how did I get a little burned on the face ?

[coffeetime]

If you are that sensitive to lye, is soap-making really the best hobby for you?? Perhaps melt and pour would be safer?

 

[seven]

if you are sensitive to coconut oils, you can replace it with palm kernel or babassu. 50% with a 7sf is a scary amount tho. i can have an instant peel with that

 

[AustinStraight]

I just use the boswellia carteri, too. I agree you might just be really sensitive to lye. My dad walked into the kitchen while I was measuring out the lye and without even seeing that I was putting lye in a cup to soap with, he said he could tell it was lye because he's sensitive to it.

 

[max_ime]

if you are sensitive to coconut oils, you can replace it with palm kernel or babassu. 50% with a 7sf is a scary amount tho. i can have an instant peel with that

I probably am sensitive to it, to a degree. What do you mean by instant peel, can you describe the type of condition that such a soap causes you? How long does it take to heal when that happens to you?

I think what I have is NaOH burn, happened on the 25th of april and it's still not completely healed(now 5th of may), my hands always go back to dry after a while without oil, water or aloes, etc. I had healthy skin before this first time I made soap bars, I'm 25 and my skin used to be better, now after the NaOH doesn't look bad, it's just drier, my hands look rather older rather than burned. NaOH really get into the skin I guess.

so you think I should make the SF what % 16 or 22%?

What's worse between getting burned on the tongue versus on a select spot of your own skin? Does the tongue heal better than the skin?

 

[seven]

I probably am sensitive to it, to a degree. What do you mean by instant peel, can you describe the type of condition that such a soap causes you? How long does it take to heal when that happens to you?

I think what I have is NaOH burn, happened on the 25th of april and it's still not completely healed(now 5th of may), my hands always go back to dry after a while without oil, water or aloes, etc. I had healthy skin before this first time I made soap bars, I'm 25 and my skin used to be better, now after the NaOH doesn't look bad, it's just drier, my hands look rather older rather than burned. NaOH really get into the skin I guess.

so you think I should make the SF what % 16 or 22%?

What's worse between getting burned on the tongue versus on a select spot of your own skin? Does the tongue heal better than the skin?

i'm really sorry about your burn, skin is our largest organ and is pretty important. hope you recover soon.

i was half joking with the instant peel comment i meant to say that 50% coconut oil is far too much for my taste. my skin is rather funny... i have a sensitive skin heritage (eczema, etc) from my grandma, and when it's acting out i can experience severe itch all over my body. that said, i am pretty okay with coconut oil tho, while some ppl are very sensitive to it. i can take up to 30% with just a 5% SF w/o a problem. salt bar is another whole issue, high level of coconut + salt = magic

a while ago, i did a 30% coconut with 8% SF, and i can totally feel the difference on my skin compared to the 5% SF one. so, a small increase or decrease on the SF does play an important role to how the end product feels on our skin.

what i personally suggest to you is to try palm kernel or babassu. those 2 oils are common replacement for coconut (for ppl who are sensitive to it). similar qualities, thus they are interchangeable. or, if you still wanna stick with coconut, def lower the amount to 10-20% max. you can also add 5-7% of castor if you're a bit worried on the lather/bubble department. as for SF, perhaps do somewhere around 10% (more or less).

lye burns... hmmmm... i have to say i'm getting quite used to it, lol! don't get me wrong, a tiny lye bead can still cause serious pain, but the whole dry/peeling hands is my friend these days. i rarely wear gloves anymore when i make soap (please do NOT do this ). zap/tongue test is not so bad, again, i am used to it. it is def ten times better than the other parts of your body stung by lye. i only do tongue test when i do HP. if you do CP exclusively, you won't need it me thinks.

 

[max_ime]

It took about 3-4 weeks for me to heal noticeably pretty much back to normal (face and hands) from my first attempt at making soap. Then I made soap for the 2nd time this weekend, I did HP (cooked it until gel and then added 12% super fat and stirred and poured) I used 45% coconut. I did not zap upon tongue testing so I thought it was safe to use but it's actually drying to skin! (Oh! No !once again!), especially to face, it left my face dry and hot especially on the nose and forehead, this sensation persist after using the soap only once on my face 2 days ago. I wonder how that's possible? I licked the bars may times, different spots no zap at all. Yes coconut is a cleanser but I have 45% only + 12% super fat from hemp and jojoba. + I used dr Bronner for years and it's mostly coconut too and it's wonderful on my skin and on everyone else's skin I heard of. At least my skin reaction is not as bad as what happened about 4 weeks ago. Does anyone see what's wrong with my soap?

