Formulating Recipes

[Feelin' Soapy]

I'm a newbie learning to use a lye calculator and create my first recipe. Can you tell me if two recipes with different proportions of the same ingredients calculate to have the same property values (ie, bubbly, cleansing, etc), will they both create similar feeling soaps?

The ingredients I'm working with are olive, coconut, palm, and castor oils, and either kokum or shea butter. And do you have a preference for the kokum vs the shea?

Thanks for sharing your experience to help me understand this all better!

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Changing the ratios of the oils will usually change the values. More coconut and less palm will give you a less bubbly and less cleansing soap, all other things being the same.

But the numbers are not the be all and end all. The oils are more than the numbers in the calcs, so two oils with similar values can result in markedly different soaps.

I recommend reading through some pages (yes, pages!) of the recipe sections of the forum, looking at the feedback given and discussion around what and why - helps build up the picture which the values themselves can't.

 

[Feelin' Soapy]

Changing the ratios of the oils will usually change the values. More coconut and less palm will give you a less bubbly and less cleansing soap, all other things being the same.

But the numbers are not the be all and end all. The oils are more than the numbers in the calcs, so two oils with similar values can result in markedly different soaps.

I recommend reading through some pages (yes, pages!) of the recipe sections of the forum, looking at the feedback given and discussion around what and why - helps build up the picture which the values themselves can't.

Thank you. It's clear I'll need to make lots more soaps to really understand what I prefer. The possibilities are endless and the more I'm learning, the more I see there is to learn! I'll keep reading, and practicing. Mostly, I'm totally enjoying this new passion!

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Keep the batches as small as you can - keeps costs down and means that you don't end up swimming in soap!

 

[Feelin' Soapy]

After reading and checking and re-checking the lye calculator, this is the recipe I'm wanting to try. What do you all think?
40% Olive oil
22% Coconut oil
20% Palm oil
10% Shea butter
8% Castor oil

 

[Jersey Girl]

After reading and checking and re-checking the lye calculator, this is the recipe I'm wanting to try. What do you all think?
40% Olive oil
22% Coconut oil
20% Palm oil
10% Shea butter
8% Castor oil

Looks like a decent recipe to start with to me. I dont use castor above 5% myself, but I’ve seen several people use as much as 10%

 

[Feelin' Soapy]

Thanks, Jersey Girl. I'll re-run the numbers with less castor oil and see about adjusting this.

 

[IrishLass]

Your recipe looks good to me, too! Re: castor....for what it;s worth, I'm one of those that likes a higher amount. In most of my formulas, I use between 8% to 10%. In my shaving formula I use 23%. Your 8% should not be a problem in this particular recipe.


IrishLass

 

[Feelin' Soapy]

Your recipe looks good to me, too! Re: castor....for what it;s worth, I'm one of those that likes a higher amount. In most of my formulas, I use between 8% to 10%. In my shaving formula I use 23%. Your 8% should not be a problem in this particular recipe.


IrishLass

Good to know, IrishLass. I guess a lot of creating formulas is about personal preference. As a beginner, it's frustrating that I need to wait for weeks while my soaps cure before I know what they're like. I've made two batches so far, and am about to create my third. By the time I can try them, I'll have lots of soaps I may or may not like!

 

[KiwiMoose]

I prefer the price of shea butter over the price of hokum butter that's for sure!

 

[Feelin' Soapy]

I prefer the price of shea butter over the price of hokum butter that's for sure!

That's what I decided as well. I plugged each into my recipe on the lye calculator and didn't see any real bang for the buck for the kokum over the shea.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Lol I just noticed the autocorrect. What a load of ‘hokum’ lol.

 

[Becky1024]

I like shea butter in my bath & body soap since it is so conditioning. I like kokum in shave soap - it's high stearic acid value helps lather. So in a nutshell I like both, it just depends on the use.

 

[atiz]

I use castor at 8% with no problems; your recipe looks good to me.
I tend to use shea butter (if at all) rather than kokum because of its price. But if you are making small batches for yourself to experiment, you may try both and see which one you like!

 

[sarveshwari raniwala]

Looks like a decent recipe to start with to me. I dont use castor above 5% myself, but I’ve seen several people use as much as 10%

What is the reason of not using more than 5% of castor oil...I use 10%in my recipes

 

[Jersey Girl]

What is the reason of not using more than 5% of castor oil...I use 10%in my recipes

Some people have found that using castor oil in higher percentages can cause a soap to be softer or sticky. I personally have not gone over than 5%. There are others who use it at up to 10% with good results. You have to experiment yourself and see what works for you.

 

[sarveshwari raniwala]

If have been using 10% inmy soaps but now I think I shall reduce it to 5 and see how it works for me. Yes trial and error is the best way. Thanx