Would these ingredients work for a soap bar?

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Hello, I have been making a Chamomile tea lotion for my baby boy's skin that has been working well for him that I would like to make into soap. Would these ingredients work for a soap? If they would, what would be the best process (cold or hot)? And when should I add the ingredients?

Chamomile tea
Chamomile essential oil
Sunflower lecithin
Vegetable glycerin
Jojoba oil
Castor oil
Seabuckthorn oil
Coconut oil with vitamin E
Cocoa butter
and a few drops of tea tree essential oil
 
Many of these are only good for lotion. Using therm in soap won't yield the same results as lotion, and some will not make good soap, or are too expensive to be used as soaping oils given it is a wash off product. You are better to develop a good base recipe, with a good fatty acid profile, and then tweak it for use with baby. For example, use a lower amount of coconut oil so that it's not too drying/stripping - say 10%, castor oil at 5%, Cocoa butter at 10% - plus maybe Olive oil at 30 - 40%, and either palm/lard/tallow/soywax as your 'hardener and longevity' component.
Use your essential oils for fragrance - bear in mind that the jury is out as to whether they will hold their properties through saponification.
Use your brewed chamomile tea as the water component.
Handmade soap makes/retains its own glycerin so you don't need to add this.
I recently made (my usual recipe) soap using a mother's breast milk as the water content, given that mother's milk is often cited as being good cure-all for baby's skin. Again - there is no guarantee that the qualities of the milk will survive saponification.
 
How old is your baby boy? A true lye soap shouldn't be used on a child under the age of 2 because the skin and integumentary system are not developed yet and the high pH can really disrupt the mantle function. A detergent based baby wash is better, pH close to 7 as possible. Many pediatricians are actually starting to recommend water only baths (unless the baby is actually messy).
 
Chamomile tea
Chamomile essential oil
Sunflower lecithin
Vegetable glycerin
Jojoba oil
Castor oil
Seabuckthorn oil
Coconut oil with vitamin E
Cocoa butter
and a few drops of tea tree essential oil
I wouldn't use any of those to make a soap for babies. Olive Oil Castile like this one is great for baby's delicate skin. Plain Jane Lard soap, unscented, would also be a good choice. Back in the early part of the 20th century, neo-natal nurses cleaned newborns with lard, not soap, just lard. :)

Even for lotion, using all those ingredients is a bit of overkill. I'm especially concerned about the use of essential oil on babies. It's really not needed, and may be more harmful than helpful, to my mind at least. You've heard of Johnson & Johnson Baby Oil? 1 ingredient, mineral oil, gets the job done quite nicely. ;)
 
I wouldn't use any of those to make a soap for babies. Olive Oil Castile like this one is great for baby's delicate skin. Plain Jane Lard soap, unscented, would also be a good choice. Back in the early part of the 20th century, neo-natal nurses cleaned newborns with lard, not soap, just lard. :)

Even for lotion, using all those ingredients is a bit of overkill. I'm especially concerned about the use of essential oil on babies. It's really not needed, and may be more harmful than helpful, to my mind at least. You've heard of Johnson & Johnson Baby Oil? 1 ingredient, mineral oil, gets the job done quite nicely. ;)
Johnson and Johnson's bath products are what sent my son to the ER with a chemical 2nd degree burn. I would not recommend them to anyone as a company. They are the reason I am here.

To answer the other question, my son is 8 months now.

I know that the products I have listed do wonderfully on my son's skin. I use them with liquid Dr Bronners Castile soap right now and all of his skin problems have dissapeared. From what I understand, castile soap is "true soap" and he is not having a problem with it at all, but the baby detergents break him out and give him red scaly patches on his skin.

I am aware that I will likely need to grate the soap and dilute it but I wanted a similar recipe to what I make already for my son's skin as this is what works for him. I have used MANY brands, and homemade soaps, nothing works as well as these ingredients. Everything else either breaks him out or gives him very dry skin. I have found a good recipe for his skin, I just want to know how to make it into soap, lol. Thanks!

