Powders in recipes

[Nawali]

Hi everyone,

I am extremely frustrated by the soap making process and hope someone here can help me. I have some pretty extreme allergies and have decided to start making my own shampoo bars. When I research online though most people only discuss the basic ratios of oils vs lye and the properties of each oil but for a beginner like me theres a lot of other details missing. For example how do I incorporate herbal powders into my shampoo bars? How much powder should be used? How many superfats should you pick? Will saponin filled powders react with the lye or the lather of the oils? Is clay okay to use with oils? What is the difference betwen superfats and fragrances especially when you depend on essential oils to be your fragrances also? Etc etc etc

I have a basic soap recipe with tallow, olive oil, castor oil, and coconut oil with one or two essential oils. I want the most lather I can get and I am utilizing lye with this recipe. Currently all the oils are the same amount but any suggestions to get better results are welcome. Neem is also something id like to add but not sure if itd be an essential oil or regular oil. Id appreciate it if someone could help me figure this out

 

[KiwiMoose]

HI Nawali,

Have you made any soap at all previously? Or will this be your first attempt?
Will be using the cold or hot process method?
Did you realise that there are specialist shampoo bar recipes (that do not use oils and lye) but what you are describing is technically soap-as-shampoo which you may get some heated discussion about on here. Some will give it a big thumbs down due to high alkalinity, and other will say it's great.
Neem is an oil in its own right - not an essential oil.
You should always use a soap calculator to help with calculations.
Read heaps before making as it sounds like you have some information lacking at this stage.

Good luck!

 

[Nawali]

HI Nawali,

Have you made any soap at all previously? Or will this be your first attempt?
Will be using the cold or hot process method?
Did you realise that there are specialist shampoo bar recipes (that do not use oils and lye) but what you are describing is technically soap-as-shampoo which you may get some heated discussion about on here. Some will give it a big thumbs down due to high alkalinity, and other will say it's great.
Neem is an oil in its own right - not an essential oil.
You should always use a soap calculator to help with calculations.
Read heaps before making as it sounds like you have some information lacking at this stage.

Good luck!

Hi I have made some shampoo bars before with these ingredients but the lather was just bleh. Ive read on here how there's a huge debate on whether it's shampoo or soap because of the lye but im assuming that the alkalinity can always be adjusted with other ingredients????

I know you can make shampoo without lye but didn't know you could do it without oils. Im using the cold process. I've tried to use those calculators but honestly I don't know how to adjust recipes on my own which makes them difficult to use

 

[AliOop]

Hi I have made some shampoo bars before with these ingredients but the lather was just bleh. Ive read on here how there's a huge debate on whether it's shampoo or soap because of the lye but im assuming that the alkalinity can always be adjusted with other ingredients????

You really cannot adjust the alkalinity of true soap very much at all. Below 9 pH, it breaks down into fatty acids and is no longer soap - just an oily mess. You can read more about that here.

In contrasts, the pH of syndets can be adjusted fairly easily to be in a range of 5-7, which is much less drying to skin and hair. However, some people have bad reactions to syndets.

In the end, you will have to figure out which product will best suit your needs. If you want to use soap as shampoo, plenty of folks here have shared their "hair soap" recipes in various threads. You can also find some good threads about syndet shampoo bars, too. Good luck, and enjoy the learning journey!

 

[Mobjack Bay]

To address your question about herbal powders, you have options. The easiest way is to stick blend the powder into the oils before you add the lye solution, but keep in mind that all but the finest powders may be scratchy on your skin. The second way would be to make an infused oil. See this post on the Lovely Greens website for more information on making an oil infusion. You can also make tea with an herb and use the tea water in place of the water in the recipe.

There are numerous tutorials on YT on how to use a soap c@lculator, for example, this one by Elly’s Everyday Soap Making. I recommend that you watch the entire video. The discussion of the SoapCalc c@lculator begins at around the 10 minute mark.

 

[Cindy D.]

I started making shampoo soap bars because every shampoo I tried made me itch or caused asthma. Try making small batches, till you find one you like.

Are you able to use castor oil, you can find organic castor oil, it helps with the bubbles.

I never liked herbs in my bars, they got stuck in my hair. Infusing the herbs worked better for me.
I prefer a milder cleansing bar (11 or less) that is high in conditioning.