Oatmeal in soap

[engblom]

I have been reading the latest time about benefits of having oatmeal in soap and I have been checking up a few recipes with oatmeal. However, I have a few question I have not managed to find the answers to:

1. Has anyone been experiencing some rottening or mold growth because of oatmeal in the long run?

2. Is there any kind of soap you would never add oatmeal because of risk of rottening or mold growth?

Different soap will dry slower, have more stuff not becoming soap. Because of this I am a little bit afraid of jumping into using oatmeal without a bit more knowledge.

 

[Tienne]

I grind up oats in a coffee grinder and mix some of it in really well with my oiis before adding the lye. I have never had any issues with it going bad in any recipes. You can also add it at trace if you prefer. Adding oats might cause your batch to heat up a little, so watch for overheating after molding, but other than that, I don't think there's really anything troublesome with using oats that you need to look out for. Go ahead and jump into it! Oats are a very forgiving additive and you'll love the smooth feel it adds to your soap.

 

[Ruthie]

I do not see how the oats could mold unless you cooked them before adding to your soap. roblem: Even for making oat milk, they are not cooked. Like Tienne, I grind mine in the coffee grinder. I do add mine at trace.

 

[roseb]

I've been using colloidal oatmeal lately which is like a powder if you are afraid of having the bigger chunks hanging around in the soap. You can buy it at any drugstore, its a bath treatment. Walgreens' brand doesn't have any additives besides the powdered oats. But I have an oatmeal bar made by grinding the oatmeal as Tienne and Ruthie have said that is 6 months old and no sign of mold. Go ahead and try it! Honey & oatmeal is my fav soap it feels so good on your skin. As stated before, watch for overheating. I soap at room temp and have not had a problem with overheating using oatmeal. Good luck and let us know how it comes out.

 

[engblom]

Thanks. I was more concern for oatmeal while the soap is in use. Some are having their soap at their summer cottage and will use it infrequently. Add this to the fact that some soaps are slow to dry after usage. Add also to the fact that some are not heating their summer cottages/saunas while they are away. Quite a bit of mosture can build up there making the drying even longer. How about oatmeal soap residues in a sponge? A sponge will stay moisturus for quite a bit of time.

I am on my way to creat a small soap shop and I just want to make sure I do not make mistakes in the beginning that would scare off potential customers and give me a bad reputation from the very beginning.

 

[pamielynn]

What you should do is make the soap and then try to re-create the conditions you are nervous about. Then see what happens.

 

[lizflowers42]

I use my coffee grinder to make oat flour, and blend really well with the stick blender in my oil before adding the lye water. I add 1tsp of this flour per pound of oil. It has not gone moldy. I think as long as you have it so it can dry between uses, you will be alright!

 

[savonierre]

I use baby oatmeal cereal now. I do have a 5 year old oatmeal soap that is still just fine..( ground the oats in a coffee grinder.)

 

[MzMolly65]

Anyone using oat milk and willing to share their info and experience? I've got a batch of oat milk brewing as I write and wondering about the best ways to use it safely. Not sure if it's handled the same way as water or not.

Anyone adding whole, crushed oats to soap? (rather than ground as I don't have a coffee grinder)
How much per pound of oil and best time to add it?

 

[seven]

Anyone using oat milk and willing to share their info and experience? I've got a batch of oat milk brewing as I write and wondering about the best ways to use it safely. Not sure if it's handled the same way as water or not.

Anyone adding whole, crushed oats to soap? (rather than ground as I don't have a coffee grinder)
How much per pound of oil and best time to add it?

Oil and butter (oilandbutter.blogspot.ca) had a post about oat milk soap once. Maybe you can have a look there, she got pics too.

As far as crushed oats, i like to do mine as fine as possible, becoz:
1. Coarse oats can bring lumps if not mixed well
2. Too harsh for my skin
3. Make disgusting yellow specks as if my soap is sick or dirty

If you have a blender or food processor, you can use it to grind the oats. You can also put it in a ziplock and roll it with a rolling pin or bottle.

I just eyeball mine. If the batter seems pretty thick then that's it. I don't think there's a fixed rule for this, more personal preference.

I dont like to take soaping as an exact science. It's more of a common sense for me. But that's just me..

 

[cmzaha]

Anyone using oat milk and willing to share their info and experience? I've got a batch of oat milk brewing as I write and wondering about the best ways to use it safely. Not sure if it's handled the same way as water or not.

Anyone adding whole, crushed oats to soap? (rather than ground as I don't have a coffee grinder)
How much per pound of oil and best time to add it?

I use cooked oats many times and never had a problem with mold. I mixed the cooked in a blender with another liquid to smooth out the oats and thin out the liquid. I also make an extra scrubby mud soap with whole 1 minute oatmeal in the soap.

 

[boyago]

I've read of people using the cooked oats v. powdered and felt the soap had a nicer silkier feel that was lacking in the powdered method anybody have an opinion on that?

 

[MzMolly65]

I've read of people using the cooked oats v. powdered and felt the soap had a nicer silkier feel that was lacking in the powdered method anybody have an opinion on that?

I've never used the powered stuff but always used to put oatmeal in a sock and run my bath water through it. Gorgeous bath for sure and super soft on the skin so that's why I want to try oat milk in a soap.

 

[dcornett]

I've never used cooked oats, so I wouldn't be able to compare the two. I can say I've used oats for years and never had a problem with them. Like others I grind into a fine powder in my magic bullet.

 

[Lin]

I use oat flour. I think I used too much for the recipe (for what I wanted) but it adds a slight amount of exfoliation feel to the soap. I think next time I might try soaking the oat flour before using it, that sounds interesting and will help get the good skin stuff out from the oats/flour and distributed into the soap. Let us know how oat milk goes!

 

[cmzaha]

I've read of people using the cooked oats v. powdered and felt the soap had a nicer silkier feel that was lacking in the powdered method anybody have an opinion on that?

I put my cooked oats in the blender to make them smoother. It makes a nice reamy soap with the benefits of oatmeal and not at all scratchy.

 

[QueenBeeSoap]

Anyone adding whole, crushed oats to soap? (rather than ground as I don't have a coffee grinder)

I've used oats that I ground coarsely in a coffee grinder so that you could still see the oats in the soap batter, and I found it to be too sharp and scratchy in the finished soap. Next time, I would grind the oats more finely (or use cooked oats). I also sprinkled the top down the middle with whole oats which worked fine - they must just fall off or get worn down as the bar gets used. I haven't had any problems with mould nearly a year later, even with bars stored in the shower for long periods of time.

 

[shunt2011]

I've used oatmeal pulverized in my coffee grinder but never thought to use cooked oats. Gonna have to give it a try. I have used oatmeal in soap for several years and not rotting or other issues with it.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I can buy rather small oats for musli and I just shoved a few tblsp of that in mine! Not sure if it was a good idea, but we'll find out in a couple of weeks

 

[DottieF.]

I've been making various oatmeal soaps for 15 years and never had any issues. I would grind the oats up in a coffee mill and then sift, sift, sift. Now I just use oat flour. Saves a lot of time and bother. I use one cup of oat flour to 12 pounds of oils. My soaps are still hard and last just as long as any others.

The oatmeal really makes a difference to my skin in the winter. No itchy skin.

The only time I've had a problem with oatmeal was when I added oats to the top of the loaf. While the soaps were curing, little beetles found the soap and were feeding on the oats. Yuk.