Many of these are only good for lotion. Using therm in soap won't yield the same results as lotion, and some will not make good soap, or are too expensive to be used as soaping oils given it is a wash off product. You are better to develop a good base recipe, with a good fatty acid profile, and then tweak it for use with baby. For example, use a lower amount of coconut oil so that it's not too drying/stripping - say 10%, castor oil at 5%, Cocoa butter at 10% - plus maybe Olive oil at 30 - 40%, and either palm/lard/tallow/soywax as your 'hardener and longevity' component.
Use your essential oils for fragrance - bear in mind that the jury is out as to whether they will hold their properties through saponification.
Use your brewed chamomile tea as the water component.
Handmade soap makes/retains its own glycerin so you don't need to add this.
I recently made (my usual recipe) soap using a mother's breast milk as the water content, given that mother's milk is often cited as being good cure-all for baby's skin. Again - there is no guarantee that the qualities of the milk will survive saponification.
Thanks! I don't typically use very much Coconut oil. I typically use (in my oil blend for the lotion) around 50% Cocoa Butter, 20% Jojoba oil, 15% Castor oil, 10% Coconut oil with vitamin E, 4% Seabuckthorn oil and 1% Chamomile oil, with a few drops of Tea tree oil. (I would use more Seabuckthorn oil, because I LOVE it but it tends to dye our pale skin orange, lol, so I have to keep it in low concentrations in my products...)

I have recently made some tallow as someone gifted me beef fat. For the soap would tallow be similar to the cocoa butter? Should I maybe do 25% of each (tallow and cocoa butter)l? Would that work, or would that make too hard of a bar?

I really don't care about how much it would cost, that really matters not to me. What matters to me is if it works well on my son's skin...
 
Johnson and Johnson's bath products are what sent my son to the ER with a chemical 2nd degree burn. I would not recommend them to anyone as a company. They are the reason I am here.

To answer the other question, my son is 8 months now.

I know that the products I have listed do wonderfully on my son's skin. I use them with liquid Dr Bronners Castile soap right now and all of his skin problems have dissapeared. From what I understand, castile soap is "true soap" and he is not having a problem with it at all, but the baby detergents break him out and give him red scaly patches on his skin.

I am aware that I will likely need to grate the soap and dilute it but I wanted a similar recipe to what I make already for my son's skin as this is what works for him. I have used MANY brands, and homemade soaps, nothing works as well as these ingredients. Everything else either breaks him out or gives him very dry skin. I have found a good recipe for his skin, I just want to know how to make it into soap, lol. Thanks!
You have a soap that you are happy with, right? Dr. Bronner's? And the lotion you make works well for him too. Is there a reason you can't stick with that? KiwiMoose is right - soap doesn't treat skin. The very mechanics of how soap cleans (electrically removing debris, suspending it in the soap until it's rinsed) prohibits that. (you can reference professor Kevin Dunn's textbook "Scientific Soapmaking")

The reaction your son had was diagnosed by a dermatologist....and was determined to be a chemical burn? Or allergic reaction? It it's a chemical burn I hope it was reported to the company!

I wonder if his milk/formula might also be an issue; have you considered discussing if your diet or the formula ingredients could be a factor?

It's obvious how much you love your son, but as a professional childcare provider and pharmacy tech., I can't with good conscience help you make a soap with those ingredients. I make my own soap because of my skin issues, and appreciate how you want to make something just for your son. But the risk is real, and have seen the results in my work.

But please think about looking into this with qualified people that don't work for DoTerra or. YoungLiving. I'll leave this here from WebMD....and I do wish you success in finding something safe and effective for your son!

Children have also been poisoned by excessive or inappropriate application of essential oils to the skin, he added.
The oils, which have become increasingly popular in recent years, can be used in a variety of ways. These include diffusing them into the air by using a vaporizer or rubbing them on the skin, Loden explained.
But kids can be harmed by excessive application of these oils, because their skin is thinner and can absorb dangerous amounts. Children may also try to swallow the oils, which often have a pleasant smell, but then they choke due to the bitter taste and send the oil down into their airways and their lungs, Loden said.

Highly toxic essential oils include camphor, clove, lavender, eucalyptus, thyme, tea tree, and wintergreen oils, the researchers noted. Many essential oils can cause symptoms such as agitation, hallucinations and seizures. Symptoms may also include chemical burns, breathing problems, liver failure and brain swelling, among others.
While there are hundreds of essential oils, "tea tree oil is commonly cited, and most of those cases are accidental ingestions by children," Loden said.
To keep kids and pets safe, Loden recommends storing essential oils properly -- locked and out of reach. Follow instructions regarding their use, and seek help by calling Poison Control (1-800-222-1222 in the United States) in an emergency, he advised.
 
