How do you know your soap is good?

[claryza]

I have been soaping for few months now. Trying different recipes and additives. I wonder how will we know our soap is good? I dont normally use bar soaps, so I cant really differentiate the difference of supermarket's bar soaps and homemade soaps. I do feel supermarket liquid soap feels slippery even after washing and homemade soap do not. Is this a good thing? I was planning to give some to my friends and relatives but afraid that my soap is not good enough..
Pls share some thoughts

 

[Susie]

I need to know your recipe(s) and process, as well as how long a cure you use,

 

[Dorymae]

If your soap has cured for a minimum of 4 weeks and you want to know if it is good--- first get rid of your body wash, shower gel and all commercial soap. You don't need to throw them out, simply remove them from the shower. Replace them with your soap. Now for the next few weeks use your soap.

The first few showers you may not notice any difference. Make a note of it. After each shower makes some notes about the lather, feel, etc. most importantly note how your skin feels. Do you really feel like putting on lotion? Does it make your skin feel tight? Maybe you notice that your legs feel smoother or are easier to shave. All of these things are attributes of your soap and will help you decide if it is good, fair or wonderful. It will also help you to know how to tweak your recipe to achieve what you want.

 

[DeeAnna]

Commercial "soaps" often have non-soap detergents in them. Lye soap reacts with hard water minerals to make sticky soap scum, but non-soap detergents don't react with these minerals. Your skin will feel sticky and even itchy with lye soap and hard water, but won't feel as much that way with non-soap detergents. So your water has a great deal of influence on how your soaps will feel.

Do your soaps lather nicely at the sink (bare skin) and in the shower (bath pouf or washcloth)?
If not, why? Do they take a long time to develop lather? Or do they not make the amount and type of lather you like?
Are your bar soaps physically hard enough? Do they last long enough? Do they look good?
Do your bar soaps turn rancid -- do they smell "off", get orange spots, or turn orange all over?
Does your soap leave your skin feeling dry and "tight" ... or clean and refreshed ... or greasy or sticky?

 

[Seawolfe]

Do you find yourself washing your hands and face more? Or taking extra baths and showers just cause you love your soap and how it smells and makes your skin feel?

 

[Luv2Soap]

These are all awesome suggestions!! I'd add to this is how does the soap scent last after washing/showering as well as how long does the bar of soap hold it's scent. I will probably create a 'diary' for each one of my soaps in order to keep track of what worked and what didn't. I've only made (1) batch so far - 2 weeks ago. Thanks for all these great suggestions!

 

[Susie]

I would strongly suggest you create a binder or computer file where you file each recipe, including additives and scents used. Record all notes on each recipe. That way, once you have made 100 or so batches, they don't all get confused in your mind. Best thing I ever did. I am in process of transferring my printed recipes to a computer file for easier access(and less bulk). Definitely include a "Failures" section. I learn far more from those than the rest. And keeping them reminds me WHY I should not do this or that.

 

[claryza]

Thank you all so much for the suggestions. Yes I have been keeping track of my soaps that I did. Probably need to be more specific. I do cure my soaps at least 4weeks before using. I think they don't dry me up, but I definitely still need to use lotion because my skin is so dry. I think my soaps do clean up nicely that I dont feel sticky or greasy afterwards. So many thanks guys for the reply

 

[Dahila]

I used a lot of lotion with commercial soaps, they just simply irritated my skin. Now for over two years I am using my soaps and yesterday I had not put the lotion at all. I am fine my legs are not itchy )
You will know that soap is good, your skin will tell you)

 

[Susie]

I have to add that scent from soap is really not intended to last on the skin very long. It is, after all, a wash off product. If you want lasting scent on your skin, you probably would do best by making some lotion or body butter with the same scent.

 

[DeeAnna]

To be honest, I don't expect my soap to "moisturize" my skin. What I do expect is that it will leave my skin feeling pleasantly neutral -- not irritated/tight and not sticky/greasy. If my skin is simply dry due to the low humidity of a long Iowa winter, I don't blame my soap for that or expect it to fix my dry skin. I just use a lotion after my shower.

I also do not expect the fragrance from my soap to last long after showering, so that's not really an aspect of my soap that I'd use to evaluate how good it is. Soap is a wash off product, so IMO I expect its scent to last just long enough that dear hubby might get a small whiff as he kisses me goodbye in the morning. I'm going to use a lotion or perfume product if I want a longer lasting, stronger scent.

 

[misfities]

I'm new too and I, too, have asked myself this question. What I've done is bought three other homemade soaps. I keep those and mine and the shower (now that mine has finished curing). I really pay attention to the minutia of all four soaps. How it feels to the skin. How long it lasts. The scent. How I 'feel' overall about the soap. I also pay attention to how they stick to the tile after the gradually dry throughout the day.

This will give you 'faith' in your product. The only way to know if its any good is to bring it to market. If people buy it, it is good. If people do not buy it, do not quit your day job. The truth is in the market. Capitalism at its best!

 

[Chefmom]

From the first moment I used my very first bar of homemade soap I noticed a difference in the soap, and in my skin after using it. I was sold from that moment on. I never went back to liquid soap gel or any other commercially made bar soap again. That was maybe 16 years ago....