This may be a crazy question, but...

[Guest]

Hi noob here! I've made 5 batches of soap so far a mix of mp, hp, and cp.
I've had some samplers/testers (my family) using my soap for feedback. I've gotten good reviews. Recently though someone asked me if I could make a moisturizing bar as moisturizing as the Dove bar.? Does anyone know of a recipe or additive that could compare? I've made castile soap it was my first batch and it's hard now it's low later and I get a very clean feeling from it. But it doesn't feel milky and moisturizing as dove they said. Can anyone help me with this? I know Dove is not a good soap or even a soap from what I've read and is full of chemicals. Any input would be appreciated thanks for reading this

 

[fiddletree]

Well, Dove is made, in part, of the sodium salts of tallow, palm, and/or coconut oils, which you could do. I'm pretty sure what they do is separate out the glycerin (which is good for your skin), and add in only the sodium salts, together with surfactants and preservatives. The surfactants Dove uses aren't 'bad', I actually use them in some of my own formulations, but they are not 'natural', or soap. Dove is mainly a synthetic detergent bar, with a little bit of tallow soap thrown in. I don't know that you could get the same thing at home, but you might have luck with a tallow based soap. They are supposed to be pretty creamy. Or you could experiment with syndet (synthetic detergent) bars.


I find that a lot of shea butter makes a nice low, creamy lather, and isn't very drying. It's impossible to make a soap that is truly moisturizing, but we can make them so that they strip the skin less and are less drying. Same goes for Dove...soap/surfactants don't moisturize, people just think they do for some reason.

 

[Genny]

I agree 100% with fiddletree. I don't think that there is a soap that actually adds moisture since it gets washed down the drain right away.

People think Dove is more moisturizing because that's what they're told. It's just marketing and label appeal.

If you're looking for something to moisten your skin, I'd go with a good lotion, cream or solid lotion after bathing.

 

[Guest]

Great thanks for the replies guys they make a lot of sense and I know what I will tell people when they ask.

 

[new12soap]

I agree 100% with fiddletree. I don't think that there is a soap that actually adds moisture since it gets washed down the drain right away.

People think Dove is more moisturizing because that's what they're told. It's just marketing and label appeal.

If you're looking for something to moisten your skin, I'd go with a good lotion, cream or solid lotion after bathing.

But Dove is 1/4 cup moisturizing cream! It says so right in their commercials... :wink:

Yep, marketing marketing marketing.

 

[Pug Mom]

I think if you could get your hands on some goat milk you will get the intended moisturizing effect. I only make goat milk soaps now. People that I give them to love them and swear by it.

 

[Guest]

Yep! That's what I'm working with now. I heard its a lot of trial and error trying to get the color right and stuff, so I bought a block of bb's goats milk base. It seems good, I don't know though if it'd be better if I used local nubian goats milk? Sinces bb's is powdered?

 

[Pug Mom]

I have only used fresh, so I couldn't compare for you. But I know a lot of people use the powdered.

 

[fiddletree]

goats milk is awesome!

But I don't think that it matters if you use powdered or fresh, in the finished product. It's certainly more fun to go get fresh goats milk, and use it, but I don't think it is necessary unless you have easy access to gm.

 

[IrishLass]

I've used powdered, fresh and canned GM. All feel the same to me in my soap. My favorite to use is fresh because it's easy to use and because I like drinking the left-overs. The others are easy to use, too, but they taste terrible!

If I had to pick my least favorite kind to use, it would have to be the canned GM. Although it feels great in my soap, I was never able to produce a light, creamy off-white looking soap with it like I'm able to do with fresh and/or powdered. Plus it tastes the worse out of the 3.

I used to use Dove a lot when I was growing up because my doctor recommended it (as well as Neutrogena). As commercial bars go, the Dove wasn't so bad. I liked it well enough at the time. The closest I've come to making a soap that mimicks how it feels to my skin and behaves in my soap dish (Dove can be some of the gushiest, messiest kind of soap to use. It always gooped up my soap dish much more than other commercial brands), is my 80% Castile-type with fresh goat milk as 30% of my total liquid amount, and babassu oil and castor to balance it out. I nicknamed it my 'better than Dove' bar because it felt like a lot like Dove to me, but gentler, creamier, and well.... just all-around lovelier. Just like Dove, though, it's one of the gushiest of my formulas as far as gooping up my soap dish goes.

IrishLass

 

[sudbubblez]

Your homemeade soap is going to be more "moisturizing" than commercial soap because of the glycerin. It makes a film on the skin that attracts and seals in the skins natural moisture. You could give them any CP soap and say its moisturizing. animal fats produce more glycerin than vegetable oils.

Also, recipes high in these fatty acids will be more moisturizing: linoleic, linolenic, oleic

Oleic acid is what is responsible for the slippery feel and may make the bar feel slimy in high percentages. Gelling soap high in oleic seems to exacerbate the slimyness.

Watch out for too much linolenic though; high values will indicate a recipe that is more susceptible to DOS.

Camelia seed oil would be a luxury moisturizing ingredient. sesame oil as well. Chose your moisturinzing oils based on their content of those fatty acids.

 

[jax1962]

if i could throw my tuppence worth here in the pot: i used to be a BIG fan of dove, it was the only think that made my skin feel nice and not dry. i was reluctant to give it up when i started making soap BUT i now find that my skin is much better from using my (and my friends robin and majstor's!) soaps. i always had to moisturise after using dove - i don't need to do that now and my skin is not dry at all, despite the fact i love scalding hot baths and i DO linger in there.

just sayin'

 

[Guest]

Your homemeade soap is going to be more "moisturizing" than commercial soap because of the glycerin. It makes a film on the skin that attracts and seals in the skins natural moisture. You could give them any CP soap and say its moisturizing. animal fats produce more glycerin than vegetable oils.

Also, recipes high in these fatty acids will be more moisturizing: linoleic, linolenic, oleic

Oleic acid is what is responsible for the slippery feel and may make the bar feel slimy in high percentages. Gelling soap high in oleic seems to exacerbate the slimyness.

Watch out for too much linolenic though; high values will indicate a recipe that is more susceptible to DOS.

Camelia seed oil would be a luxury moisturizing ingredient. sesame oil as well. Chose your moisturinzing oils based on their content of those fatty acids.

Great! Thanks for the tip! Love this forum!