You have a soap that you are happy with, right? Dr. Bronner's? And the lotion you make works well for him too. Is there a reason you can't stick with that? KiwiMoose is right - soap doesn't treat skin. The very mechanics of how soap cleans (electrically removing debris, suspending it in the soap until it's rinsed) prohibits that. (you can reference professor Kevin Dunn's textbook "Scientific Soapmaking")

The reaction your son had was diagnosed by a dermatologist....and was determined to be a chemical burn? Or allergic reaction? It it's a chemical burn I hope it was reported to the company!

I wonder if his milk/formula might also be an issue; have you considered discussing if your diet or the formula ingredients could be a factor?

It's obvious how much you love your son, but as a professional childcare provider and pharmacy tech., I can't with good conscience help you make a soap with those ingredients. I make my own soap because of my skin issues, and appreciate how you want to make something just for your son. But the risk is real, and have seen the results in my work.

But please think about looking into this with qualified people that don't work for DoTerra or. YoungLiving. I'll leave this here from WebMD....and I do wish you success in finding something safe and effective for your son!

Children have also been poisoned by excessive or inappropriate application of essential oils to the skin, he added.
The oils, which have become increasingly popular in recent years, can be used in a variety of ways. These include diffusing them into the air by using a vaporizer or rubbing them on the skin, Loden explained.
But kids can be harmed by excessive application of these oils, because their skin is thinner and can absorb dangerous amounts. Children may also try to swallow the oils, which often have a pleasant smell, but then they choke due to the bitter taste and send the oil down into their airways and their lungs, Loden said.

Highly toxic essential oils include camphor, clove, lavender, eucalyptus, thyme, tea tree, and wintergreen oils, the researchers noted. Many essential oils can cause symptoms such as agitation, hallucinations and seizures. Symptoms may also include chemical burns, breathing problems, liver failure and brain swelling, among others.
While there are hundreds of essential oils, "tea tree oil is commonly cited, and most of those cases are accidental ingestions by children," Loden said.
To keep kids and pets safe, Loden recommends storing essential oils properly -- locked and out of reach. Follow instructions regarding their use, and seek help by calling Poison Control (1-800-222-1222 in the United States) in an emergency, he advised.
The reason I want to switch up the soap is because it is very time consuming and takes about an hour to make every week, that with his lotion taking up an hour of my time takes out a lot of time I really need for school. I work full time in the healthcare industry while working towards my Masters. I am exhausted... I figure if I can find a good soap bar recipe I can make a large batch and not need to make soap for a very long time. So yes, my reason is time. I figure if I can configure this recipe into a bar of soap, (or a similar recipe that will work well for him) I won't be constantly in the kitchen. I also just found an effective natural preservative combination for my lotion so I plan to make a large batch of that as well for him.

Yes, my son was seen here in Arizona by the only burn unit here. All of the doctors diagnosed it as a second degree chemical burn. He was seen by trauma care, emergency pediatric services and the only burn unit specialists in the state. It was reported to Johnson and Johnson who told me they stopped using that recipe so I should just be happy with that... ha! I then went and looked up the product reviews and found out that other moms had experienced the same problem that I had... large blisters forming on the skin after washing their babies with it. The sad thing was it was suposed to be a hypoallergenic body wash, as well as conditioning (he was getting dry skin so I thought that it would help his skin)... fast forward and we were in the emergency room freaking out because he blistered up bad from it.

I don't use an excessive amount of essential oils. I use two drops of tea tree and around 0.2% of my lotion as Chamomile oil (for a recipe that makes 16 ounces of lotion). Chamomile is a very gentle essential oil that is very beneficial to sensitive skin types. In fact, after starting to use the chamomile, my son's stomach pain got better and his skin cleared up. I also noticed this essential oil is not listed in your list above as "toxic".

He does have many allergies (like mommy) and those we did figure out in the first couple weeks of his life. We have been giving him a very special formula blend due to his allergies... (which is another stressor due to the formula shortage).

Any soap bar I would make for my son I would use on my own sensitive skin first, and then I would do a spot test. I don't want to ever see him in that kind of pain again.
 
