Newbie - need help

[QueenG]

Hi everyone!

I have started making soap, though I am struggling to create a good recipe, especially without palm oil. Yesterday I made a soap with 95% olive oil and 5% castor oil with a 20% water discount. It turned out okay, though it got hard super fast. I thought it would need at least 2 days in the mold. After 24h it was already so hard, that it crumbled when cutting. I then put it in the oven and tried again, which worked a charm.

I‘m trying to use up some of the oils I have. What do you think of this recipe? What should I change?
5% jojoba oil
5% castor oil
20% olive oil
10% canola oil
30% coconut oil
10% shea butter
10% cocoa butter
10% wheat germ oil

With 6% superfat

Would I need grapefruit seed extract with the recipe? I also thought I could leave out the canola oil (-> 30% olive oil) and maybe reduce the cocoa butter to 5% and increase shea to 15%...

 

[shunt2011]

Hello and welcome!!! Be sure to pop over to the introduction forum and tell us a bit about yourself.

Your recipe may be okay in a small batch due to short shelf life oils like canola unless it's HO and wheat germ. More prone to DOS and I don't think GSE is going to help. I also have never used jojoba in soap so can't speak to that. I use it in leave on products due to cost. I would also lower your Coconut to 20%-25%. Some can use it at a higher rate, I just prefer it lower. Some don't exceed 10-15%.

Everyone's preference is different. I say make a small batch and see if you like it?

 

[QueenG]

Hello and welcome!!! Be sure to pop over to the introduction forum and tell us a bit about yourself.

Your recipe may be okay in a small batch due to short shelf life oils like canola unless it's HO and wheat germ. More prone to DOS and I don't think GSE is going to help. I also have never used jojoba in soap so can't speak to that. I use it in leave on products due to cost. I would also lower your Coconut to 20%-25%. Some can use it at a higher rate, I just prefer it lower. Some don't exceed 10-15%.

Everyone's preference is different. I say make a small batch and see if you like it?

Thanks!
What dpes HO, DOS and GSE mean?

 

[shunt2011]

This may help you.....

https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/the-acronym-and-abbreviation-definition-thread.51841/

High Oleic, Dreaded Orange Spots (Rancidity), Grapefruit Seed Extract

 

[Dawni]

Not shunt, but HO means high oleic, DOS means dreaded orange spots (info that covers both here) and GSE probably means grapefruit seed extract..

My usual recipes have both shea and cocoa at 10-15% each and sometimes even more when I'm not using lard (really hardens a bar). The butters, and some waxes like soy wax are what will make your soap last longer, so the less you use the less it'll last and won't be as hard if you use more. The down side is, the more you use, the longer than usual you'll have to cure it coz it won't lather good initially. I don't use palm oil either.

I also don't use expensive oils in my soap due to cost. I also don't use any oils, other than castor, at less than 10% but I guess as a filler it's ok. Of course, that's your call, and you'll have to see if it makes a difference to your skin once you do multiple tests.

I actually like the lather of canola, more than olive oil, but it is prone to DOS. Most don't recommend more than 15%. For personal use, unless you're keeping your soap hidden for ages, I say go for whatever amount you want and again, see if you like it. I've used canola up to 70% (or was it 75% lol) just to see. That soap is about a year old now and it does have tiny orange spots.

Lastly, I'm one of those who doesn't use coconut more than 20%. Actually I use more like 10-18% and superfat low. At whatever amount, it'll still clean anyways.

 

[QueenG]

Not cmzaha, but HO means high oleic, DOS means dreaded orange spots (info that covers both here) and GSE probably means grapefruit seed extract..

My usual recipes have both shea and cocoa at 10-15% each and sometimes even more when I'm not using lard (really hardens a bar). The butters, and some waxes like soy wax are what will make your soap last longer, so the less you use the less it'll last and won't be as hard if you use more. The down side is, the more you use, the longer than usual you'll have to cure it coz it won't lather good initially. I don't use palm oil either.

I also don't use expensive oils in my soap due to cost. I also don't use any oils, other than castor, at less than 10% but I guess as a filler it's ok. Of course, that's your call, and you'll have to see if it makes a difference to your skin once you do multiple tests.

I actually like the lather of canola, more than olive oil, but it is prone to DOS. Most don't recommend more than 15%. For personal use, unless you're keeping your soap hidden for ages, I say go for whatever amount you want and again, see if you like it. I've used canola up to 70% (or was it 75% lol) just to see. That soap is about a year old now and it does have tiny orange spots.

Lastly, I'm one of those who doesn't use coconut more than 20%. Actually I use more like 10-18% and superfat low. At whatever amount, it'll still clean anyways.

Thank you so much, this helped a lot! I‘m finding it really hard to substitute the palm oil which is basically in every recipe. I would love to do a simple one with just a few ingredients. Do you have a good recipe with some of the oils I listed above?
And another question - when i add fragrance oil, do i need to add it in the lye calculator? I never know how mu h FO to add in, there are no guidelines for the ones i currently use..

 

[Dawni]

You're welcome
If you do a search there's tons of info in this forum, covering all kinds of stuff, by people who are much more experienced than I am. For the FO your answer will probably be in the fragrance oil section.

Honestly, none of my vegan soaps are as hard as my regular ones with lard and I have no access to palm oil. I don't make too many of em coz it seems like a waste of fats, and those butters aren't cheap here. Soy wax is s good alternative - there's one or two threads that extensively cover it.

As for your recipe... Stingy me would do this if you want it simpler.
5% castor oil
25% olive oil
20% canola oil
20% coconut oil
15% shea butter
15% cocoa butter
Or take off canola and add that to the olive.
I'd cure this longer than the usual 4-6wks

But yknow what.. Try your recipe in a small batch. If you end up liking it, and costs don't matter much, why not? Just keep an eye on it for DOS so next time you'll know..