Will This Recipe Work Well?

[hmlove1218]

I'm about to order my supplies for my first batch of CP soap and I want opinions on it before I do. Thanks in advance! Here's what soapcalc gives me:

Castor Oil - 15%
Coconut Oil - 25%
Crisco - 20%
Olive Oil - 40%

Hardness - 32 (29-54)
Cleansing - 17 (12-22)
Conditioning - 64 (44-69)
Bubbly - 30 (14-46)
Creamy - 29 (16-48)
Iodine - 68 (41-70)
INS - 144 (136-165)

Making a 1 lb batch SF 5% and .5 oz FO. May HP it so I can test it out sooner, haven't decided yet..

 

[MagicalMysterySoap]

Personally, I would lower the castor to 5% and up the oo to 50%

 

[cmzaha]

Lower the castor down to 5-7% and I would recommend lowering the coconut to no more than 20%. If you are using the palm crisco you could up it to 25% otherwise keep the 20% and make the OO the balance of the oils. High castor in bar soap will make a sticky soap, but it will trace quickly

 

[hmlove1218]

Thank you. Ill try that. The usage list I was looking at said up to 20%.

 

[seven]

Thank you. Ill try that. The usage list I was looking at said up to 20%.

maybe 20 applies to liquid soap. my experience with castor is not to do more than 7-8%. i did 15% once it is still sticky as hell until now.

 

[hmlove1218]

I dunno, possibly. I haven't done any research on liquid soap. I haven't really been interested in it. But I want to say I got that list from Bramble Berry. Maybe not though. I've looked at so many charts in my research..

 

[Susie]

I agree on the castor oil. Every time I venture above the 5% mark, I have issues. It just keeps it way too soft. I just cut a batch that I made yesterday with 5% castor oil. It was firm and ready to cut at 24 hours. Same basic recipe with 8% castor oil took 5 days to be ready to cut. Learned my lesson. Never again. Liquid soaps don't need that much castor oil either.

You sound just like me about forgetting where you read a recipe! I run the interesting sounding ones through SoapCalc and put the name of where I got it as the name of the soap. For example, if I got a recipe from Brambleberry.com Soap Queen, I would call it BB-SQ/Oatmeal(or whatever). Then they get printed and filed in my "Want to Make" section of my binder. When they get made, I add the date to the page, any additions, thoughts about the soap, etc. Then file it in the "Made" section. If they turn out well they go into the "Repeatable" section with any additional thoughts. If they are horrid, they go into the "Never Again" section.

 

[lsg]

I usually use 5% Castor oil in my cold process recipes. Too much Castor oil makes for a soft and sticky bar.

 

[hmlove1218]

Also, what about this triple butter recipe I've been playing with?

Castor oil 5%
coconut oil 25%
crisco 15%
EVOO 40%
cocoa butter 5%
mango butter 5%
shea butter 5%

Soap Bar Quality Range Your Recipe
Hardness 29 - 54 38
Cleansing 12 - 22 17
Conditioning 44 - 69 58
Bubbly 14 - 46 21
Creamy 16 - 48 26
Iodine 41 - 70 62
INS 136 - 165 149

SF 5% 1 lb recipe

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I'm not a big fan of using expensive butters in soap myself, but admittedly I am yet to try it -

on paper they have similar qualities as other, less expensive (and less label-enhancing!) oils, but some people say that they notice the difference. I want to give it a blind test some day

 

[seven]

Also, what about this triple butter recipe I've been playing with?

Castor oil 5%
coconut oil 25%
crisco 15%
EVOO 40%
cocoa butter 5%
mango butter 5%
shea butter 5%

Soap Bar Quality Range Your Recipe
Hardness 29 - 54 38
Cleansing 12 - 22 17
Conditioning 44 - 69 58
Bubbly 14 - 46 21
Creamy 16 - 48 26
Iodine 41 - 70 62
INS 136 - 165 149

SF 5% 1 lb recipe

i did a very similar recipe a few months back and i love the outcome. the only difference is i was using palm (20%) instead of crisco and my olive is slightly less (35%).

do it, you won't be sorry

 

[Susie]

I have tried expensive butters and oils in my recipes. To say that I was unimpressed is an understatement. My last couple of batches have been coconut oil, pomace olive oil, lard, Crisco.

 

[hmlove1218]

i did a very similar recipe a few months back and i love the outcome. the only difference is i was using palm (20%) instead of crisco and my olive is slightly less (35%).

do it, you won't be sorry

Did you add things in at trace or all in the beginning?

 

[ilovesoap2]

I've spent some time on the following site reading about some of the different oils and how they should perform in the soap.
http://www.netplaces.com/soapmaking/making-your-own-recipes/oil-forms.htm

 

[coffeetime]

I've spent some time on the following site reading about some of the different oils and how they should perform in the soap.

http://www.netplaces.com/soapmaking/making-your-own-recipes/oil-forms.htm

Just had a peek at that site and just to clarify- canola comes from rapeseed oil not grapeseed oil.

 

[seven]

Did you add things in at trace or all in the beginning?

what things? i wasn't using any additives for this soap, other than FO.

if you meant the oils and butters, well then i did it all in the beginning. i did it CP, so i saw no point in adding the butters (for example) at trace. it won't be my SF exclusively as we don't get to pick and choose with CP.

 

[hmlove1218]

Yeah sorry I didn't specify that a little better. But you answered my question. If I was to hp it should I add the butter at trace?

 

[seven]

yes you can. you add them after the cook, not at trace. after it's finished cooking, do the tongue zap test. if all is clear, you can proceed with the SF butters.

you want 5% SF right? if so, then i would add 1% of cocoa butter, and 2% each of the shea and mango, as the SF, after the cook.

you would have to set the calculator with 0% SF first. and adjust the amount of butters too. i also suggest doing at least 2.8 times water than lye weight for hp. if you have sodium lactate, add 1 tsp, it helps with fluidity.

that said, what kind of scale are you using? your batch is pretty small, and your measurements will need to be very precise. the difference in lye weight for 0% SF and -1% SF (lye heavy) is only 0.7 grams.

you can also set the SF at 1% just to be safe, and add 4% of butters at the end.

i hope this doesn't sound too complicated..

ETA:

i prefer to work in grams, and i rounded up 1 lb (453 grams) to 500 just to be easier. your recipe will look something like this...

 

[hmlove1218]

Wow thank you so much for the tips! My scale is digital but it does vary ever so slightly. I weighed a quarter which us supposed to weigh .2 oz and I got the weights of .2 .19 and .21. Should I bump up my SF just in case?

 

[hmlove1218]

Oh and you mentioned sodium lactate. I don't have that but isn't it in milk? Could I add small amount for the same affect?