I promised I'd ask... sawdust in soap?

[toxikon]

My friend is into woodworking and he also likes coming over to make his own batch of soap with me once or twice a year.

I've been telling him about some fun additives we can try for his next batch. He loves all things breakfast, and I thought it would be fun to do a "breakfast bar". He picked out "Cardamom Brown Sugar" as his FO, and he wants to add sugar/maple syrup and a tempered egg. Maybe we'll even throw some bacon grease into the recipe, who knows. He loves experimenting.

Anyway. He wanted me to ask the lovely folks here about adding SAWDUST as an exfoliant additive to soap. I think he wants to do a wood-themed bar for his next batch.

I searched the forum and obviously couldn't find any information on this... my first thought is that it would make a very crumbly bar because the sawdust would absorb water content. I don't think it would work.

But I told him I'd ask!

 

[SaltedFig]

You've got some lateral thinker friends!

My first reaction is that it would be too scratchy (thinking splinters). But then I stopped and thought some more (being a liker of strange additives for soap play :mrgreen.

I've dissolved bamboo in soap (that leaves only tiny fibres). Harder woods don't seem to dissolve as obviously, but do a little bit.

The little bits I've tried have added a nice feel to the soap and it makes logical sense to me that wood cellulose & proteins would be the reason for that. I have wood products on my list to keep trying, but not urgently.

Sawdust - I think that some would dissolve, but the remaining bits would (wood?) be gritty and uncomfortable. Then it gets down to particle size.

Basically, try it and see! If the wood is untreated (and especially if it's suitable for making food-prep boards), I can't see that you can do too much harm to yourselves (just don't use anything toxic ... there's woods that CAN kill you, and quite a few that are downright irritating, so your friend will need to know precisely what sawdust he is using).

 

[dixiedragon]

I think if you could get it very very fine, it might be okay. My mom is a wood turner and this got me thinking! Maybe a few curls of wood on top of a bar - pretty but easily picked off.

 

[toxikon]

You've got some lateral thinker friends!

My first reaction is that it would be too scratchy (thinking splinters). But then I stopped and thought some more (being a liker of strange additives for soap play :mrgreen.

I've dissolved bamboo in soap (that leaves only tiny fibres). Harder woods don't seem to dissolve as obviously, but do a little bit.

The little bits I've tried have added a nice feel to the soap and it makes logical sense to me that wood cellulose & proteins would be the reason for that. I have wood products on my list to keep trying, but not urgently.

Sawdust - I think that some would dissolve, but the remaining bits would (wood?) be gritty and uncomfortable. Then it gets down to particle size.

Basically, try it and see! If the wood is untreated (and especially if it's suitable for making food-prep boards), I can't see that you can do too much harm to yourselves (just don't use anything toxic ... there's woods that CAN kill you, and quite a few that are downright irritating, so your friend will need to know precisely what sawdust he is using).

Haha thank you for the positive reaction! The bamboo fibers are interesting.

I'll definitely make sure whatever we use is untreated, safe for skin and very fine. As for how much... maybe 1-2 tbsp PPO to see what happens? If we go through with it, I will definitely report back.

 

[SaltedFig]

Try a bit in some lye water ... see what happens, and how much it dissolves. That should tell you what size fibres you will be left with in the soap - then go from there.

A couple of spoons should be noticeable, for sure.

Report, WITH photo's! :mrgreen:

 

[WeaversPort]

You might dissolve some finely ground sawdust in some lye water, and then filter out any big chunks that might irritate the skin.. Similar to what it sounds like people do with silk fiber.

 

[TeresaT]

That sounds like a really cool idea!! My only concern or caution would be clogging the pipes if it can't dissolve. However, others are recommending you mix it with the lye first and filter any solids, so that seems to be a really good solution. I wonder if finely ground cedar savings or cedar saw dust would add anything to the party with some cedar EO. This is interesting. I'm looking forward to your results.

 

[TeresaT]

Try a bit in some lye water ... see what happens, and how much it dissolves. That should tell you what size fibres you will be left with in the soap - then go from there.

A couple of spoons should be noticeable, for sure.

Report, WITH photo's! :mrgreen:

Yes, definitely WITH photos. It didn't happen if there are no photos to prove it!!

 

[cmzaha]

I actually had a man ask me if I sold soap with wood for exfoliating. He had purchased one from someone and loved it.

