Allergic to my soap

[vberkesch]

I have 5 kids & 2 of them seem to have a sensitivity ( itching) to my soap.

Following is a list of my ingredient - tell me what you think the culprit is:

Olive oil - 32%

Lard -28%

Coconut oil - 15%

Palm kernel flakes - 15%

Castor oil - 5%

Shea butter -4%

Bees wax - 1%

Really like the recipe, thinking it's the coconut that's the problem. If my own kids have trouble with coconut - how many others have trouble with it???

[Candybee]

I see you have your PKO and CO split. Thats how I deal with coconut is by keeping it low. However, when you add both the PKO and CO together that makes up 30% of your oils. For someone with sensitive and dry skin that can be too much. If I had an allergy or sensitivity to coconut I would cut it out and use either PKO or babassu at anywhere from 15-20%.

You can also increase your olive oil and try 5 or 10% avocado and/or sweet almond oil. I use those in my baby soaps as they are very gentle on your skin.

Have you tried a simple castile? If you want a gentle soap try 90-95% olive oil and 5-10% castile. I like adding a little SAO to mine at 5%. If you want a castile you can use in 4-6 weeks you can use 75% olive oil, 15% babassu or PKO, 5% castor oil, and 5% SAO. If you want a true castile you use 100% olive oil but you will need to let it cure for at least 6 mos, a year is even better.

[TallTayl]

Shea could be a culprit. Seem shea is a more of a common allergen than coconut.

Could also be you need a higher SF. 8-10% is reasonable, especially with 30% or so of oils considered cleansing (high in Lauric acid).

I would start with a plain old olive oil soap and add on one thing at a time to see if it is an oil causing the problem.

ETA it could also be a fragrance, essential oil or colorant causing irritation. Good luck!

Edited October 20, 2013 by TallTayl

[chuck_35550]

It's always the problem of balancing suds and conditioning. You want high yield suds so you have to compensate by increasing your conditioning properties with butters and the like. The holy trinity of soapmaking for centuries has been olive, palm and coconut; with good reason. If you used a simple 50% olive, 25% Palm and 25% coconut recipe you get a balanced set of qualities. I really like olive pomace and beef tallow in my soaps with a little cocoa or shea butter. I use Quiet Girl's formula a lot and think its just one of the best all around soap recipes out there IMHO. Buy a bag of marigold petals and fill a round tea strainer and infuse your olive with calendula for little people skin. You can place the petals on top of the soap for a nice touch and its a beautiful golden color. HTH

Steve

[MoonShadow]

It's always the problem of balancing suds and conditioning. You want high yield suds so you have to compensate by increasing your conditioning properties with butters and the like. The holy trinity of soapmaking for centuries has been olive, palm and coconut; with good reason. If you used a simple 50% olive, 25% Palm and 25% coconut recipe you get a balanced set of qualities. I really like olive pomace and beef tallow in my soaps with a little cocoa or shea butter. I use Quiet Girl's formula a lot and think its just one of the best all around soap recipes out there IMHO. Buy a bag of marigold petals and fill a round tea strainer and infuse your olive with calendula for little people skin. You can place the petals on top of the soap for a nice touch and its a beautiful golden color. HTH

Steve

I just made a calendula infused soap. I love love love what it does in my recipes.

[CareBear]

what is your lye discount?

could just be a little too cleansing for some young skins.

Edited October 22, 2013 by CareBear

[vberkesch]

Thanks everybody for your help.

I feel like my recipe is balanced as far as cleansing vs. conditioning.

BUT.... I have never tried the calendula. What does calendula actually do to help the soap to be more conditioning??

...and how do you infuse it into Olive oil?

Thanks, Vanessa

[chuck_35550]

Calendula makes an excellent base for lotions, salves and creams. If you have sensitive skin Calendula Oil would be ideal for you, it's even gentle enough that it can be used on babies to treat diaper rash.

Calendula is an excellent anti inflammatory and antiseptic making it beneficial to sore, inflamed itchy skin conditions. It promotes healing, increases collagen production and cell regeneration. It also aids in the reduction of scars making it ideal for many skin conditions.

Calendula is commonly used for acne, eczema, psoriasis, diaper rash, dry chapped skin and other rashes. It is a wonderful oil to have on hand at all times.

Place your calendula petals in a tea strainer or cheese cloth and place in a Mason jar with your oil. You can set it in a sunny window and let the sun do the work or you can simmer the oil for about 30 minutes (don't let it burn) and then store for several weeks to get a good infusion. Your formula is too high in lauric acid for little people's skin IMHO but it could be allergies to other ingredients. Infants and cancer patients typically tolerate about 5 to 7 percent lauric and definitely no fragrance. HTH

Steve

[vberkesch]

Thanks Steve!

Really helped a lot!

[CareBear]

Thanks everybody for your help.

I feel like my recipe is balanced as far as cleansing vs. conditioning.

the balance can be made irrelevant by the lye discount. what is your lye discount?

[cmzaha]

Calendula makes an excellent base for lotions, salves and creams. If you have sensitive skin Calendula Oil would be ideal for you, it's even gentle enough that it can be used on babies to treat diaper rash.

Calendula is an excellent anti inflammatory and antiseptic making it beneficial to sore, inflamed itchy skin conditions. It promotes healing, increases collagen production and cell regeneration. It also aids in the reduction of scars making it ideal for many skin conditions.

