vberkesch Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 Hi all, . Those of you that use tussa silk in your soaps, what properties does it give your soap? Do you notice a difference in soap with vs not with the silk? tia, Vanessa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puma52 Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 (edited) Hi Vanessa, You know from my first batch of soap to now and forever until I can no longer make soap , I have and always will put the tussa silk in all of my hot process soaps. I dissolve it in the lye water. I read about it on the soap making resource site (I also purchase mine from them) and everything they say about it, I do believe is true....I have no idea how the soap feels without it...but I love the description of it, my soaps are always wonderful, creamy and luxurious and I am happy to put it in all of my soap batches. The tussah silk, cannot possibly be hurting my soap in any way. Silk is used in soap making by adding a small amount of the fibers to your hot lye solution. How small are we talking here? For a 5 pound batch of soap, you need to add only about a cotton-ball sized pinch of silk. A little goes a long way with this additive. In fact, the cost added to each bar of soap from incorporating silk into your product is just pennies! Pretty cool. Tussah silk, which is actually a protein produced by the silkworm, will quickly dissolve into your lye water and the now "silk infused" lye solution is added, as usual, to your batch. The addition of silk will cause your homemade soap to have a more shiny appearance, slightly increased lather, be more slippery, and have a general luxurious "silky" feeling to it. You will definitely notice the unique qualities added to your finished product from including silk in your recipe. In addition, silk, of course, is undoubtedly good for your bar's label appeal. After all, silk does scream luxury! Edited March 15, 2016 by puma52 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vberkesch Posted March 15, 2016 Author Share Posted March 15, 2016 Hmm interesting indeed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 When I first started using it, I didn't think there was much of a difference, but now, a few years later, I can really tell the difference in the soaps I have that have silk, and the ones that don't so unless I am making a true vegan soap, I use it in my soaps... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 Same here! I bought a quarter of a lb of Tussah silk at Soapmakingresource.com for a few dollars about 5 yrs ago and its only half used. One of the best investments (and cheapest) I've made for my soapmaking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck_35550 Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 I don't get that much with cold process soap. It doesn't incorporate that easily for me and there is no shine on my soaps. I can believe the result in hot process and suspect that if the silk is boiled in water for a period of time, it will dissolve. Just a theory, as I haven't tried that yet. I'm wondering if the hydrolyzed silk might be the better way to introduce the additive?There are plenty of hair care and other personal grooming products with hydrolyzed silk on the label. Here's some info: Silk amino acid (SAAs) also known as Sericin is a natural water-soluble glycoprotein extracted from raw silk. It is used as an additive in skin and hair care products due to its high levels of serine which has excellent moisture preservation characteristics.[1][2] As a water-based additive it is used to provide a protective barrier and silky feel to lotions, soaps, personal lubricants, hair and skincare products.[3] Silk amino acids are produced by hydrolyzing (or breaking apart) silk proteins into smaller peptide chains, typically 18 to 19 amino acids in length. Silk amino acids have a lower molecular weight than silk protein powders and are moisturizing to skin and hair. Silk amino acids are used in formulating shampoos, conditioner, hair treatments, bodywash, body lotions, cleansers, toners and facial moisturizers, mascara, lipstick and color cosmetics.[4][5] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck_35550 Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 A little more research into Sericin revealed that this is the dull coating on the raw silk fiber. It can be removed or broken down by using concentrated hydrochloric acid. The liquid silk is available from BB at about $60.00 a pound and MMS sell its for about $40.00 a pound. So if I got it right, its the coating on the silk that imparts the above mentioned qualities and not so much the fiber itself. The majority of my soaps are milk based and high heat is a no no for that type of application. Hence, the silk tends to wrap around the stick blender and doesn't work well for me. I have managed to mostly liquefy the fibers in very hot lye solutions but not totally. It does look good on the label. There is also powdered silk, which is from ground up cocoons but it too is expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 (edited) Yeah you really need to have it fully dissolved in your lye and if you still have bits of it then use a sieve to strain it as you pour into your soap batter. Otherwise the bits can be abrasive and scratchy in your soap. Ask me how I know! LOL If it helps I just discovered that when I make a master batch of lye solution of 32oz lye the silk dissolves very rapidly. But then the lye is super hot so maybe that is what moves it along. Anyway, I had not been doing 32oz lye batches until this week and was surprised at how fast the silk dissolves. Before I had been doing 8oz to 1lb lye batches. Edited March 16, 2016 by Candybee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck_35550 Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 Are you using more silk as a result? After all, more is better. I just get more skeptical about how or how often additives escape the lye monster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 My silk dissolves within about 10 minutes, but I do a 50/50 lye solution 12lbs (6lbs water/6lbs lye) at a time, so it does heat up real well, and that does help to dissolve it. I use about 3 medium sized cotton-ball sizes of the silk in that much lye water. It doesn't register on my scale, even in grams... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 (edited) I do something similar. I do a 50/50 solution but with 2 lbs lye and 2 lbs water. Haven't quite gotten up to making 6 lbs of lye batches yet. Its hard to explain the amount of silk I use. About 4 thumbnail sizes which I spread out thin and snip into small pieces. The silk dissolves in about 15-20 minutes. Edited March 16, 2016 by Candybee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 I don't use that much lye at one time. I make it up, then bottle it up in a very cleaned out laundry detergent bottle, then use as needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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