 

[kchaystack]

I seem to remember DeeAnna talking about disreputable soap makers in the late 19th and early 20th century using sawdust as a cheep filler. Its why soaps with 'glycerin' rivers were so popular back then - only pure soap would do that.

 

[DeeAnna]

Good memory, KC! Yes, all kinds of stuff has been added to soap to "fill" it and make it cheaper.

I'd use sawdust from something like a belt sander so it's very fine particles. I would absolutely not use any sawdust from black walnut and I'd be leery of any exotic wood -- the woods that are least likely to cause any allergic reactions are usually pale colored such as maple, basswood (lime), poplar.

If you are concerned that the wood would absorb too much water, then soak or dampen it with water or other water-based liquid before use. A quick whir with a stick blender should smooth out any damp clumps.

 

[IrishLass]

I found a patent online for sawdust dust soap from 1920-21. From reading the contents of the patent, it seems that sawdust in soap has actually been a 'thing' for years as an exfoliate to help remove grease from the skin, but it grew out of favor because of the problem of the sawdust decaying/decomposing in the soap when exposed to air, rendering the soap useless. The guy who filed the patent wanted to invent a process that would somehow lightly coat the sawdust with paraffin or beeswax or the like before being mixed into the soap. You can read the patent here. https://www.google.com/patents/US1387804 Very interesting!


Edited to add- one thing I would be concerned with in regards to sawdust in soap is getting some in your eye if you washed your face with it.


IrishLass

 

[Susie]

I learn new stuff every day from this forum!

 

[beardguy]

Good memory, KC! Yes, all kinds of stuff has been added to soap to "fill" it and make it cheaper.

I'd use sawdust from something like a belt sander so it's very fine particles. I would absolutely not use any sawdust from black walnut and I'd be leery of any exotic wood -- the woods that are least likely to cause any allergic reactions are usually pale colored such as maple, basswood (lime), poplar.

If you are concerned that the wood would absorb too much water, then soak or dampen it with water or other water-based liquid before use. A quick whir with a stick blender should smooth out any damp clumps.

That's a good idea. Sifting through sawdust from fresh cuttings would also be a way to insure that the large particules did not get into the soap.

If using sawdust from a belt or orbital sander, I would make sure to change the belt or pad and clean out the filters and such as best as possible using compressed air. You don't want laquer or whatever was on the wood that was last sanded get into the soap.

I'm not so sure what the benefit would be compared to using moe conventional exfoliants or additives though (apart from label appeal).

 

[toxikon]

Thanks guys, y'all rock. I had no idea about the history of sawdust in soap! My friend will be pleased!

 

[PaulC]

My friend is into woodworking and he also likes coming over to make his own batch of soap with me once or twice a year.

I've been telling him about some fun additives we can try for his next batch. He loves all things breakfast, and I thought it would be fun to do a "breakfast bar". He picked out "Cardamom Brown Sugar" as his FO, and he wants to add sugar/maple syrup and a tempered egg. Maybe we'll even throw some bacon grease into the recipe, who knows. He loves experimenting.

Anyway. He wanted me to ask the lovely folks here about adding SAWDUST as an exfoliant additive to soap. I think he wants to do a wood-themed bar for his next batch.

I searched the forum and obviously couldn't find any information on this... my first thought is that it would make a very crumbly bar because the sawdust would absorb water content. I don't think it would work.

But I told him I'd ask!

I signed up to the forum just to revive this old thread! Toxicon, did you ever try this out?
I'm not a soap maker, I'm a metalworker by trade and I always have filthy hands and I've been wanting to try my hand at making my own heavy-duty soap. I don't like any of the 'mechanic' style soaps you can buy because while they mostly work well they tend to be citrus degreaser based or have pumice and they're quite rough on the hands when you're using them multiple times a day. The only commercial mechanic's soap I've ever liked is 'Super Soap' (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017P7OEBQ/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20) which I was introduced to when I worked as a bike mechanic. It comes in a tub in a goopy consistency and has a large amount of sawdust in it, not particularly fine sawdust either. Works wonders as a hand cleaner because the sawdust not only exfoliates but it also seems to absorb oils. We used lots of it in a shop with very old plumbing and never had an issue with clogging drains. I'm too cheap to buy the stuff so I've taken to my poor man's alternative which is to grab a handful of sawdust and squirt a good dollop of dish soap on it and rub it in. This works great too but I'd love a nicer soap product.
Anyway, I'm just getting started in this, I've never made soap before and I'm also wondering if anyone knows of/can direct me to a recipe for 'soft soap'. By that, I mean soap with the consistency of goop, not a liquid soap (which I found some recipes for) but like a not-quite-cured soap. I know that's what ya'll are usually looking to avoid so I found plenty of stuff talking about how to troubleshoot it but nothing where a soft, goopy texture is the goal! I just find that it works much better for a mechanic's soap because you can grab as much as you need and get back to work quicker instead of scrubbing and scrubbing with a bar.

