High Superfat Coconut Oil Soap

[GardenGirl]

So, last Feb I made a 95% Coc Oil, 5% Castor, 20% superfat bar. Used most of them for different purposes and put several back to keep.

I just dug them out of the "keep a scrap from every batch" box and it is one huge DOS. Sitting in there with bunches of older soap that has no DOS, btw.

I used Wally world coconut oil & soapers choice castor, according to my notes.

This, and a Canola oil batch I made, are the only two soaps I've had develop DOS.

Is this happening to anyone else with the high superfat coco oil bars?

Just wondering.

 

[agriffin]

I'm suprised you got dos on a coconut oil /castor bar even with that high amount of superfat. Those oils saponified or not have long shelf lives. So I would think that it was a storage issue. Is it humid where you are?

As far as canola...I stay away from it.

 

[GardenGirl]

Nope, not humid here.

I had it on an open wooden shelf (each piece spaced apart) in a dark, dry pantry for months and then tossed it into a shoebox along with some others that are even older. Older bars look fine.

I made another high coc oil batch last week (before I saw my DOS coc bar) and I guess I want some others to say that theirs don't get DOS and it was just something freaky.

Oooh that reminds me of a storage question: Does each bar need to continue to be spaced apart from other bars (air circ all around each individual bar) even after 4-6 weeks? More recently I've been giving my bars a 4-6 wk cure with air circ all around them and then putting them in a plastic shoebox sized drawer unit where the sides of the soap lay against each other kind of snug. Is that wrong?

 

[agriffin]

I recommend them not touching if they are naked bars. If they touch, moisture can collect where they touch and that can lead to higher chances of dos. I speak from experience. Of course it is also very humid where I live so I have to take great care in storage.

But it is hard with storing high volumes of soap for them not to be touching. I know alot of soapers do put their soaps in boxes. I keep mine lined up on a curing rack, spaced out. I'm not high volume.

 

[IrishLass]

So, Is this happening to anyone else with the high superfat coco oil bars?

Just wondering.

I can only speak for myself, but mine have never gotten DOS. I still have an unused bar that I saved from my very first batch of 100% CO/20% SF. It was made 3 and a half years ago and it is as fresh as a daisy. The scent has faded some, but there's no DOS or any kind of rancidity in it nor in any of my other bars that I've saved over the years.

The only batch of soap that I've ever gotten DOS in was an unscented/uncolored Canola batch that I made very early on in my soaping venture in which I unintentionally screwed up my superfat level (it ended up being superfatted at something like 25%! :shock: ) It DOSed all over in about 3 weeks and I had to throw it out.

I don't know if it helps, but I live in a very dry climate and I store my soaps in well ventilated cardbooard boxes with a little bit of space between each bar. If you are going to store them in plastic shoeboxes, I would reccommend punching out some ventilation holes or propping up the cover a bit to allow the air to circulate. Preventing naked bars from touching helps, too.

IrishLass