Hardness Issues

[jbarad]

I have issues with my soap hardness. I admit it, I'm a soapcalc freak when it comes to the hardness level.

I know what I strive for as far as hardness numbers go, but sometimes I think I'm over reaching on this

I do my best to keep my hardness # at 46 or above, and even at 46 I think..."oh I can make it harder and better" so I keep tinkering and tinkering and adjusting to try and get a harder #. Am I off my rocker ? LOL

I mean is there a huge difference between say a 44 hardness # bar and a 50 hardness # bar or am I splitting hairs ?

I know my soap is nice, it leaves you feeling clean but it doesn't dry you out, it's nice and creamy and a good bit of bubbles...so I'm always confident that my customers will enjoy the soap on that end, but I have this OCD fear that they'll come and say "OMG that soap only lasted 2 weeks in my shower"

ETA : My base recipe #'s - am I just one of those OCD people who are NEVER happy, or do "you" think this recipe is fairly well balanced and I should just let well enough alone ? LOL

Hardness - 47
Cleansing - 13
Condition - 50
Bubbly - 25
Creamy - 45 ( I prefer more creamy over more bubbles )
Iodine - 54
INS - 143

 

[zeoplum]

I'm a newbie and still learning so I'm looking forward to the responses you get. But I am curious....how do you get your creamy number so high? Usually when I'm playing with SoapCalc, the conditioning number goes up before creamy bubbles.

Just curious,
zeo

 

[jbarad]

I'm a newbie and still learning so I'm looking forward to the responses you get. But I am curious....how do you get your creamy number so high? Usually when I'm playing with SoapCalc, the conditioning number goes up before creamy bubbles.

Just curious,
zeo

I use tallow or lard in all my soaps so that adds to the creaminess, I also use castor oil.

 

[Guest]

I let my soap cure at least 6 weeks , a bar lasts months with 2 people using it .The soap I made 5 months ago lasts a very long time.To long , I want to try them all out . Have you tested them to see how long they last ? I don't think there is a huge noticeable difference between a 44 and a 50 inho.

HTH

 

[jbarad]

I let my soap cure at least 6 weeks , a bar lasts months with 2 people using it .The soap I made 5 months ago lasts a very long time.To long , I want to try them all out . Have you tested them to see how long they last ? I don't think there is a huge noticeable difference between a 44 and a 50 inho.

HTH

Oh yeah, I try all mine out, I think they last just fine for me, but I'm always looking to make them harder and longer lasting.

We have 7 people in the house and this one bar I did in a men's scent is used by 5 of the 7 folks and it's been in the shower about 2 1/2 to 3 weeks so I know they last and they're rock hard to "me" but like I said, it's more OCD than anything I think. I was just looking for other's thoughts on how hard they like their bar and soap calc hardness #

 

[zeoplum]

I use tallow or lard in all my soaps so that adds to the creaminess, I also use castor oil.

Oh ok. Usually when I increase my Castor, only the bubbly number goes up. I am, however, about to experiment with Lard so maybe that'll help.

Thank you for your reply

zeo

 

[Guest]

I hear ya on the OCD , mine is conditioning and bubbles.lol

Kitn

 

[Dixie]

Well look at it this way jbarad, pure castille soap, 100% olive oil gets good and hard.
Like kitn, my OCD is bubbles, conditioning, bubbbles and did I say bubbles? Oh yea BUBBLES! :wink:

 

[AshleyR]

My base recipe is a 43 for hardness on soap calc and it lasts me a long time. I find it is best if it's left to cure for 6-8 weeks. By 8 weeks it is rock solid and I can use it for 3-4 weeks in the shower.

 

[Guest]

My base recipe is a 43 for hardness on soap calc and it lasts me a long time. I find it is best if it's left to cure for 6-8 weeks. By 8 weeks it is rock solid and I can use it for 3-4 weeks in the shower.

How do your scents hold up at 8 weeks?

 

[AshleyR]

My base recipe is a 43 for hardness on soap calc and it lasts me a long time. I find it is best if it's left to cure for 6-8 weeks. By 8 weeks it is rock solid and I can use it for 3-4 weeks in the shower.

How do your scents hold up at 8 weeks?

Depends which scents I use and how much! Still experimenting with that since every scent is a little different. The only soap I have noticed thats scent has really faded over time is a peppermint EO scented one.