Recipe feedback!

[CamillaC]

Hello everyone! I'm new to soap making, I've done some research and came up with this recipe. I’ve tried it a few times and I really like it, but I would love to get your feedback! Is there anything you would change?

40 % olive oil
25 % coconut oil
15 % shea butter
15 % cocoa butter
5 % castor oil

I want to make a vegan and palm free soap.

Thanks!

 

[Dean]

Why change the recipe if you like it as-is?

 

[IrishLass]

I'd make it just as it is, speaking only for myself. The resulting fatty acid profile is pretty darn close enough to what it would be if you were to use palm instead of the butters. Sure, the individual palmitic and stearic percentages in the fatty acid profile are different in comparison to a batch made with palm, but in my book I consider those 2 fatty acids to produce such the same kind of effect in soap that as long as their combined total is pretty comparable to what their total would be in a palm batch (and they are), you won't notice a difference. I say go for it!


IrishLass

 

[dixiedragon]

Are you just looking for a new recipe to try? Or is there something about the soap you'd like to change or improve? Off the top of my head, try replacing half of the olive with HO sunflower or rice bran. Just to see if you like it.

 

[earlene]

What super fat do you normally use with that recipe?

I found that soaps higher in CO need a higher SF than the lye calculators use for their default. But that's based on my own skin's reaction to high CO soaps. For me when I used 19% CO, I needed an 11% SF for my skin to be happy with the soap. But also my oils were different as well.

I concur dixiedragon's suggestion of replacing half the OO with RBO, as some of my favorite recipes have about 25% RBO in them.

What is it you like about the soap you have already made with this recipe? And how old is it - how long cured at time of using it? Example: What I like about my favorite recipes are the luxurious feeling while using it on my skin; I like that there is no dryness or flakiness or roughness of my skin on my legs or arms (or elsewhere) for the rest of the day after using it; I like that I don't need to use skin lotion after using them; I like how well nourished my skin feels for a long time after washing. This is usually not the case if the soap is too young, though, so cure time does matter.

 

[CamillaC]

Thank you so much for your replies!
I'm not looking to change my recipe, I was just curious about your opinions! Even though I like this recipe there are always room for improvements.
I use a super fat of 5%. I will make a batch with a higher SF and see if I like it!
I start using my soaps after 4 weeks. I will let a few of them cure longer and see if it makes any difference!
Thanks again!

 

[lsg]

A soap high in olive oil would probably be better with a longer cure. My suggestion is to think about what you want in a bar of soap and then research what each oil or fat contributes to the soap.

 

[Dean]

I'd drop the CO by at least 5% to get the lauric+myristic in the 10-15% range and increase your butters to get the stearic+palmitic in the 30-35% range. That will give you a milder (w/o increasing SF), harder and more insoluble bar.

Otherwise its a good recipe.

 

[redhead1226]

Hello everyone! I'm new to soap making, I've done some research and came up with this recipe. I’ve tried it a few times and I really like it, but I would love to get your feedback! Is there anything you would change?

40 % olive oil
25 % coconut oil
15 % shea butter
15 % cocoa butter
5 % castor oil

I want to make a vegan and palm free soap.

Thanks!

I agree with the changes the others suggested. However, you are the only one that can decide if you like it. It is the way we learn. That recipe will change many many times over your soaping journey. Every time I think I love a formula I create, there is another one later down the road that will steal my heart. When I look back at recipes I made a decade ago
( which I no longer make ) I realize how much I have learned and grown. Good luck!