Calendula is commonly used for acne, eczema, psoriasis, diaper rash, dry chapped skin and other rashes. It is a wonderful oil to have on hand at all times.

Place your calendula petals in a tea strainer or cheese cloth and place in a Mason jar with your oil. You can set it in a sunny window and let the sun do the work or you can simmer the oil for about 30 minutes (don't let it burn) and then store for several weeks to get a good infusion. Your formula is too high in lauric acid for little people's skin IMHO but it could be allergies to other ingredients. Infants and cancer patients typically tolerate about 5 to 7 percent lauric and definitely no fragrance. HTH

Steve

Since some can be allergic to Calendula (such as me) I find a carrot infused oil is very nice. I 100% agree with the low percent of lauric and myristic. I keep my lauric in most soaps around 10'ish and lower for sensitive skin. My experience selling at City of Hope is cancer patients certainly cannot use much harsher than what Chuck states above. Do remember Palm Kernel is not the same as Palm. Palm kernel is high in lauric and Palm oil has a negligible amount. Palm and coconut are very cleansing in soap

[vberkesch]

I do a 5% lye discount, BUT, ALL MY SOAPS HAVE Goat milk added to the batch. (Fresh frozen)

Either 50% or 100% of the water is replaced with goat milk. Therefore I do not go higher than a 5% discount.

[Jeana]

If you scent your soap, that could be more of the problem than the other ingredients.

I was told by the guys at columbus foods that the coconut oil we put in our soaps doesn't contain the protein anymore that causes allergic reactions. If you are using virgin coconut oil that would be different.

[Candybee]

If you scent your soap, that could be more of the problem than the other ingredients.

I was told by the guys at columbus foods that the coconut oil we put in our soaps doesn't contain the protein anymore that causes allergic reactions. If you are using virgin coconut oil that would be different.

Interesting. But if you are allergic to coconut does it matter whether that particular protein is present or not? Won't you still be allergic to anything coconut related?

In any event, some people, like myself, are sensitive to too much coconut and get dry itchy skin. What worked for me was splitting my coconut oil with PKO at 50/50% so I still had the "fluffy bubbles" without the dry itchy skin. I know too much of either can have that effect but splitting them worked perfect in my case.

[Jeana]

You'd have to talk to the guy who handles to soap oils at Columbus to explain it better. I told him once that I have customers who say they are allergic to coconut oil and he came up with an answer to that saying people wouldn't be allergic to their coconut oil. For myself, I can't use VCO in my body care products it makes me itch, but I can use my soap with 76 degree CO with out issue.

[Candybee]

I was just thinking of peanuts and how some people with allergies to peanuts can still get a violent reaction to food processed or handled that came in contact with peanuts. I think it may depend on the voracity of the allergy for each individual.

[CareBear]

Fully refined oils have all the proteins (the things to which people are allergic) removed (assuming there is no re-contamination after the fact which is rare IME). Virgin is a less refined oil (and typically so are cold pressed oils) which can have some proteins still in the oil and are more likely to cause an allergic reaction.

Fully refined oils should have NO ALLERGENS but if you have a true allergy, don't bank on it. My kids have peanut allergies and although they ate food cooked in peanut oil dozens of times both before and after (by accident) their diagnoses we don't assume that the oil is safe regardless of processing. Because it's not necessary.

[Nikon]

It may not be your recipe exactly. Some people just are sensitive to hand made soap. I tend to drink a lot of sodas and no water, so I am not hydrated like I need to be sometimes. So, in winter, and if I have not been drinking a lot of water, most handmade soap causes a little itching for me after a shower. Even 10% SF. Warm weather, I don't have a problem.

[Moonstar]

On 11/1/2013 at 8:34 AM, Candybee said:

Interesting. But if you are allergic to coconut does it matter whether that particular protein is present or not? Won't you still be allergic to anything coconut related?

In any event, some people, like myself, are sensitive to too much coconut and get dry itchy skin. What worked for me was splitting my coconut oil with PKO at 50/50% so I still had the "fluffy bubbles" without the dry itchy skin. I know too much of either can have that effect but splitting them worked perfect in my case.

I know this is a really old thread but it's SO interesting ! So there's a difference in Coconut oil that's 

virgin ( trader joe or Costco) than 

the kind you buy at suppliers that 

says 76 degree???? I never knew 

that ! I love browsing the old threads , very informative ?

[Moonstar]

Bumping this  

[ChrisR]

My skin can't handle any coconut oil, so I use PKO & babassu and my son can't handle any shea butter, so I use mango butter instead. 

[chuck_35550]

My newest formulation excludes olive oil and coconut. My wife believes it my best soap. The soap is designed for people with sensitive skin types. 

[Moonstar]

24 minutes ago, chuck_35550 said:

My newest formulation excludes olive oil and coconut. My wife believes it my best soap. The soap is designed for people with sensitive skin types. 

so you find olive oil isn't a good choice for sensitive skin ? Interesting. What oils or butters do you feel help sensitive skin most. Ive always read about 

hemp oil but it has a very short shelf life so I wonder if its just added in very small amounts ? BTW wives are right lol ! Would love to see your soap once 

you make some Have you ever used lard ? Ive read pros + cons with that oil . Most have said that its very gentle + doesn't clog pores .