SP fat and milk

[nebetmiw]

Okay I have been soaping for over 8 years. I've been making milk soap for the past 6 years. I just read a post that never occurred to me I'm not was reducing my super fat due to the milk fat in the milk. I've been soaping at 6% super fat and I'm now thinking of reducing that down. I'll be doing my goat milk soap as soon as my lye comes in. What super fat % would you suggest I try with my goats milk? This will be the first time I've used goats milk. Most of my other soaps or coconut milk or coconut and cow milk.

 

[lsg]

I never adjust the superfat even when I use half cream and half water in my soap. It seems to turn out great.

 

[not_ally]

lsg, what is your regular SF? I usually SF at 7/7.5 - have dry skin - and am going to try a coconut milk soap today using the 50/50 split method, I was worried that if I did not reduce the initial SF the bar would end up being soft/melt faster in use. Do you not find there are any problems in that respect?

Would love your input, or anyone else's on this. I would be using mostly hard oils Lard (45%)/Tallow (20%)/Coconut (15%)/Olive (13%)/Castor (7%).

 

[lsg]

I usually go with 5% superfat using SoapCalc. If I have a low condition number, then I up the superfat. The high percentage of tallow and lard should give you a good condition number, even at 5% superfat. You might want to try using frozen aloe juice as half the liquid. I have a customer that swears by my aloe/cream bar.

 

[not_ally]

Awesome, lsg, am going to go by your suggestions exactly. I was already thinking of using the aloe juice - I am excited! Thank you for your quick reply, off to make some soap

 

[boyago]

I love using aloe juice.

For the SF I used to just soap at 5% but when I started to care more I would figure out the fat content from the label and include it in soap calc just so I would know what it was. I'd say there was no noticability between the ones that were a true 5% and whatever the unknown was.

 

[IrishLass]

If I'm making a 100% milk soap, I reduce my S/F down to 3%....for no other reason than because I'm an unashamed bubble-maniac. :mrgreen: I just hate for anything to come between me and my bubbly lather quotient, and I noticed that whenever I made a 100% milk soap at my usual 5%, my bubbles weren't as copious as my non-milk version of the soap. So I lowered my S/F down to 3%, and when I did, my bubbles came back. For what it's worth, in spite of the lowered super-fat, the soap is not drying to me, and it still retains that wonderful creamy 'feel' from the milk.


IrishLass

 

[nebetmiw]

If I'm making a 100% milk soap, I reduce my S/F down to 3%....for no other reason than because I'm an unashamed bubble-maniac. :mrgreen: I just hate for anything to come between me and my bubbly lather quotient, and I noticed that whenever I made a 100% milk soap at my usual 5%, my bubbles weren't as copious as my non-milk version of the soap. So I lowered my S/F down to 3%, and when I did, my bubbles came back. For what it's worth, in spite of the lowered super-fat, the soap is not drying to me, and it still retains that wonderful creamy 'feel' from the milk.


IrishLass

I have good bubbleness ( is that a word) with my recipe now. I have noticed that at 6% my soap is now taking longer to harden. I will have to try 3% and see the difference. I use SM3 for my calculator. I will hope this firms it a bit since everyone loves the soap. It hardens well just have to wait longer on it. I did not want to change it if I can help it. Took me too long to get it there.

 

[not_ally]

Interesting. I am going to try both 5% and 3% and see, will use aloe in both. Hate to have to wait for at least a month to begin to see the difference, can't wait, but will report on the difference.