Oils suitable for swirls and designs

[musmar.firas]

Hello
what I understand is that hard oils are (like coco butters, Shea butters, Palm and coconut) trace faster which make it more difficult to make CP soap with swirls and designs.
can you please guide us if I want make soap with swirls and designs that doesn't have additives and FO:
- what are the best combination of oils
- should I decrease Lye Concentration less than 28%?
- what is the best temperature degree for Oils and Lye?

 

[TheGecko]

what I understand is that hard oils are (like coco butters, Shea butters, Palm and coconut) trace faster which make it more difficult to make CP soap with swirls and designs.

I use all four of the above at a total of 60% and have no issues. Critical to make fancy swirls is only blending your oils/lye to emulsion, not to trace.

can you please guide us if I want make soap with swirls and designs that doesn't have additives and FO:
- what are the best combination of oils

Technically you have to 'add' colorants is you want to do swirls and designs...unless you are doing a Ghost Swirl (that is a difference in Lye Concentration)

- should I decrease Lye Concentration less than 28%?

33% - 35% Lye Concentration works. More water can lead to overheating and ash.

- what is the best temperature degree for Oils and Lye?

110F is a good temperature for beginner soap makers, but honestly, the best temperature is depends on your recipe.

I would like to express some concern that your avatar implies that you are selling soap, yet your questions indicate that you are a beginner soap maker. I highly recommend that you get at least a year's experience which includes developing a quality recipe that you have made hundreds of bars of soap with, that said soap has been cured for a minimum of six weeks to six months, and that it has been tested at various times during the curing process. Folks don't just buy one bar of soap at a time, they will buy at least two up to a dozen and as such, it can be at least a month or more before they use all their soap. It would reflect very badly if your bar easily melted, or didn't hold the scent or became rancid.

Learn to walk before you start running. Make small test batches. Start with a plain soap. Then try a single colorant. Then add a well-behaving scent. Get to know your recipe.

 

[Rsapienza]

I agree with TheGecko that blending to emulsion is key. Bring to trace while stirring in colorant and/or fragrance. What do you plan to use for your colorant? I usually soap at a 38% lye concentration, have a high percentage of hard oils, use FO and/or EO's and colorants, and I am always able to do some kind of design/swirl. I soap anywhere between 90-110 degrees F. There is definitely a learning curve. Many batches will not come out the way you expect. You learn to do what works for you. You want a balanced recipe before perfecting swirl techniques, IMO. There will be trial and error.
Lard is a very slow moving fat.

 

[musmar.firas]

Thanks for the reply.
i was not happy of the pinky one when pouring it since it start to thicken fast, the result was acceptable.
this is the results