Pros and cons of different soap making techniques

[Candybee]

I like Scientific Soap Making by Kevin Dunn, available on Amazon. YouTube has Soapmaking 101, Brambleberry's Soap Queen and if you type in swirling; you get a lot of wild and crazy things that people are doing with soap of all kinds. Some things are hit and miss but that's how you learn. I use an oven thermometer that has a long silver cord or tether with a metal probe on the end. It has a timer but mostly it is easy to slip the probe into wax or soap with the read out where you need it. Temp is so important with wax and soap. My basement lab is full to overflowing with thousands of dollars worth of supplies, packaging and tools. My number one rule? NEVER EVER THROW ANYTHING AWAY! EVER! I can't begin to tell you how often something sits around for a long time and then suddenly it becomes part of a plan or idea. Rule 2: Wear gloves, a good respirator for both candle or soap making, wear protective glasses and never have pets or children around you when making candles or soap. Hot wax hurts but not like hot lye water or fresh soap batter. Never leave anything down within reach of pets or children. Wow, I'm on a random roll! Bottom line is this takes years of work and experimentation to create a good product. One of the best web sites is Ginger's Garden. Her soaps are beautiful and the presentation is superb.

 

Definitely Kevin Dunn is a great author and soapmaker. I love reading his stuff when I run into it.

[Candybee]

I knew a soaper that made her own molds out of styrofoam and tape. Of course she had to line them with freezer wrap or plastic trash bags but for starting out its pretty darned cheap. Plus they were very nice and professional looking, retained heat, and she also made them leak proof.

 

If you have any silicone baking molds at home those will work great or you can pick some up pretty cheap at a local Walmart, Target, or other box store with kitchen supplies. I just bought a couple silicone muffin molds for my shaving soaps.

 

Just sayin there is a cheaper way to get soap molds to use until you get good at making soap. Especially before you splurge on professional molds and definitely cheaper than buying larger production molds before you even know if you like making soap.

Edited January 6, 2016 by Candybee

[C Dizzle]

I was just joking on the amounts, but am very appreciative of the ideas.

[chuck_35550]

I bought the 9 bar with the silicone liner from BB and it is very well made but the bar sizes are unacceptable. I have a Kelsie that has been used until falling apart but the dividers are a pain. I'm pouring without the dividers and cutting in half with my new cutter. The silicone tray is worth the investment but that's about it. You can go to Hobby Lobby and buy silicone to make your own slab molds or other molds. YouTube has some good tutorials on that subject. I like a slab for inserting m&p hearts or other similar details but swirling is good too.

[C Dizzle]

Are the oils in Wal-Mart acceptable for cold press? I live in a small town and that's all I have access to other than the internet. I had ordered a "cold press starter kit" from a reputable soap supply website, but a week after ordering it I called to ask why it hadn't even shipped yet and they said they were backed up due to the holidays and "took time off to spend with their families", but I could pay them $10 and they would expedite it and get it out today. So, I cancelled that order.

 

So I am going to just stick with local oils, wholesale lye online, and the fragrance oils I have online. I got some lye from essential depot, I think was the website, and just wanted to try out here. Any recommended brands? From what I've read so far, I will definitely want to use coconut oil, olive oil and castor oil, and probably stick with soft water rather than goats milk like I initially thought. I'm very open to any other suggested oils, especially if I can get them locally.

 

If I really should stick with oils online, any websites that would be good like essential depot?

Edited January 11, 2016 by C Dizzle

[TallTayl]

For starting out with local oils that won't break the bank, lard is super affordable. It is a sub for palm oil which is also a great performer. Sometimes you can find palm oil in the shortening cans.

Coconut oil is a staple for me too. Someone on another board mentioned their local Big Lots had gallons priced better than the grocery store.

Do you, or soemone you know, have a Costco membership? Their olive oil is usually more reasonably priced and successful in soap that most grocery store brands. (A timely article about olive oil adulteration just came up again).

Castor at the store pharmacy is kinda spendy in those tiny bottles, but will work fine.

To learn the process, i'd start with super inexpensive oils. A forgiving and reliable formula i use for my swaps is just:

50% olive oil

25% coconut oil

25% palm oil (or lard if you prefer).

Run your amounts through a lye calculator to find how much you need for a 5% superfat and you're off. This makes a firm and bubbly bar of soap that you can build on easily.

