Lotion Bars

[elinapink228]

Thank you! It was too soft which means I need more beeswax. Everything else felt great though.

 

[SoapDaddy70]

those molds are always hit or miss for me. no matter what my recipe is I have to leave it in the mold for 4-5 days or those little nubs break off. if you are just starting out making soap you are better off just using a regular loaf/rectangular mold so you don’t get frustrated with the results.

 

[ResolvableOwl]

It was too soft which means I need more beeswax.

Not so sure. Well, obviously it was too soft, but there are many more ways to improve hardness than beeswax. More often than not, it's not increasing a hard ingredient, but decreasing the addition of a soft(ening) ingredient (or process step), that might help.
Without knowing the details of your recipe and process, here are some guesses: CPOP, increase lye concentration, replace very soft oils with harder ones (canola, HL sunflower/safflower → avocado, rice bran oil; lard, shea butter → cocoa butter, soy wax). Avoid certain fragrances.

 

[elinapink228]

These are actually lotion bars.

 

[ResolvableOwl]

Ohh, I just realised that this thread is the follow-up of your Newbie thread.

 

[AliOop]

You might try putting them in the freezer for 30 minutes, then set them on the counter for five minutes before unmolding them. That helps everything firm up and release more cleanly from the mold.

 

[TheGecko]

Thank you! It was too soft which means I need more beeswax. Everything else felt great though.

Not necessarily. Much is going to depend on how long they were in the mold and what the temp was when you went to unmold.

 

[elinapink228]

Ok. I left it in the freezer for an hour and then left it on the counter for another hour. So, I will try the freezer for 30 min and then how long should I leave it out for before un-molding?

Ok. I left it in the freezer for an hour and then left it on the counter for another hour. So, I will try the freezer for 30 min and then how long should I leave it out for before un-molding?

I meant to say I left it in the fridge (not freezer) for 1 hour.

My recipe
28 grams of mango butter
23 grams of beeswax
2 tablespoons of sweet almond oil
1.5 tablespoons of jojoba oil.

 

[TheGecko]

My recipe
28 grams of mango butter
23 grams of beeswax
2 tablespoons of sweet almond oil
1.5 tablespoons of jojoba oil.

It's really not a good idea to mix measurements like this, especially since even small amounts of oils have weight in grams. Because it's too early to convert by hand, I ran your recipe through SM3 to get percentages:

28.49% Mango Butter
23.41% Beeswax
27.45% Sweet Almond Oil
20.65% Jojoba Oil

Technically Jojoba Oil isn't an 'oil', it's a wax, but it's not a Hard Oil/wax. So what you have here is a recipe that is almost 50/50 Hard/Soft Oil so while freezing or refrigerating and the immediately unmolding solves the unmolding problem. Once your bars come to room temp they are going to be soft.

Almost every Lotion Bar recipe I have seen is approximately 85% Butter/Wax/Hard Oils with the other 15% being a Soft Oil...like SAO, Avocado, Jojoba, Vitamin E, etc along with a starch like Arrowroot or Tapioca and FO/EO.

Sure, you can add more beeswax to make your bar harder, but it's not going to make for a very good Massage Bar 'cuz the wax is just going to sit on top of the skin and create a barrier between your butters and oils. I would go with something like:

20% Beeswax
25% Mango Butter
25% Shea Butter
20% Coconut Oil
5% Sweet Almond Oil
5% Jojoba Oil

 

[AliOop]

I meant to say I left it in the fridge (not freezer) for 1 hour.

Typically you only need 5 minutes on the counter after you remove it from the freezer. What you want is for some slight condensation to form, which helps the bars release from the mold. You do need to let the bars dry out after that.

 

[ResolvableOwl]

Slight tangent:

while freezing or refrigerating and the immediately unmolding solves the unmolding problem

I have ordered jojoba oil last week and was surprised that it was SOLID??? Jojoba oil freezes at 8°C/46°F, and it's winter…

 

[elinapink228]

It's really not a good idea to mix measurements like this, especially since even small amounts of oils have weight in grams. Because it's too early to convert by hand, I ran your recipe through SM3 to get percentages:

28.49% Mango Butter
23.41% Beeswax
27.45% Sweet Almond Oil
20.65% Jojoba Oil

Technically Jojoba Oil isn't an 'oil', it's a wax, but it's not a Hard Oil/wax. So what you have here is a recipe that is almost 50/50 Hard/Soft Oil so while freezing or refrigerating and the immediately unmolding solves the unmolding problem. Once your bars come to room temp they are going to be soft.

Almost every Lotion Bar recipe I have seen is approximately 85% Butter/Wax/Hard Oils with the other 15% being a Soft Oil...like SAO, Avocado, Jojoba, Vitamin E, etc along with a starch like Arrowroot or Tapioca and FO/EO.

