The soap recipe thread

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There are a few here who have mentioned they masterbatch their lye with silk, not all of them using Tussah Silk.

I've been using silk in my masterbatch NaOH. Recently I made a masterbatch with cornsilk instead to use until I run out of it, then I'll go back to the silk.

I use a product that looks like this from another vendor, who no longer carries them: (Link) I chose these from a recommendation by cmzaha. I cut them into little slivers prior to adding to the hot lye solution. It does take a lot of careful stirring to get them completely dissolved.

I found the cornsilk much harder to dissolve than the silk cocoons. I ended up having to toss out a lot of the cornsilk because it wasn't dissolving as easily or quickly as the silk cocoons, in spite of continuous stirring. But, then again, I didn't cut it up into tiny bits; maybe it would have dissolved more readily.
 
Like the silky hairy stuff from corn on the cobs? Cool!
Yes. It can be purchased as a powder from variety of vendors, and it used in cosmetics. The powder might be easier to dissolve in hot lye than the dried corn silk from corn cobs. But cutting them into teeny tiny pieces would probably have helped as well, but I didn't realize until I had already dropped it into the solution and by then it was too late.
 
Yes. It can be purchased as a powder from variety of vendors, and it used in cosmetics. The powder might be easier to dissolve in hot lye than the dried corn silk from corn cobs. But cutting them into teeny tiny pieces would probably have helped as well, but I didn't realize until I had already dropped it into the solution and by then it was too late.
So in theory...next time I have corn 🌽 I could wash and dehydrate the silk then grind it in my spice grinder and add it to soap! I’ll need to read up on this! Thanks!!!!
 
So in theory...next time I have corn 🌽 I could wash and dehydrate the silk then grind it in my spice grinder and add it to soap! I’ll need to read up on this!
All the reading you need to do is what you just wrote! LOL That's the way I used corn silk in soap the first time I tried it ages ago. It gives a surprisingly "silky" feel to the soap. ;)
 
Interesting! This year I grew one corn plant on my balcony (to be honest, I don't know how it came there). I ate the grains from one cob and the other was somehow useles. I harvested the silky hairs and dried them without knowing what to do with them.
I may give it a try when I get to a fresh packet of NaOH.
 
I'm happy to add my recipes to the thread

Regular Soap
10% Cocoa Butter
20% Coconut Oil (natural)
20% Palm Oil (RSPO)
10% Shea Butter (natural)
35% Olive Oil
5% Castor Oil
1 tea Sodium Lactate PPO
1 tea Dispersed Kaolin Clay PPO
1 oz FO PPO (always check usage rates)

5% Super Fat
33% Lye Concentration

I use frozen Distilled Water to cut down on fumes and wait time. I cut the Shea Butter into small pieces and melt it in the residual heat to prevent any graininess. I usually soap around 100F or less, hand whisk to start and then blend in bursts to emulsion. Gives me plenty of play time. You can use the Heat Transfer Method to melt your hard oils/butters, but it cuts down on play time given that my recipe is 60% hard oils/butters.

Goat Milk Soap
21% Coconut Oil
21% Palm Oil (RSPO)
12% Shea Butter (natural)
41% Olive Oil
5% Castor Oil
1 tea Sodium Lactate PPO
1 tea Dispersed Kaolin Clay PPO
1 oz FO PPO (always check usage rates)

5% Super Fat
33% Lye Concentration

I freeze my Goat Milk and use an ice bath with a little added salt; I don't allow my GM Lye Solution to get above 70F. I have successfully used evaporated GM (mixed 50/50 with frozen distilled water), boxed GM, store GM and fresh GM; the evaporated GM will produce a light tan soap. If the room temperature is 75F+, you will want to refrigerate unless you want to gel your GMS (I don't). If you decided to gel, watch it carefully so it doesn't overheat.

Thank you for the recipe- I am excited to add butters to my soap, as I’ve tried most of the standard oils. I have a question- with your Regular Soap recipe, you mention that 60% hard oils/butters cuts down on play time, if you use the heat transfer method. Could you tell me why that is? Is it because hard oils/butters trace faster? Or because they solidify so you have to make sure you don’t get below their melting points? Ok, TIA!!!
 
My standard soap recipe:
(Vegan, and palm free)
20% each of Soy Wax, CO, OO and RBO
10% Shea Butter
5% each of Avocado oil and Castor Oil

4-5% superfat depending on my mood.
30% lye concentration.

It's rare that I make this without substituting the water with something else - aloe juice being the most common, but often coconut milk or oat milk (using split method). Sometimes beer or hard cider, ginger beer, sometimes fruit purees as a portion of the water.
 
Thank you for the recipe- I am excited to add butters to my soap, as I’ve tried most of the standard oils. I have a question- with your Regular Soap recipe, you mention that 60% hard oils/butters cuts down on play time, if you use the heat transfer method. Could you tell me why that is? Is it because hard oils/butters trace faster? Or because they solidify so you have to make sure you don’t get below their melting points? Ok, TIA!!!

I believe the reason why I have less play time is because 1) hard oils/butters trace quicker overall as compared to soft oils, and 2) I'm quick starting the saponification process with the high heat. @DeeAnna has a much better handle on the science of soap making so she could probably explain it better. I just know that by the time my hard oils/butters are melted, my batter is thicker than what it is if I just melt the hard oils/butters, added the soft oils, then added my Lye Solution.

Now I have soaped TOO cool. I master batch my oils/butters and lye solution, and out of curiosity I wanted to see what would happen if I didn't remelt the oils/butters so I made a test batch with no color or scent. It should be noted that the hard oils/butters never fully solidify because of the soft oils, but is the consistency of waffle batter. Anyhoo...with the oils/butters and lye/water at about 70F, the result was a grainy looking bar of soap with obvious stearic spots. It was an okay bar of soap, it got me clean, but it just didn't feel right.
 
I believe the reason why I have less play time is because 1) hard oils/butters trace quicker overall as compared to soft oils, and 2) I'm quick starting the saponification process with the high heat. @DeeAnna has a much better handle on the science of soap making so she could probably explain it better. I just know that by the time my hard oils/butters are melted, my batter is thicker than what it is if I just melt the hard oils/butters, added the soft oils, then added my Lye Solution.

Now I have soaped TOO cool. I master batch my oils/butters and lye solution, and out of curiosity I wanted to see what would happen if I didn't remelt the oils/butters so I made a test batch with no color or scent. It should be noted that the hard oils/butters never fully solidify because of the soft oils, but is the consistency of waffle batter. Anyhoo...with the oils/butters and lye/water at about 70F, the result was a grainy looking bar of soap with obvious stearic spots. It was an okay bar of soap, it got me clean, but it just didn't feel right.
Good info- thank you. I forgot about how high heat can speed up sopanification. I found a great local source for small amounts (<1lb) of cocoa and Shea butters so should be pouring some new soap tomorrow or even today. Have a good one.
 
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