More questions about high stearic soap

[SomethingGoodAustin]

Hey there;

This is a followup to a previous question from last week, when I posted the following:

Just a few days ago, I reworked my shaving soap formula to up the stearic acid content. I'm using a high percentage of shea and cocoa butters, along with added stearic, and the number value on Soapcalc is 24 for the entire recipe.

With that high a value, I expected a fast trace... and that's what I got. Within minutes (seconds, maybe?) of adding my lyewater, the oils turned grainy and then very, very thick. I had to add my glycerin and EO's in a hurry (I'd already stickblended my clay into the oils prior to adding the lyewater). I used the blender mostly to stir, since the batter was already thick and I didn't want to burn out the motor. Meanwhile, the batter took on a translucent appearance, almost as though it was going through gel phase in the pot.

Anyhoo, I put the soap into my round PVC mold and let it sit for 24 hours. I took a bit out and attempted to work up a lather with it--nada. Slippery, oily, and made my hands feel tight and dry. I tongue-tested it and got zapped, HARD.

So... how do I troubleshoot this? I don't think I left an oil out. Could I have gotten a false trace? If I did leave out an oil, how do I figure out which one so I can rebatch?

The general verdict on this forum was that I had had a false trace. Well and good, I thought, I'll rebatch--just as soon as I get back from this weekend trip I'm going to take. So the soap sat in the mold for about 4 days.

Today, I took it out of the mold. I was preparing to slice it up for rebatch. I saw perhaps a couple of tiny moist-looking pockets in the first slice, but no puddles of liquid/oil. The soap was soft, but solid all the way through, except for a few air bubbles, which I expected. I tongue-tested it in several slices--no zap, perhaps a bit of a tingle, but more reminiscent of the only time I got my mouth washed out with Ivory soap. Lather was thin with handwashing, but creamy with a shaving brush (although it took about a 30-Mississippi count to get going). Right now, my hands feel a little dry, but I think that might be a Ph level thing--I've had other soaps become much gentler after a few weeks cure.

So... What happened? Has anyone else had this experience? Should I just be happy that I dodged a bullet and didn't have to rebatch--or should I rebatch anyway, just to be on the safe side?

Thoughts?

 

[SomethingGoodAustin]

Oh, and another aspect that might have influenced this whole process is that in addition to increasing my stearic from 20 to 24 (as per soapcalc), I increased my superfat from 5% to 8-10% (probably closer to 10, but it's hard to tell with the scale I'm using).

Another question: I read in a previous shaving soap thread that some soapers reduce their bubbles to single digits. I am very curious as to how in the world one does that, and why? Don't you need bubbles for lather?

Just tested the soap on my legs--very nice. May try again with a higher superfat (15, maybe?)and honey or sugar--normally I add that at light trace, but the process went a bit haywire this time around.

 

[IrishLass]

It sounds like it came out perfectly okay in spite of the pseudo-trace. If it were me, I wouldn't rebatch it. I would just leave it alone to cure for the next 4 to 6 weeks so it can mature into the hardest and mlldest it can be.

I read in a previous shaving soap thread that some soapers reduce their bubbles to single digits. I am very curious as to how in the world one does that, and why? Don't you need bubbles for lather?

Speaking only for myself, I like to keep my bubbly lather quotient on the low side so that things are highly lopsided in favor of my creamy lather quotient. On SoapCalc, the number for my bubbly lather is 28 and my creamy lather number is at 52. I favor creamy over bubbly because it works well with the kind of shaving soap I make- a men's shaving soap that whips up into a long-lasting, creamy foam when used with a shaving brush. My older shaving formula had a 28 bubbly and a 58 creamy, but hubby and another tester actually preferred my newer formula with the narrower creamy to bubbly ratio because they didn't have to work as hard at first to get the lather up and going. The lather from the newer formula is still just as long-lasting and whips up just as creamy and foamy as my old one, only with less effort.

IrishLass

 

[SomethingGoodAustin]

Hmm... This last batch, the bubbles were at 25 and the creamy factor was at 60, and I did notice that it took a bit of time/effort to work up a lather. I dropped my coconut oil waaay down, to about 2%--perhaps I'll bump it back up a bit.

Do you use palm kernel at all? Also, is there a recommended superfat percentage for shaving soap?