Sure, you can add more beeswax to make your bar harder, but it's not going to make for a very good Massage Bar 'cuz the wax is just going to sit on top of the skin and create a barrier between your butters and oils. I would go with something like:

20% Beeswax
25% Mango Butter
25% Shea Butter
20% Coconut Oil
5% Sweet Almond Oil
5% Jojoba Oil

Thank you. I’m going to give it a try.

 

[Megan]

Slight tangent:

I have ordered jojoba oil last week and was surprised that it was SOLID??? Jojoba oil freezes at 8°C/46°F, and it's winter…

I'm building a soap room and it's unheated at the moment. I noticed that too about the Jojoba. I just want it to be warm again, I can't even get myself to go up there to do anything in this cold. Even my olive and rice bran oils were slushy.

 

[TheGecko]

Thank you. I’m going to give it a try.

You're welcome. I'm also going to recommend that you allow your bars to 'cure'. By accident, I found that letting them sit for a few weeks, makes for a less 'greasy' bar.

 

[elinapink228]

Def didn’t think about letting them cure. I know it’s 4-6 weeks for soap; How long would you cure a lotion bar? Thanks so much.

 

[TheGecko]

Def didn’t think about letting them cure. I know it’s 4-6 weeks for soap; How long would you cure a lotion bar? Thanks so much.

I didn’t either. I just made them and used them. But then my daughter, trying to be helpful, packaged my bars into tins…without labels. So I set them aside for a few weeks and then tried to figure out which was which. The ones I couldn’t positively identify, I set aside to use my myself. First time I used it, I was like…”Huh?”

It’s not perfect…you can’t use one and go right back to knitting, but it does if you’re going to take a bit of a break.

 

[elinapink228]

It's really not a good idea to mix measurements like this, especially since even small amounts of oils have weight in grams. Because it's too early to convert by hand, I ran your recipe through SM3 to get percentages:

28.49% Mango Butter
23.41% Beeswax
27.45% Sweet Almond Oil
20.65% Jojoba Oil

Technically Jojoba Oil isn't an 'oil', it's a wax, but it's not a Hard Oil/wax. So what you have here is a recipe that is almost 50/50 Hard/Soft Oil so while freezing or refrigerating and the immediately unmolding solves the unmolding problem. Once your bars come to room temp they are going to be soft.

Almost every Lotion Bar recipe I have seen is approximately 85% Butter/Wax/Hard Oils with the other 15% being a Soft Oil...like SAO, Avocado, Jojoba, Vitamin E, etc along with a starch like Arrowroot or Tapioca and FO/EO.

Sure, you can add more beeswax to make your bar harder, but it's not going to make for a very good Massage Bar 'cuz the wax is just going to sit on top of the skin and create a barrier between your butters and oils. I would go with something like:

20% Beeswax
25% Mango Butter
25% Shea Butter
20% Coconut Oil
5% Sweet Almond Oil
5% Jojoba Oil

I let it sit all day and night. Un-molded this am and it broke. It’s pretty soft.

 

[TheGecko]

I let it sit all day and night. Un-molded this am and it broke. It’s pretty soft.

Is this your recipe or the recipe I suggest? It's a process you know...hence the reason why it's always best to try small/test batches. I've never worked with Mango Butter myself, you could try increasing it.

 

[elinapink228]

It's really not a good idea to mix measurements like this, especially since even small amounts of oils have weight in grams. Because it's too early to convert by hand, I ran your recipe through SM3 to get percentages:

28.49% Mango Butter
23.41% Beeswax
27.45% Sweet Almond Oil
20.65% Jojoba Oil

Technically Jojoba Oil isn't an 'oil', it's a wax, but it's not a Hard Oil/wax. So what you have here is a recipe that is almost 50/50 Hard/Soft Oil so while freezing or refrigerating and the immediately unmolding solves the unmolding problem. Once your bars come to room temp they are going to be soft.

Almost every Lotion Bar recipe I have seen is approximately 85% Butter/Wax/Hard Oils with the other 15% being a Soft Oil...like SAO, Avocado, Jojoba, Vitamin E, etc along with a starch like Arrowroot or Tapioca and FO/EO.

Sure, you can add more beeswax to make your bar harder, but it's not going to make for a very good Massage Bar 'cuz the wax is just going to sit on top of the skin and create a barrier between your butters and oils. I would go with something like:

20% Beeswax
25% Mango Butter
25% Shea Butter
20% Coconut Oil
5% Sweet Almond Oil
5% Jojoba Oil

Is this your recipe or the recipe I suggest? It's a process you know...hence the reason why it's always best to try small/test batches. I've never worked with Mango Butter myself, you could try increasing it.

Yes. I used the one you suggested. I will remelt it and try to add more mango.
Thankfully I only make one bar or it would be a complete disaster. Lol

 

[TheGecko]

Yes. I used the one you suggested. I will remelt it and try to add more mango.
Thankfully I only make one bar or it would be a complete disaster. Lol

Get rid of wither the SWO or the Jojoba and replace with Mango. Then put in the frig for a couple of hours, take out and let sit for 10 minutes and then unmold.