[TallTayl]

Here is a link from my you tube channel (https://youtube.com/channel/UCKVy3uhd_1jhgyNHoYrE-NA ) with results for the first big lather lovers swap i hosted a couple years back. The soap samples were all only 4 weeks old at the time of videotaping.

The control soap noted above is this video:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=RtSERFHnQ0w

We tested 25+ additives to the exact formula noted in the post above.

Edited January 11, 2016 by TallTayl

[C Dizzle]

Interesting, thank you so much! Did you also publish the results of what happened with each additive?

[TallTayl]

Yes. I had very clean hands after the 25+ samples.

I posted the channel link in an edit above, but here it is again in case you don't see the edit.

https://youtube.com/channel/UCKVy3uhd_1jhgyNHoYrE-NA

[C Dizzle]

Going forward though, I think I would want to stay away from palm oil once I learned soaping better and stick with coconut, olive, and castor, although I'm uncertain. Coconut and olive seem the main for sure ones, and castor's properties are just amazing

 

Do any oils take to fragrancing better? I am sticking to water rather than milk just for what I believe is a product that will take better to more fragrances.

[Jcandleattic]

Use filtered (I have a reverse osmosis and water softener and use a filter on that) or distilled water for soapmaking. Just general tap water (soft or not) can have metal and/or mineral deposits in it and can wreck havoc with your soaping. 

Otherwise it sounds like you are well on your way to making your first batch of a successful soap. 

 

Not sure about certain oils retaining or making the scent stronger in soaps. My recipe takes scent pretty well even when I use GM as 100% of my liquid... 

Edited January 12, 2016 by Jcandleattic

[C Dizzle]

My goat milk concern was you saying it would heat too hot for some scents.

I believe I'll start with your recipe though and go from there. Do you like castor oil and if so what kind of blend do you do?

[TallTayl]

My goat milk concern was you saying it would heat too hot for some scents.

I believe I'll start with your recipe though and go from there. Do you like castor oil and if so what kind of blend do you do?

Was this to me?

Goat milk and other sugary liquids generate more heat during saponification. If you know it will heat, you can control a lot by not bundling it up tightly until the most violent part of the saponification process is over. Some fragrances generate a lot of heat too. Some batches that i know are prone to overheating get elevated on the bench with fans running on them until it Settles down.

goat milk has its own "smell" even when not overheated, but when made without overheating (which creates an ammonia smell that fades gradually over time) holds scents no worse than any other liquid. Generally, working with more complicated ingredients is easier once you figure out the process without those variables, right?

[TallTayl]

I do like castor, but at very low %. My current formula uses 3%. I use it to stick blend my fragrances into before adding to the olive oil amd then to the rest of the batch. An old legend is that castor will help hold scent longer.

I would do one batch with it and one wihthout to see if you notice any differences.

[C Dizzle]

That makes perfect sense. I've noticed a lot of recipes using the three oils you mention as well. Suppose I'll be looking for those,soon! I just wish a Costco was near.

[Jcandleattic]

My main recipe uses castor at 5% - I don't go higher than that. 

[Candybee]

DC Dizzle don't be afraid to experiment with milk soaps. The majority of my soaps use either coconut milk or goat milk. I have not noticed any difference in scent retention, morphing, or fading of scent using them. Milks add a creamy, luxurious, high end quality to soap you may want to try sometime.

 

Using coconut milk is pretty easy. Goat milk can be more challenging. But using any milk can be challenging depending on how you add it to your soap. Some soaper's like to use it as as their lye solution liquid while others add it directly to the soap batter. That's why before you consider using additives like milks it helps to start out practicing with a few batches of a beginner recipe.

 

I have used coconut milk, goat milk, hemp milk, soy milk, almond milk, plain yogurt, greek yogurt, buttermilk, dairy cream, and powdered milk. Each is unique in your soap and each may it's own pros and cons. But all give your soap a creamy texture and lather that can be very nice.

 

Also, not sure why you want to not use palm oil. You can buy sustainably sourced palm oil from Soaper's Choice if that is what you are concerned with. Palm oil is part of the holy trinity of soap making; olive, coconut, palm. So you should give it a try. Oils like palm add creamy lather and hardness to your soaps. Both are qualities soapers look for when building a recipe for a good soap. There are other oils/butters that can be subbed out for palm but some can be pricey especially if you go with all veggie oils. Palm is an excellent oil choice in soap and adds desirable soap properties. If you plan to sell soap in the future you need to consider the costs of your oils and palm is fairly cheap.

Edited January 12, 2016 by Candybee