soap: Sodium Palmate, sodium palm kernelate, palm kernel acid, glycerin, sodium chloride. Those are the ingredients I need. Does anyone know where I can purchase these things? Also I have to figure out how to make the soap, I am so new to this Lol! Thanks for any advice or info you can possibly share.
 
Check out cold process soapmaking in the beginner's section to get started. It looks like you enjoy a soap made from palm and palm kernal oils... when they are reacted with sodium hydroxide in the process of making soap, they will form the ingredients you listed. Have fun
 
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Millie is right -- the soap is made from palm oil, palm kernel oil, and sodium hydroxide. The names "sodium palmate" and "sodium palm kernelate" are the two types of soap made by saponifying (chemically reacting) these two oils with sodium hydroxide.

The palm kernel acid isn't strictly required, and it may be hard for a small scale crafter to find. It is probably being added as the superfat (excess fat that ensures the soap is mild). You can get the equivalent effect by using the two fats as the superfat.

The glycerin is most likely the glycerin created when the alkali and fats turn into soap. You don't actually need to add glycerin -- the chemistry does that for you.

edit -- Forgot this: Sodium chloride (table salt) is sometimes added as a hardener. It's an optional ingredient.
 
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These are the ingredients I am looking for to make my soap: Sodium Palmate, sodium palm kernelate, palm kernel acid, glycerin, sodium chloride.

Hi. Most of this ingredients are already by-products of saphonification. Is this a commercial soap? If yes, may i know the brand name? Ill try to translate it for you.
 
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Hi. Most of this ingredients are already by-products of saphonification. Is this a commercial soap? If yes, may i know the brand name? Ill try to translate it for you.


Hey there. The soap I was using was by The Unscented Company. It is just called Pure vegetable glycerin . It is the only soap I have found that I do not react too. I am highly sensitive. It had only these 5 ingredients listed on the box ( Sodium Palmate,sodium palm kernelate, palm kernel acid, glycerin, sodium chloride). It had literally No odor or scent. Now they changed it and added a couple other ingredients and it now has an odor. I want to try and make it for myself with using just these ingredients. I have never made soap before so I am not very well versed in this :). Any tips are greatly appreciated.
 
Looks like they upped the bubbles and cut the soap scum. Haven't used their new ingredients myself.

Hmmm.... I read a bunch of articles like this before making my first soap:
https://www.lovinsoap.com/2011/06/cold-process-soap/

Which I just pulled from Zany's list for beginners:
https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/beginners-learn-to-soap-online.64426/

When you have your ingredients assembled and feel ready to mix your first batch of lye, play around with a lye calculator to get your recipe:
https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/how-to-use-soap-calc-tutorial.49627/

It looks like palm and palm kernal oils work for you, so you might want to start there. Something like
20% Palm Kernal Oil
80% Palm Oil
5% Superfat
33% Lye Concentration
....
Or something.... ok someone else chime in ;)

Then let us know if you want to use other oils (yes! so much fun! so nice to feel!)
 
Hi everyone, so glad to have joined this forum. I am new to this whole thing so trying to get some information about where to begin with making my own soap. The reason I am making my own soap is because I am Highly sensitive all most of the ones on the market due to scents and other ingredients. I found one that worked Very well for me, but the company changed their ingredients and the soap. I want to make my own soap using these same ingredients that I tolerated well before they changed their soap, However, I cannot seem to find anywhere that sells the stuff I need. These are the ingredients I am looking for to make my soap: Sodium Palmate, sodium palm kernelate, palm kernel acid, glycerin, sodium chloride. Those are the ingredients I need. Does anyone know where I can purchase these things? Also I have to figure out how to make the soap, I am so new to this Lol! Thanks for any advice or info you can possibly share.


Hey there!

Deanna is super knowledgeable, like a chemist, and knows the chemical names for common ingredients.

Not everyone on here is an expert, but I would consider Deanna more than an expert, sort of a soap genius.

If the soap you were using before was a clear soap, the company would have added glycerin to it to make it clear, however, you can make a soap that is mild with the base ingredients, and you won’t need to add glycerin as glycerin is a normal ingredient that is created and is a part of your soap.

I recommend doing an allergy test of sorts on your arm with different oils. Mark circles with a semi permanent pen or non toxic and label each on your arm with an oil. Olive oil, canola oil, soybean, palm, coconut, almond, etc. with q tip dab a small amount of each oil onto your arm in the corresponding circle. Wait 24 hours. If you do not exhibit an allergic reaction, it’s a safe to use in your soap.

