Recipe for CP that stays fluid longer

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mommycarlson

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I have a recipe for CP soap that I am hoping will stay fluid a little longer than my basic lard soap. I want to do an in the pot swirl, but each time I have tried with my basic lard it ends up so thick that I can't get the job done. Here is my proposed recipe:

Olive Oil - 50%
Coconut Oil - 20%
Palm Oil - 15%
Avocado Oil - 8%
Babassu Oil - 5%
Castor Oil - 2%

I would really like to use grape seed oil as well, I have all these oils and would like to use them up if possible. The only thing I don't know is what to cut back on to add some grape seed oil. Any help and advice would be appreciated!
Thank you
 
The amount of water and your proposed temperatures will play a huge role in the time you have to swirl, as well as how much of a thick trace you reach before you stop mixing. I'm no swirler but I manage to do a spoon swirl with a salt bar! If I can manage that, anything is possible [emoji106]
 
Thanks Craig, I plan to do this will full water (38%). Is it better to soap on the cooler side? I have always wondered when it's okay to stop stick blending and mix in color, how long do I have to mix it? I am thinking of dropping the olive down to 40% and doing 10% grapeseed.
 
I have a recipe for CP soap that I am hoping will stay fluid a little longer than my basic lard soap. I want to do an in the pot swirl, but each time I have tried with my basic lard it ends up so thick that I can't get the job done. Here is my proposed recipe:

Olive Oil - 50%
Coconut Oil - 20%
Palm Oil - 15%
Avocado Oil - 8%
Babassu Oil - 5%
Castor Oil - 2%

I would really like to use grape seed oil as well, I have all these oils and would like to use them up if possible. The only thing I don't know is what to cut back on to add some grape seed oil. Any help and advice would be appreciated!
Thank you

I would swap out the Babassu oil for the grapeseed oil. Babassu can accelerate. I do agree highly that your temps are huge factor on fluis slow recipe. In all the challenges I have done that needed to be fluid for a long period of time, the suggested recipe always had lard in it. So it may be your temps not the lard. That is just my opinion
 
I would drop the Babassu as well and add the grapeseed if you want to. It does have a shorter shelf life. I'd also up your castor as I don't use anything less than 5% but that's my personal choice.

I use a high lard and have no problems with swirling even 6-8 colors. Are you soaping too cool or over blending perhaps. Just remember that using high water can cause glycerine rivers more easily and will also play a part in how long it's going to take to unmold your soap.

You're going to have to play with your recipe and technique till you find what works best for what you want to do with it. ITP swirls are some of the easiest to accomplish. Don't over mix it. I'm guilty of doing that sometimes.
 
I would swap out the Babassu oil for the grapeseed oil. Babassu can accelerate. I do agree highly that your temps are huge factor on fluis slow recipe. In all the challenges I have done that needed to be fluid for a long period of time, the suggested recipe always had lard in it. So it may be your temps not the lard. That is just my opinion

Thank you Omneya, I would love to use lard instead of palm, I was assuming that my lard was the culprit for the batter thickening on me.
 
I would drop the Babassu as well and add the grapeseed if you want to. It does have a shorter shelf life. I'd also up your castor as I don't use anything less than 5% but that's my personal choice.

I use a high lard and have no problems with swirling even 6-8 colors. Are you soaping too cool or over blending perhaps. Just remember that using high water can cause glycerine rivers more easily and will also play a part in how long it's going to take to unmold your soap.

You're going to have to play with your recipe and technique till you find what works best for what you want to do with it. ITP swirls are some of the easiest to accomplish. Don't over mix it. I'm guilty of doing that sometimes.

Thank you Shunt, so if I up my castor to my normal 5% what do I take that away from? I could do my 33% lye concentration method, I was just afraid that would make the soap set up faster. I usually soap on the warmer side, 110-120, but over mixing would most likely be my issue, I am always afraid I won't mix it enough and it will separate. I would guess that I over-compensate :) How much mixing is enough when it comes to coloring and swirling? I'm not much of a swirler, I tend to like rustic looking soaps, perhaps a layer, but I've seen some really neat swirls and just wanted to give it a whirl.
 
Thank you Shunt, so if I up my castor to my normal 5% what do I take that away from? I could do my 33% lye concentration method, I was just afraid that would make the soap set up faster. I usually soap on the warmer side, 110-120, but over mixing would most likely be my issue, I am always afraid I won't mix it enough and it will separate. I would guess that I over-compensate :) How much mixing is enough when it comes to coloring and swirling? I'm not much of a swirler, I tend to like rustic looking soaps, perhaps a layer, but I've seen some really neat swirls and just wanted to give it a whirl.

I would take it from your OO. I only mix to emulsion. Give it a quick once around with the stickblend then stir. As long as it's emulsified (no oils on top) you are good to go. I would also soap a bit cooler try around 100 maybe? I don't check my temps. I just make sure my oils/butter are clear or almost clear and then add my room temp lye. I would use a bit more water until you know how your recipe is going to act.
 
When I want lots of time, I use lard (usually around 40%), 30-33% lye concentration and soap at around 100. Just pulse your stick blender for a few seconds and stir between pulses. newbie made an excellent video on blending to emulsion which might be helpful. http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=60618&highlight=emulsion

It takes a little practice to know when you are good to go. An ITP swirl is a good place to start, and the batter can actually be a bit thicker for that - light to even medium trace works well. I would blend to the beginning signs of trace, split and color, then pour the colored batter back into the main pot. You really only need to do 1-2 turns with the spatula around the pot for good results.

Good luck!
 
One thing you may want to consider, along with water quantity, recipe, and soaping temperatures, are your fragrances. I only use essential oils but have found they can greatly affect my working time depending on the fragrance. In fact, currently I have a batch curing that smells amazing but is a complete hot mess of a design because things started to go sideways after I added the essential oils, in spite of this being a recipe I'd used before with success!
 
Thanks Howie, you actually reminded me to go read on Rustic Escentuals to see if the FO I plan to use accelerates (I'm going to use bonfire bliss) it apparently does. So this poses the question of whether or not I should do a 30% lye concentration. I should be okay as long as I'm doing ITP swirl. Hopefully....wish me luck!
 
Thanks Howie, you actually reminded me to go read on Rustic Escentuals to see if the FO I plan to use accelerates (I'm going to use bonfire bliss) it apparently does. So this poses the question of whether or not I should do a 30% lye concentration. I should be okay as long as I'm doing ITP swirl. Hopefully....wish me luck!

Just whisk in the FO after you have split and colored and you should be OK.
 
Update: I made this soap today, it was fine until I put the FO in, and it still worked just fine but it started to thicken up on me after I whisked it in. I was still able to pour it into the bowl (6 colors! goodness) and do my thing and then mold it without too much of an issue, I really wish it had stayed a little more fluid. I did try soaping at a cooler temperature, thinking that would slow trace. Maybe that was my mistake. I can't wait to cut it tomorrow, it smells wonderful and I'm hoping it's gelling as we speak.
 
Congrats on getting all 6 colors into the bowl! No easy feat, for sure, especially when working with a fast-moving FO.

Now I think photos are in order. :)
 
Okay, after accidentally posting the pictures to a different thread and then deleting them, I am back to try to attach them to the proper thread! sheesh!
Here is bonfire bliss FO, ITP swirl. I am loving how this turned out, I just want to keep staring at it :)

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