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I am aware that I will likely need to grate the soap and dilute it but I wanted a similar recipe to what I make already for my son's skin as this is what works for him. I have used MANY brands, and homemade soaps, nothing works as well as these ingredients. Everything else either breaks him out or gives him very dry skin. I have found a good recipe for his skin, I just want to know how to make it into soap, lol. Thanks!
I am so impressed with your desire to help your son. Mamas make the best health advocates! :) I've had a similar journey for myself and my family, so I hope you don't mind if I share some things I learned along the way.

One overarching principle is that the ingredients that go into making soap, are not what comes out of the soap pot or soap mold. Right now, you are successfully using all those wonderful ingredients on your list -- but without exposing them to the chemical reactions of soapmaking (lye solution + fats/oils). That chemical reaction between lye and fats changes almost everything. It's kind of like baking and cooking: you can use all the best and freshest ingredients, but many of the nutrients in those ingredients are altered or even eliminated by cooking.

In the soapmaking world, the best example of this is coconut oil. For most people, it is very moisturizing in its natural state, i.e., pre-lye. But in a finished soap, coconut oil becomes very drying to the skin, due to its highly cleansing (post-lye) properties. Most sensitive skin folks use fairly low percentages of CO, and some with significant skin issues have to avoid it altogether. Cocoa butter is another soap ingredient that is an irritant to a fair percentage of folks with skin conditions - quite different from how wonderfully moisturizing it is in its natural state.

An earlier post mentioned the two types of soaps that tend to be the most gentle and least irritating to skin: a high olive oil soap, and a high lard soap, both preferably unscented. Those are time-tested and proven. Usually people fall into one camp or the other as to which works best for them. My family has issues with eczema and psoriasis, and we are in the high lard camp over here. It is such a gentle soap with a low cleansing value (that's good - high cleansing = stripping all the natural oils off the skin).

I'd recommend making a small, plain batch of each to start, and see which is better for your son's skin. One bit of good news is that you don't need to add any glycerin. One reason that people tend to prefer handcrafted soap is that unlike commercial soap, the natural glycerin produced in the saponification process is left in the soap. Commercial soapmakers generally remove the glycerin so they can use it for other things, making their soap much harsher.

You can certainly infuse the chamomile into your soaping oils before making soap. Although there isn't any solid evidence that the beneficial properties of chamomile survive the highly alkaline environment + the significant heat generated by the chemical reaction, many people report that they love chamomile soaps. There are some threads here about adding lecithin to soap; most found that there was no change to the feel or performance of the soap.

Finally, and this is a big one: If you want a liquid soap, despite what online blogs and YouTubers may tell you, don't grate and dilute bar soap. The type of lye used to make bar soap (NaOH) will cause your diluted shavings to eventually coalesce into clumpy "snotty" blobs floating in kinda soapy water. No matter how often you reblend it, it will always want to resolidify. So unless you want to grate, dilute, and use up a tiny amount each time you wash him, bar soap is probably not your best option for making a "liquid" soap.

In contrast, the lye used to make liquid soap (KOH) makes a soft paste that dilutes very well in water, and stays diluted. So, if you want liquid soap, make liquid soap! You can even replace much of the lye solution water with glycerin, which helps liquid soap to trace faster, among other things. If you want to make a liquid soap, I'm going to suggest that you read through some of the threads here that talk about how to formulate a very gentle liquid soap.

If you want to make a bar soap, here is a recipe that you could try:

80% lard (find some without additives - usually at the natural food stores)
10% coconut oil
5% cocoa butter
5% castor oil

Beginners usually start with 33% lye concentration and 5% SF. Add 2% honey, based on total weight of the oils in your batch. This will increase the lather, which is normally very tight and lotion-y for this recipe. You could also use 90% NaOH and 10% KOH to increase lather, but that's a bit advanced if you are new to soapmaking. This recipe does best with at least an 8 week cure; 12 weeks is even better if you can stand to wait.

Notice that I left out the jojoba oil, seabuckthorn oil, and essential oils. Those are so expensive to use when you know that the lye is probably going to destroy their beneficial properties. Maybe you can make a lotion out of them for him?

