Recipe Input Please!

[Petrichor]

I am fairly new to making soap. I am making CP goat milk soap. I have been fiddling with recipes and am trying to create my own since I didn't really love the few I tried from a book. They were ok, but I don't love it. I am finding that lots of crafters want to keep their best recipes to themselves. I get that.

I would like you to look at my current formula that I am using and I do like it, for the most part. It really does leave my skin soft and moisturized. It has met that goal! BUT it can be tricky to get it to lather up. It doesn't lather in my hand while I am holding the soap. But if I rub the bar for a few seconds and put it down, then rub it between my hands for a bit and get the right water ratio added in, it will lather up nicely, eventually. I am guessing that I have too much superfat? And that is why it is not quick to lather?

My first few attempts at making soap actually dried my skin after a few uses. I kept adding stuff to make it more moisturizing and adjusting the super fat. I am at about my 6th batch. Tips would be much appreciated. Having a month or longer between tests is time consuming. Thank you!

I want a super moisturizing bar that also has a great lather and cleans well. I kept bumping up the castor oil hoping that would help. I am starting to think that I shouldn't add any more castor oil and that there has to be something I am missing.

40% milk
8% super fat

8% Almond
6% Avocado
9% Castor
24% Coconut, 76
12 % Lard
33% Olive
8% Shea Butter

 

[IrishLass]

Hi Petrichor!

Your recipe looks fine for a nice bubbly soap that's not very drying (at least to me), but your superfat could very well be the reason your soap is finding it hard to let those bubbles come out. Goat milk will always increase your regular built-in superfat because it is loaded with fat, so whenever I make goat milk soap, I lower my superfat to 3% to maintain a good bubblage from my soap.

RE: castor.... castor doesn't really make big bubbly lather on it's own, but what it will do is enhance or give depth to the bubbles already present from the bubbly oils like coconut.....in a sense turning the lather from 2-dimensional to 3-dimensional.

Oh- another thing that can diminish lather is the water quality of your sink/bath/shower water. If you have hard water, it can diminish your lather. I have very hard water at my house, so I add a chelator to my soap which helps greatly to combat that.


IrishLass

 

[Petrichor]

Thank you! I keep second guessing everything I do.
I do have soft water. We have a softener. Otherwise we would have hard water.

 

[Dawni]

Or it could be the amount of coconut oil that makes it drying.... What works for IrishLass won't necessarily work for me, although I know she makes great soap.

For me n mine, I don't use more than 15-18% coconut oil, and sometimes I even go lower. That also means I can lower my superfat to 2-4% most of the time.

Also I noticed olive oil doesn't really like me in large amounts, so if I use it, n sometimes I don't at all, I use around 15-20% and not more than 30%. One reason is I found it becomes milder only after a longish cure if used in higher amounts.

Also I love lard lol so if it were me making soap for myself it'll look more like a this:

3% super fat

12% Almond
10% Avocado
5% Castor
18% Coconut, 76
30% Lard
15% Olive
10% Shea Butter

Reason I upped the others is, most don't detect any difference in the soap if an oil is used less than 10% (except castor), and also I love sweet almond in soap hehehe. You can lower the lard if you want, and up the olive instead if it works for you, the only downside is it'll last a lil less longer in the shower if used after a regular cure.

I hope I didn't confuse you more!

 

[amd]

My two cents for your recipe:
40% milk
8% 3% super fat (with your soft water the lower superfat will give you a cleaner rinsing soap)

8% 14%Almond
6% Avocado I dq'd this one just because I don't use avo in anything but salt bars, and so I could up the lard and shea butter. But if you want to keep it, take part from the almond oil.
9% 5% Castor
24% 15% Coconut, 76
12 % 21% Lard
35% Olive
8% 10% Shea Butter

I have super dry skin (even in the summer) and I have found that my skin does best with something like this:
30-35% liquid oil take your pick of whatever oil combination works for you
25% Lard/Tallow/Palm take your pick, lard is my favorite but I can't stand the smell, so I've been liking tallow and just discovered that palm is working well in this percentage.
15-20% Coconut Oil this depends on the liquid oil % above, less liquid more CO, more liquid less CO. Anything above 20% requires a longer cure (like a year) in order for my skin to tolerate it. YMMV
20% butters
5% Castor

And that is how you make AMD's super secret soap. This might be the first time I've ever fully shared my recipe on the forum...

 

[Dawni]

And that is how you make AMD's super secret soap. This might be the first time I've ever fully shared my recipe on the forum...

Oooh super secret soap sounds good

I have a slightly similar recipe curing, but with switched olive n lard.. I imagine your lather is more luxurious. My mom is ok with olive, but not me.. Maybe I'll make a batch for her to try, thank you for sharing.