Lowest coconut% for salt bar?

[Obsidian]

What do you all think would be the acceptable lowest amount of coconut oil for a salt bar containing 30% salt?

I normally use 80% coconut but would like to see if a lower % will perform just as well. Was thinking about trying 50% or even 40%, not sure what kind of SF to use either.

 

[shunt2011]

I would try 50%. Should still be a decent soap I would think.i would do a 10-15 sf.

 

[Obsidian]

That's about what I was thinking, now to figure out the other 50%.
I don't want to use all liquid and I don't like lard/butters in salt bars. That leaves me with gv shortening or palm.

 

[lenarenee]

Just a shot in the dark, castor and up to 15 % almond? Some think almond makes bubbles.

 

[toxikon]

The oils that produce the biggest, fluffiest lather would be coconut, babassu, PKO and palm. You could try something like 50% CO, 25% Palm, 20% Avocado/Sweet Almond, 5% Castor with a 10% SF. Sounds like a fun experiment.

 

[artemis]

I sort of accidentally made a salt bar with 0% coconut. I made my no coconut recipe. My mind was on other things and I decided at the last minute to change it into a salt bar. There are bubbles, butt they are tiny and few. When I gifted them, I labeled them as "a glentler soap with fewer bubbles"! As my husband says, "it's not a mistake, it's a feature!"

 

[Obsidian]

I don't soap much anymore so I don't have a lot of oils to choose from. I came up with this, seems like it should be decent.

http://www.evernote.com/l/ANjQBHKYxs1KfpptsD4Bfv2FhVeE0_tPuMo/

Will be using aloe juice, powdered coconut milk and 30% sea salt.

 

[shunt2011]

I think you should go for it. Looking forward to hearing how it goes.

 

[Obsidian]

I'll probably make it tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[Obsidian]

Just finished making this soap, hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to test a sliver and see how much lather there is. I did have some issues though, never ceases to amaze me how even experienced soaper do silly things.

I decided at the last second, I wanted scent so I grabbed the first FO that sounded nice. Gardenia FO that is a accelerator. I never have issues with salt soap hitting trace fast, in fact its generally slow moving for me so using a accelerating FO wasn't a concern. Of course I completely forgot I had 20% palm in the batch, palm and I don't get along.

Added FO to the oils just in case and this time it was a good choice. It started to accele almost immediately, quickly got the salt stirred in a glopped in the mold.
Really glad I decided to use a loaf mold, I would have never got it in individual molds. By the time I got it poured, it was too thick to tamp down, I had to smoosh it with a spoon and smooth it out best I could.

Ok, so I just went and checked on it and it was starting to volcano out of the mold. Had to completely stir it down, it got so hot its basically HP in the mold. Really interesting, seems that FO is also a heater. Soap is gonna be a bit rustic lol.

 

[cmzaha]

The oils that produce the biggest, fluffiest lather would be coconut, babassu, PKO and palm. You could try something like 50% CO, 25% Palm, 20% Avocado/Sweet Almond, 5% Castor with a 10% SF. Sounds like a fun experiment.

Hate to dispute what you say about palm, but Palm does not add bubbles. Try making a 100% palm soap and you will find it to be very hard, a bit waxy and almost 0 bubbles. PKO is from the palm but the kernel not the fruit. Palm is really a bubble killer in salt bars, I tried it to help the high solubility in salt bars but all I accomplished was very very slight lather using the palm at only 10%

 

[Obsidian]

What % of salt did you use with the palm carolyn? I just cut my batch and it was nice & smooth. Still very hot but one of the best salt bar cuts I've had.
Really hope the palm doesn't cut the lather too much. I'd really like this lower coconut to work.

 

[cmzaha]

What % of salt did you use with the palm carolyn? I just cut my batch and it was nice & smooth. Still very hot but one of the best salt bar cuts I've had.
Really hope the palm doesn't cut the lather too much. I'd really like this lower coconut to work.

100%. I seldom use less. It should be fine with the lower salt and make a longer lasting salt bar

 

[Obsidian]

It seems fine. Since it completely gelled, I went ahead and shaved off a small piece and tried it out. Lathers just fine, here's hoping it will create large fluffy lather like a regular salt bar.
I'd still like to find something besides palm, maybe a soft butter like mango would work?

 

[Seawolfe]

Mango or maybe a bit of shea? What about lard? I've been curious about combining my love of salt bars and lard soap.

 

[Arimara]

It seems fine. Since it completely gelled, I went ahead and shaved off a small piece and tried it out. Lathers just fine, here's hoping it will create large fluffy lather like a regular salt bar.
I'd still like to find something besides palm, maybe a soft butter like mango would work?

Mango butter is nice but I am not sure what would happen if you used it in a salt bar like yours. I have a soap with 10% PKO and 15% mango butter that lathers quite nicely. It does have a lower superfat however.

 

[Obsidian]

Mango or maybe a bit of shea? What about lard? I've been curious about combining my love of salt bars and lard soap.

I only used lard once in a salt bar at 20% and I didn't care for it much. I can't remember why exactly, its been awhile since I made it. It did significantly increase the longevity.
I might have a bar or two left, I'll have to check. Maybe at a lower amount it would still be ok.

I tried shea once too, it really reduced the lather. Both were made with 100% salt though and I've since lowered the salt amount. That really helps increase lather so I suppose some experiments are in order.

 

[toxikon]

Hate to dispute what you say about palm, but Palm does not add bubbles. Try making a 100% palm soap and you will find it to be very hard, a bit waxy and almost 0 bubbles. PKO is from the palm but the kernel not the fruit. Palm is really a bubble killer in salt bars, I tried it to help the high solubility in salt bars but all I accomplished was very very slight lather using the palm at only 10%

No worries, it's all such a learning process. I had just consulted one of my favourite soaping references here: http://www.lovinsoap.com/oils-chart/

And saw that they listed Palm as a secondary oil for "Abundant fleeting lather" in the "Fatty Acid Properties in Soap" table. But now that I look closer, it seems weird that it's in there, but Tallow isn't - since Tallow is higher in Myristic Acid. Ah well!