You can use chamomile tea for your lye water, or you can infuse some of your oils with dried chamomile, straining out the herbs before making soap. I would really, really encourage you not to use any essential oils in the soap to start; you need to make sure that his skin can tolerate bar soap first. Make very small batches; 1 lb or 500g is a great size that will give you four bars or so. They do last a long time, especially since you won't be using much on his small body.

Whew, that was a lot! Best of luck to you, and don't hesitate to ask if you have questions!
 
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Wow that's shocking news about their formula - but great news about your perseverance getting that reported!

I know very little about chamomile because I've never needed to research it.

Have you thought about making an infused oil instead of a lotion? Glycerin is an alcohol - I don't know if it easily mixes into oil. But you can add most of the other ingredients without a problem. Less time than lotion making...same ingredients.

Also, if you do make a soap - I suggest leaving coconut out of it. (it will still clean just fine). Coconut oil out of a jar is not the same as coconut oil in soap; the first one moisturizes but saponified coconut oil strips natural skin oils....something that that infant skin needs as the mantle develops. (another reason why I cringe at using Dr. Bronner's...very, very high in coconut and totally rips my skin up! But it sounds like you dilute it for your son?
 
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I am so impressed with your desire to help your son. Mamas make the best health advocates! :) I've had a similar journey for myself and my family, so I hope you don't mind if I share some things I learned along the way.

One overarching principle is that the ingredients that go into making soap, are not what comes out of the soap pot or soap mold. Right now, you are successfully using all those wonderful ingredients on your list -- but without exposing them to the chemical reactions of soapmaking (lye solution + fats/oils). That chemical reaction between lye and fats changes almost everything. It's kind of like baking and cooking: you can use all the best and freshest ingredients, but many of the nutrients in those ingredients are altered or even eliminated by cooking.

In the soapmaking world, the best example of this is coconut oil. For most people, it is very moisturizing in its natural state, i.e., pre-lye. But in a finished soap, coconut oil becomes very drying to the skin, due to its highly cleansing (post-lye) properties. Most sensitive skin folks use fairly low percentages of CO, and some with significant skin issues have to avoid it altogether. Cocoa butter is another soap ingredient that is an irritant to a fair percentage of folks with skin conditions - quite different from how wonderfully moisturizing it is in its natural state.

An earlier post mentioned the two types of soaps that tend to be the most gentle and least irritating to skin: a high olive oil soap, and a high lard soap, both preferably unscented. Those are time-tested and proven. Usually people fall into one camp or the other as to which works best for them. My family has issues with eczema and psoriasis, and we are in the high lard camp over here. It is such a gentle soap with a low cleansing value (that's good - high cleansing = stripping all the natural oils off the skin).

I'd recommend making a small, plain batch of each to start, and see which is better for your son's skin. One bit of good news is that you don't need to add any glycerin. One reason that people tend to prefer handcrafted soap is that unlike commercial soap, the natural glycerin produced in the saponification process is left in the soap. Commercial soapmakers generally remove the glycerin so they can use it for other things, making their soap much harsher.

You can certainly infuse the chamomile into your soaping oils before making soap. Although there isn't any solid evidence that the beneficial properties of chamomile survive the highly alkaline environment + the significant heat generated by the chemical reaction, many people report that they love chamomile soaps. There are some threads here about adding lecithin to soap; most found that there was no change to the feel or performance of the soap.

Finally, and this is a big one: If you want a liquid soap, despite what online blogs and YouTubers may tell you, don't grate and dilute bar soap. The type of lye used to make bar soap (NaOH) will cause your diluted shavings to eventually coalesce into clumpy "snotty" blobs floating in kinda soapy water. No matter how often you reblend it, it will always want to resolidify. So unless you want to grate, dilute, and use up a tiny amount each time you wash him, bar soap is probably not your best option for making a "liquid" soap.

In contrast, the lye used to make liquid soap (KOH) makes a soft paste that dilutes very well in water, and stays diluted. So, if you want liquid soap, make liquid soap! You can even replace much of the lye solution water with glycerin, which helps liquid soap to trace faster, among other things. If you want to make a liquid soap, I'm going to suggest that you read through some of the threads here that talk about how to formulate a very gentle liquid soap.