 

[Obsidian]

How long did you let it cure? HP needs to cure for around 4 weeks just like CP does. 45% coconut is still really high, why don't you try 15-20% instead? It sounds like your soap is just way to cleansing and its drying your skin severely.

FYI, I can't use Dr. bronners soap, that stuff dries me out like a lizard. Its probably the worse store bought soap I've ever used.

 

[max_ime]

How long did you let it cure? HP needs to cure for around 4 weeks just like CP does. 45% coconut is still really high, why don't you try 15-20% instead? It sounds like your soap is just way to cleansing and its drying your skin severely.

FYI, I can't use Dr. bronners soap, that stuff dries me out like a lizard. Its probably the worse store bought soap I've ever used.

It didn't really cure, I used it within about 24 hr. I red and heard that once it doesn't zap then it's ready for use but that it will get harder and lather more with time. I did not think this would be an issue to use it right away, I was suggested to use 20% SF if i do a 100% coconut, then thought it made sense to do a 45% coconut with 12% SF. Besides how high can SF go? is anything above 20% a nonsense? I used : palm at 33% of the oils, Avocado oil 11%, hemp 6%, jojoba clear 5%. Soap smells like hemp oil, wonder how much this will fade away, maybe I'll see if refined hemp oil would be a nicer smell/ no smell.

Interesting that Dr Bronner dries you out, me and my girlfriend have been using the unscented one in bar or liquid without any drying for several years. Bronner is pricy and I'm just trying to make something similar and even better if I may find out exactly how. I think I red somewhere that Bronner uses 0.005% rosemary essential oil even in the unscented one. I also made a batch of liquid soap with KOH last weekend and I think it turned out pretty great and it is clear (very very slight haze to it but you can read through it easily, may be cause by avocado or hemp i guess). cooked it for over 6 hours and let in in the crock overnight. 78% coconut, 7% avocado, 6.5% Sunflower, 6.2% Hemp, 1.6% jojoba. now I will wait until my skin is not dry before trying it more. it has a 3.3% KOH discount

 

[Susie]

You really don't need to be using bar soap that has not cured. It needs time to complete saponification.

 

[max_ime]

You really don't need to be using bar soap that has not cured. It needs time to complete saponification.

ok, but a lot of people seem to differ opinion, they say it s ok to use right away safely when HP (if no zap=safe) , by safe I guess they mean it will not dry your skin. To me if it drys skin then it is not safe. I also red that saponification is complete after the cook of a HP. And red that after 48hr it's complete for CP too

 

[coffeetime]

Saponification can be completed but the soap still needs 3-4 weeks cure to be nice to your skin. There is a tiny amount of crystal re-alignment or something like that still going on and it makes a big difference in the feel of the soap.

But I agree that 45% CO is way to much. I have a bar that is 30% CO and I find it too cleansing/drying although I have friends that have named it their favourite. Depends on your skin. And Dr. Bronners likely used some sort of coconut derivative, not necessarily pure coconut oil, although I'm not looking at a bottle right now.

 

[max_ime]

Saponification can be completed but the soap still needs 3-4 weeks cure to be nice to your skin. There is a tiny amount of crystal re-alignment or something like that still going on and it makes a big difference in the feel of the soap.

But I agree that 45% CO is way to much. I have a bar that is 30% CO and I find it too cleansing/drying although I have friends that have named it their favourite. Depends on your skin. And Dr. Bronners likely used some sort of coconut derivative, not necessarily pure coconut oil, although I'm not looking at a bottle right now.

I guess the people saying you can use it safely right away are not sensitive?

How much % do you SF or lye discount?
Bronner uses coconut oil (at least it's what's on the bottle), probably is 76 (only my guess)

I used 76 too, and especially the liquid Bronner has to be somewhere are 80% coconut because the 2nd ingredient is KOH and it's not drying to me and to a lot of people, they are selling millions. + I red a liquid soap cannot be super fatted more than 3-4% without going cloudy. So their soap is way higher in coconut and way less super fatted. Perhaps it's the cure that does the job. Interesting what you say about crystal re-alignment that takes 3-4 weeks.