Use a soap calculator to formulate your soap using the oils that you are ok with. Read up about the different properties contributed by each oil to soap. Buy sodium hydroxide that is food grade. (Lye).

Make soap and wait four weeks before you can use it.

In that time, read, read, ask questions, read all the posts by Deanna, read posts about all kinds of soap and things that can go wrong in soap making. Look at potential problems in soap making. Watch one video a day of someone making soap. Read two posts about soap making every day.

Listen to long time soap makers and do what they suggest. They are wise and learned. They know what they are talking about. The suggested numbers in the soap calculator are a ballpark for the perfect soap bar, pay attention to them.
 
I use Sorbitol in all my soaps and it makes lovely bubbles that do not bother my eczema and the sodium gluconate helps stop soap scum. At the low percentage, of 0.01-0.1%, it is not noticeable in the soap but the tub notices it. I use 0.5% Tetrasodium EDTA and 0.5% Sodium Gluconate in all my soaps now.
 
These are the ingredients I am looking for to make my soap: Sodium Palmate, sodium palm kernelate, palm kernel acid, glycerin, sodium chloride. Those are the ingredients I need.
Hiya Jen and Welcome to SMF!

That soap is easy to duplicate once you understand the basics of making Cold Process soap. I encourage you to follow the links Millie posted to learn more about the process. As DeeAnna said, you don't need the palm kernel acid because the superfat is created when you formulate the recipe Millie posted below. The glycerin is a by-product of saponification (the process of making soap) as DeeAnna explained. Sodium chloride is simple table salt that you can add to the lye solution (NaOH + distilled water) before combining with the oils.
20% Palm Kernal Oil = sodium palm kernelate once saponified
80% Palm Oil = sodium palmate once saponified
5% Superfat
33% Lye Concentration
ETA: I make something very similar to Millie's recipe. It makes a lovely soap that is a family favorite. Caution: Soap making is highly addictive! Not to worry. This forum is jam-packed with addicts and enablers. Once hooked, you'll have lotsa friends to help you on your journey of discovering the Wonderful World of Homemade Soap. ;)
 
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Hiya Jen and Welcome to SMF!

That soap is easy to duplicate once you understand the basics of making Cold Process soap. I encourage you to follow the links Millie posted to learn more about the process. As DeeAnna said, you don't need the palm kernel acid because the superfat is created when you formulate the recipe Millie posted below. The glycerin is a by-product of saponification (the process of making soap) as DeeAnna explained. Sodium chloride is simple table salt that you can add to the lye solution (NaOH + distilled water) before combining with the oils.

ETA: I make something very similar to Millie's recipe. It makes a lovely soap that is a family favorite. Caution: Soap making is highly addictive! Not to worry. This forum is jam-packed with addicts and enablers. Once hooked, you'll have lotsa friends to help you on your journey of discovering the Wonderful World of Homemade Soap. ;)

I can attest to the fact that soap making is ADDICTIVE!! 3 years ago, after my first loaf of soap, I was hooked!
:lol:
I give a lot of it away because I make too much for my hubby and I can use.
 
The other thing to consider is that it's not necessarily those particular oils/ingredients that worked for you, but the fact that it was scent-free and colour free. A cheap and easy way to find out is to make a sample batch out of easy to find ingredients, such as olive oil, coconut oil, lard, crisco, etc (be careful of the latter two if you have BHT, BHA or TBHQ sensitivities). Most of us on the board are crazy for fragrances and colours (both natural and artificial) but as you're not looking for either of those, a plain unscented bar may be more important for you than which oils are in it.
 
The other thing to consider is that it's not necessarily those particular oils/ingredients that worked for you, but the fact that it was scent-free and colour free. A cheap and easy way to find out is to make a sample batch out of easy to find ingredients, such as olive oil, coconut oil, lard, crisco, etc (be careful of the latter two if you have BHT, BHA or TBHQ sensitivities). Most of us on the board are crazy for fragrances and colours (both natural and artificial) but as you're not looking for either of those, a plain unscented bar may be more important for you than which oils are in it.


Well see I did try a ton of different No fragrance soaps that contained some of the other things like coconut oil, olive oil etc.. and I reacted badly to them all. The only oil I do not react negatively to is the palm oil for some reason. For me the least ingredients is best.
 

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