 

[Escott752]

I think it's one of those things that if I saw the bar I would think wow! That's really cool but I don't know that I would buy it. I'm sure plenty of other people would though!

 

[soapmaker]

You've got some lateral thinker friends!

My first reaction is that it would be too scratchy (thinking splinters). But then I stopped and thought some more (being a liker of strange additives for soap play :mrgreen.

I've dissolved bamboo in soap (that leaves only tiny fibres). Harder woods don't seem to dissolve as obviously, but do a little bit.

The little bits I've tried have added a nice feel to the soap and it makes logical sense to me that wood cellulose & proteins would be the reason for that. I have wood products on my list to keep trying, but not urgently.

Sawdust - I think that some would dissolve, but the remaining bits would (wood?) be gritty and uncomfortable. Then it gets down to particle size.

Basically, try it and see! If the wood is untreated (and especially if it's suitable for making food-prep boards), I can't see that you can do too much harm to yourselves (just don't use anything toxic ... there's woods that CAN kill you, and quite a few that are downright irritating, so your friend will need to know precisely what sawdust he is using).

Woods that can kill?

 

[BrewerGeorge]

I signed up to the forum just to revive this old thread! Toxicon, did you ever try this out?
I'm not a soap maker, I'm a metalworker by trade and I always have filthy hands and I've been wanting to try my hand at making my own heavy-duty soap. I don't like any of the 'mechanic' style soaps you can buy because while they mostly work well they tend to be citrus degreaser based or have pumice and they're quite rough on the hands when you're using them multiple times a day. The only commercial mechanic's soap I've ever liked is 'Super Soap' (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017P7OEBQ/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20) which I was introduced to when I worked as a bike mechanic. It comes in a tub in a goopy consistency and has a large amount of sawdust in it, not particularly fine sawdust either. Works wonders as a hand cleaner because the sawdust not only exfoliates but it also seems to absorb oils. We used lots of it in a shop with very old plumbing and never had an issue with clogging drains. I'm too cheap to buy the stuff so I've taken to my poor man's alternative which is to grab a handful of sawdust and squirt a good dollop of dish soap on it and rub it in. This works great too but I'd love a nicer soap product.
Anyway, I'm just getting started in this, I've never made soap before and I'm also wondering if anyone knows of/can direct me to a recipe for 'soft soap'. By that, I mean soap with the consistency of goop, not a liquid soap (which I found some recipes for) but like a not-quite-cured soap. I know that's what ya'll are usually looking to avoid so I found plenty of stuff talking about how to troubleshoot it but nothing where a soft, goopy texture is the goal! I just find that it works much better for a mechanic's soap because you can grab as much as you need and get back to work quicker instead of scrubbing and scrubbing with a bar.

Soft soap is relatively easy. All you would need would be a recipe that used KOH instead of NaOH as its lye basis. The struggle would be making something that is both effective as a cleaner for really dirty, greasy hands but also not too harsh.

I think I would tend toward a balanced recipe with maybe only a little elevation of coconut and zero calculated superfat. Make that up as cold-process paste then mix with the sawdust and some polysorbate 80 (which works wonderfully to cut grease).

The main problem for you is that, although none of what I've described is hard, it't not exactly first-time-beginner stuff either.

 

[soapmaker]

Paul C, for a beginner and as a trial, if you could buy a couple of handcrafted soap bars, grate them up the way people do for laundry gel, add your water and let it sit overnight till it gets like jelly, then mix in your sawdust, it might work. It's a beginner's project anyway. There are laundry soap posts on this forum or just google homemade laundry gel. I would not use Fels Naptha soap, though, the way some laundry soap recipes say.