Question about Colloidal Oatmeal:

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Oboegirl

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Hi,

I'm making a recipe and would like to add colloidal oatmeal. Should I add a percentage of the oils like I would salt? Is there anything I should cut back on or add if I'm using colloidal oatmeal?

thanks,
C
 
I've added collodial in with my oils before adding the lye/water and I've added at trace. Both ways came out the same. Just be sure to stir well when adding at trace to be sure it's blended in and not clumpy.
 
If you have a stick blender it really blends in your oatmeal. But do be careful not all ground oatmeal is the same. Some can make very scratchy soap. Depends on how finely ground your oatmeal is. The only colloidal oatmeal I use is Aveeno, oat flour, or I've even used baby cereal.

No matter how much I ground my own oatmeal it was still scratchy in my soap. Now I mostly use Aveeno.
 
I find 1 tbsp oatmeal ppo is plenty. I wouldn't go higher than that. I buy oat bran and grind it superfine in my Thermomix so it's almost like flour. It still has an exfoliating effect once in the soap; I think the particles swell up.

I would definitely recommend mixing it into say 1/2 cup of soap batter with a spoon, stir all the lumps out and make sure all the oatmeal is covered with soap, then add it back into your soap pot and stick blend through.

That's what works for me.
 
Forgot to answer the original question. I use about 1 tsp pp of oils. I used to use 1 tbs pp but would get cakey soap that crumbles the next day so I learned to cut back.

So for a 3lb batch I would use 1 tbs. For a 1 lb batch I would use 1 tsp.
 
Has anyone tried pre-mixing the oatmeal with some glycerin or a bit of olive oil before adding it to the soap mix? I'm making this soap today and thinking of trying it. I am also going to post this recipe in the recipe forum to get feedback (I hope that's ok with the board rules.)

I'm looking for a morning shower soap that is very moisturizing/ conditioning since our winters here in Wisconsin are very drying! Here is the recipe I've put together so far:

Lemongrass and Mint Morning Soap

Coconut Oil: 25%
Olive Oil: 40%
Shea Butter: 20%
Castor Oil: 7%
Coco Butter: 8%

12% Superfatting

Additives:
20% weight of oils in Celtic Sea Salt
1 TBS colloidal oatmeal
1 tsp lemon zest
 
How did it turn out?

I generally don't like oatmeal in soap (once in a while I'm in the mood for it, and I've a friend who makes the most gorgeous oatmeal soap and I love hers)...
...however I make every single soap with oat milk, which gives all the lovely silkiness of oats without the scratch factor. I take a tea filter (like a big, open-ended tea bag, for folk who like loose tea in pots) and spoon in a bunch and soak it for a half-hour or so in my water. I gently squeeze it out to get the starch in the water, and toss the oats.
I weigh my water afterwards, so I don't lose too much to the discarded oats.
 
How did it turn out?

I generally don't like oatmeal in soap (once in a while I'm in the mood for it, and I've a friend who makes the most gorgeous oatmeal soap and I love hers)...
...however I make every single soap with oat milk, which gives all the lovely silkiness of oats without the scratch factor. I take a tea filter (like a big, open-ended tea bag, for folk who like loose tea in pots) and spoon in a bunch and soak it for a half-hour or so in my water. I gently squeeze it out to get the starch in the water, and toss the oats.
I weigh my water afterwards, so I don't lose too much to the discarded oats.

Thanks for the suggestion. I used Aveno Colloidal Oatmeal so no scratchy feeling. Here is the thread on how it went:
http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=38570

I haven't used it yet, so I can't say about how it feels but it smells fabulous.

C
 
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