If you want to make a bar soap, here is a recipe that you could try:

80% lard (find some without additives - usually at the natural food stores)
10% coconut oil
5% cocoa butter
5% castor oil

Beginners usually start with 33% lye concentration and 5% SF. Add 2% honey, based on total weight of the oils in your batch. This will increase the lather, which is normally very tight and lotion-y for this recipe. You could also use 90% NaOH and 10% KOH to increase lather, but that's a bit advanced if you are new to soapmaking. This recipe does best with at least an 8 week cure; 12 weeks is even better if you can stand to wait.

Notice that I left out the jojoba oil, seabuckthorn oil, and essential oils. Those are so expensive to use when you know that the lye is probably going to destroy their beneficial properties. Maybe you can make a lotion out of them for him?

You can use chamomile tea for your lye water, or you can infuse some of your oils with dried chamomile, straining out the herbs before making soap. I would really, really encourage you not to use any essential oils in the soap to start; you need to make sure that his skin can tolerate bar soap first. Make very small batches; 1 lb or 500g is a great size that will give you four bars or so. They do last a long time, especially since you won't be using much on his small body.

Whew, that was a lot! Best of luck to you, and don't hesitate to ask if you have questions!
Thank you for taking out the time to explain this to me. I have tallow, would that work in place of the lard? I made it myself so I know there aren't any additives to it. :)

As far as the liquid soap goes, does that have as long of a shelf time to it as a bar of soap? Would I still have to treat it like Dr Bronner's Castile soap (by adding all the additives that make it gentler on my son's skin)?

Wow that's shocking news about their formula - but great news about your perseverance getting that reported!

I know very little about chamomile because I've never needed to research it.

Have you thought about making an infused oil instead of a lotion? Glycerin is an alcohol - I don't know if it easily mixes into oil. But you can add most of the other ingredients without a problem. Less time than lotion making...same ingredients.

Also, if you do make a soap - I suggest leaving coconut out of it. (it will still clean just fine). Coconut oil out of a jar is not the same as coconut oil in soap; the first one moisturizes but saponified coconut oil strips natural skin oils....something that that infant skin needs as the mantle develops. (another reason why I cringe at using Dr. Bronner's...very, very high in coconut and totally rips my skin up! But it sounds like you dilute it for your son?
Yes, my sister is an MSN and recommended Johnson and Johnson to me, so I was very surprised when the situation occured.... needless to say it completely broke my trust with the company!

I actually started with an infused oil on my son's skin. It worked fine, but my husband complained about how "oily" he was, so I started making a lotion, and honestly it works wonders on his skin, (no breakouts, no dry skin and it gives him a nice "glow"). :)

You are not the first person to say that. I think I will leave it out. From what I understand Castor Oil isn't as cleansing and it also helps produce lather, correct?

Yes, I dilute the heck out of Dr Bronner's, lol! It get's the full treatment. I noticed the liquid sunflower lecithin is one of the most conditioning things I can add to Dr Bronner's to help it feel more "moisturizing", so I think whatever I make I am going to add the lecithin because it helps so much with the liquid soap feel!
 
Of course, happy to help! It's definitely a journey of experimentation since we are all unique in our skin needs.

Tallow has a slightly higher cleansing value than lard, and it makes a harder bar. It's still pretty gentle for most folks. If you want to use that, I'd use olive oil or avocado oil instead of the coconut oil and cocoa butter, like this:

80% tallow
15% olive oil or avocado oil
5% castor oil

Then put the cocoa butter and coconut oil into your lotion with the other stuff. :)

For liquid soap, it has a very long shelf life, especially if you store the paste in a dark, airtight container, and only dilute what you will use up within a few months. You can add some of the additional ingredients to your liquid soap, but typically only in very small amounts - unless you learn some advanced techniques for how to solubilize and suspend them. That may require use of ingredients that you don't want to use.

Here is a link to a good ebook on liquid soapmaking, including how to formulate. If you want advice on how to incorporate specific additives, you can post a new thread here on SMF, but be sure to post it in the liquid soapmaking area here.
 
Of course, happy to help! It's definitely a journey of experimentation since we are all unique in our skin needs.

Tallow has a slightly higher cleansing value than lard, and it makes a harder bar. It's still pretty gentle for most folks. If you want to use that, I'd use olive oil or avocado oil instead of the coconut oil and cocoa butter, like this:

80% tallow
15% olive oil or avocado oil
5% castor oil

Then put the cocoa butter and coconut oil into your lotion with the other stuff. :)

For liquid soap, it has a very long shelf life, especially if you store the paste in a dark, airtight container, and only dilute what you will use up within a few months. You can add some of the additional ingredients to your liquid soap, but typically only in very small amounts - unless you learn some advanced techniques for how to solubilize and suspend them. That may require use of ingredients that you don't want to use.

