Soaping with egg yolk

[The_Phoenix]

Hi everyone! I recently made a batch of soap using egg yolk and LOVE the results in my bars. I did plenty of reading ahead of time to feel confident that adding egg yolk will not greatly affect the shelf life of my soap, but I thought I'd open up the conversation with all of you wonderful soap makers. So, if you have worked with egg yolk in your soaps, did you find that it impacted the shelf life of your soap? Thank you all in advance.

 

[Anstarx]

I've only made one batch of soap with egg yolk so far so my result may not be the most accurate.
I made a castile soap with egg yolk, one yolk for 400g oil. Also added sugar and SL. This was back in early Feb this year and so far the soap is perfectly fine. They weren't stored in perfect conditions, either, as my house don't have enough space for it. It was on a plastic shelf in my living room for 2 months and transferred to a paper box with my other soaps. No DOS, smells just like soap, and lathers well.
I'd imagine if you want to store them for a long time and use more egg yolk then you need to be careful. As far as mine goes I think it can easily survive a year.

 

[artemis]

I have never had a problem with the shelf life of soaps with egg yolk.

 

[The_Phoenix]

Thank you for your response! I used two egg yolks for a 1,500g oil batch. I think that's a sufficient ratio. I made a comparison batch without the yolks and there is, indeed, a marked difference between the two bars. My concern is using yolk as a somewhat regular ingredient in my soaps, only to discover that it affects the shelf life. There's also the issue of adding an animal-based ingredient, thereby alienating vegans and some vegetarians, as well as people who are allergic to eggs (I'm also researching if the egg allergens survive the saponification/curing process, but cannot find any information). I'm also incorporating honey in my soaps, another ingredient I would like to consistently use. But, again, I'd encounter issues marketing to vegans.

 

[Dibennett]

I am new to soap making so please excuse my ignorance, what is the benefit of adding egg yolk to the soap making process? I have plenty of eggs due to having chickens!

 

[DeeAnna]

I use 1 whole egg per 16 oz / 500 g of fats. A person can use 1-2 yolks or 1 egg white per the same weight of fat.

I suggest people adjust the amount of water to account for the large amount of water in egg white or whole egg and the modest amount of water in egg yolk. If you don't account for the water in egg, this extra water will change how your recipe performs.

I've been making egg soap for several years now. No problems with shelf life. I also use tetrasodium EDTA, however, and can't speak to how this type of soap performs without a chelator.

Here's more about egg soap for those who might be wondering what the noise is all about -- Soapy Stuff: Egg Soap

 

[amd]

Another soap maker had sent me an egg soap. I have a huge stash of personal soaps, so I added this into the box as it was fully shrink wrapped. When I took it out of the box (ahem, 2 years later) and unwrapped it, it was a stinky gooey mess of DOS. I regularly sort and remove soaps from my box, and the surrounding soaps were fine, so I am inclined to believe this case is directly tied to it being a poorly made egg soap. I am inclined to not want to make one myself, or ever purchase one.

 

[DeeAnna]

The problem is there's no way to know if it was the egg itself that created the problems with @amd's bar of soap, or if it was other ingredients in the soap that created the trouble.

 

[Sharon Patterson]

Hi everyone! I recently made a batch of soap using egg yolk and LOVE the results in my bars. I did plenty of reading ahead of time to feel confident that adding egg yolk will not greatly affect the shelf life of my soap, but I thought I'd open up the conversation with all of you wonderful soap makers. So, if you have worked with egg yolk in your soaps, did you find that it impacted the shelf life of your soap? Thank you all in advance.

I use whole duck eggs. More fat so a creamy moisturizing soap. I do hot process and have never had problems.

 

[The_Phoenix]

I only use yolks because the egg white comprises only 3% fat and 91% protein. I eat the whites for breakfast, so they do not go to waste. If others find that the egg white does have some value in soap, I'm all ears.

 

[Dibennett]

I use 1 whole egg per 16 oz / 500 g of fats. A person can use 1-2 yolks or 1 egg white per the same weight of fat.

I suggest people adjust the amount of water to account for the large amount of water in egg white or whole egg and the modest amount of water in egg yolk. If you don't account for the water in egg, this extra water will change how your recipe performs.

I've been making egg soap for several years now. No problems with shelf life. I also use tetrasodium EDTA, however, and can't speak to how this type of soap performs without a chelator.

Here's more about egg soap for those who might be wondering what the noise is all about -- Soapy Stuff: Egg Soap

DeeAnna, Thank you for the link to the explanation of how to use eggs. I will definitely give it a go as I have plenty of eggs from my girls at the moment.