Here is a link to a good ebook on liquid soapmaking, including how to formulate. If you want advice on how to incorporate specific additives, you can post a new thread here on SMF, but be sure to post it in the liquid soapmaking area here.
Thank you, I will definitely look into this! Now, back to my research paper... lol
 
Castor oil is a humectant! It attracts moisture. Those inexpensive (make your eyelashes bigger) serums contain a lot of castor because the hair swells!
I don't know if that property changes after it's saponified...but considering so many soapers who used it at higher percentages than the recommended 5% (of total oils) say it makes a sticky bar....I'm led to believe that it does.

Oily baby, huh? Don't want that now that he's squirmy enough to slip from your grasp, lol! There are "dry" oils....I don't know what they are but I'm sure someone here does. When making body butter, people add in things like arrowroot powder or cornstarch to help reduce the oiliness.

I know I said I wouldn't help you make a soap, but I'm going to change my mind now that I see you're educated and systematic, and had very qualified help with understanding his condition. A hot process soap is a cooked batter that becomes fully saponified. People claim that adding the superfat (a superfat is excess oil in a soap recipe that ensures there's no excess lye) and essential oils after the cook, into somewhat cooled batter helps retain the properties of the oil and essential oil. I can only guess, but the sea buckthorn oil might be the best best for the superfat (unless 5% will discolor too much, then can share the percentage with another oil). A nice long cure helps reduce the pH - a minimum of 4 - 6 weeks and longer is better. Lye soap is always high in pH, but curing does increase gentleness.
 
When my son was pre-4 months old I had so many problems with his skin and was recommended not to use soap but just add a bit of sweet almond oil to his bath water. I later found out that he was allergic to nuts ( shouldn't have used the almond oil) dairy, and eggs, and as soon as I eliminated those from my diet ( he was solely breastfed) his skin cleared up virtually overnight.
 
Here's an idea: there are wholesale suppliers that make unscented lotion bases formulated so you can add a limited amount of other ingredients without changing the preservative system. Many will already have glycerin and lecithin in them.
https://essentialsbycatalina.com/wholesale-bulk-bases/lotions-creams-body-buttershttps://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/bath-body-supplies/ready-to-use-base/lotion-body-butter.aspxBramble Berry Handcraft Provisions. ...........and there's others.


There's also the prospect of "hiring" a professional lotion maker to make the lotion for you. By professional, I mean someone who's not a hobbyist and recognizes that a truly safe lotion must have independent testing of the preservative system to ensure those invisible microbes aren't multiplying in the lotion.
 
Castor oil is a humectant! It attracts moisture. Those inexpensive (make your eyelashes bigger) serums contain a lot of castor because the hair swells!
I don't know if that property changes after it's saponified...but considering so many soapers who used it at higher percentages than the recommended 5% (of total oils) say it makes a sticky bar....I'm led to believe that it does.

Oily baby, huh? Don't want that now that he's squirmy enough to slip from your grasp, lol! There are "dry" oils....I don't know what they are but I'm sure someone here does. When making body butter, people add in things like arrowroot powder or cornstarch to help reduce the oiliness.

I know I said I wouldn't help you make a soap, but I'm going to change my mind now that I see you're educated and systematic, and had very qualified help with understanding his condition. A hot process soap is a cooked batter that becomes fully saponified. People claim that adding the superfat (a superfat is excess oil in a soap recipe that ensures there's no excess lye) and essential oils after the cook, into somewhat cooled batter helps retain the properties of the oil and essential oil. I can only guess, but the sea buckthorn oil might be the best best for the superfat (unless 5% will discolor too much, then can share the percentage with another oil). A nice long cure helps reduce the pH - a minimum of 4 - 6 weeks and longer is better. Lye soap is always high in pH, but curing does increase gentleness.
That is good to know about castor oil. I will keep that in mind when formulating my recipe.

I would like to note here though (going down a rabbit hole warning) that I absolutely adore Castor oil for my eyes. I made a saline solution that is 75% saline and 25% castor oil for my eye drops and my eyes went from arid dry to much more moisturized (and needing less drops now after using for a week). If you decided to try this though it should be noted that the Castor oil should be hexane free, cold-pressed and organic (according to eye doctors - who I recommend listening to, lol) The oil definitely works for the eyes!

Lol, yeah. His dad wasn't a fan. I am pretty happy with his lotion recipe though so I don't plan to touch that (unless one day I decide to try to make lotion bars).

I love the idea of using Seabuckthorn as a super fat. I absolutely adore Seabuckthorn - it is my favorite ingredient I have used thus far hands down. :)

Here's an idea: there are wholesale suppliers that make unscented lotion bases formulated so you can add a limited amount of other ingredients without changing the preservative system. Many will already have glycerin and lecithin in them.
https://essentialsbycatalina.com/wholesale-bulk-bases/lotions-creams-body-buttershttps://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/bath-body-supplies/ready-to-use-base/lotion-body-butter.aspxBramble Berry Handcraft Provisions. ...........and there's others.


There's also the prospect of "hiring" a professional lotion maker to make the lotion for you. By professional, I mean someone who's not a hobbyist and recognizes that a truly safe lotion must have independent testing of the preservative system to ensure those invisible microbes aren't multiplying in the lotion.
From what I understand there are tests you can perform at home to see if your lotion has microbes forming in it. I plan to get a couple of them and check on his lotion periodically. According to studies, the preservative I have should work, but you just never know.
 
I've just been quietly following along, but this morning I had some thoughts. (Excuse the unfriendly-looking list format -- it helps me keep my random, scattered thoughts in order)

1. I think you should try making a small batch of a plain, gentle soap. Not to use on him, necessarily, but to see what the process is like. That may help to understand how best to incorporate your special ingredients. You'll also get an idea for how long it takes to make soap compared to making your mixture. You and your husband can use those bars in the shower. If you're anything like the rest of us, learning to make soap for a loved one can lead to an obsessive hobby.

2. Search the forum here for each of your special ingredients: you may find out how they will behave in soap from people who have already tried them, or from one of our resident chemists. For example, here is a post about Sea Buckthorn Oil in soap: Post in thread 'Sea Buckthorn oil' Sea Buckthorn oil

3. Oily baby: when you've used oil, when do you apply? More than once a day? Before clothing? At bedtime?

4. Search the forum for Zing and his lotion bar posts. While lotion bars are great, they can't be loaded with very many liquid oils or they won't be a bar. They can also leave an oily feeling to the skin, which you are trying to avoid.

5. Hot Process may well be the best bet for preserving the properties of your special ingredients. However, the percentage of superfat (special oils added at the end) in a normal soap is only 3-8 percent (usually) of the total weight of the soap batch. That is where your special ingredients would be. When you make your own soap mixture, what percentage of the final product is made up of your special ingredients?

6. I think jojoba behaves differently in soap than other oils do, since it is actually a liquid wax? It may survive the saponification process better than the others.

I'd better stop there. The more I type, the more random thoughts I am having. I hope that all made sense. It's still pretty early in the morning.
 
Johnson and Johnson's bath products are what sent my son to the ER with a chemical 2nd degree burn.
Oh my! I had no idea!
I use them with liquid Dr Bronners Castile soap right now and all of his skin problems have dissapeared.
Then, if it t'were me, I would continue doing that. I make a Dr. B's hair & body shampoo (Liquid Soap) dupe. If you're interested in learning to make that, I'm happy to share the recipe.
From what I understand, castile soap is "true soap" and he is not having a problem with it at all, but the baby detergents break him out and give him red scaly patches on his skin.
I hear that! Ouch! Same thing happened to my daughter when she was little. The poor little one was miserable with a red rash all over until the pediatrician recommended I wash all her clothing and bed linens in Dreft. Cleared right up.
Everything else either breaks him out or gives him very dry skin. I have found a good recipe for his skin, I just want to know how to make it into soap, lol.
Lotion = Leave on product
Soap = Wash off product

Here's my thinking... continue to do what works, i.e., lotion + castile soap. If you like, I'm happy to send you a bar of ZNSC, plain or with tea tree EO to try. PM me if interested.

If it works, it's easy to make and may be the answer to your prayers. One can only hope...

 
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