Base CP recipe

[Guest EMercier]

I got a base recipe off here and have been using it with a few batches under my belt. A few of the batches I believe I made in late and they are very soap. I'm looking for something that makes a harder bar. Here is the recipe I use. It was very simple because I did the superfat and all. Hard for me to understand all that at first.

Hard Oil

Cocoa Butter 5% - at Trace

Coconut Oil 5%

Palm Oil 25%

Soft Oils

Olive Oil 30%

Soybean Oil 15%

Castor Oil 5%

I want something that will be harder. Not rock hard, but harder.

TIA!

[CandleFreak]

Might want to check your percentages...it isn't adding up correctly....

35% Hard Oils

50% Soft Oils

thats only 85%??????

[Crafty1_AJ]

Replacing the soy with olive will make a harder bar. More expensive, but harder. And up the coconut too ... I'm assuming coconut at 5% is a typo?

[Guest EMercier]

I messed up. I swear I'm doing too much! Here is the recipe:

Hard Oil

Cocoa Butter 5% - at trace

Coconut Oil 20%

Palm Oil 25%

Soft Oil

Olive Oil 30%

Soybean Oil 15%

Castor Oil 5%

That's better!

[eugenia]

Recipe looks ok. As noted, you could sub the soy for olive. Try a water discount. That will help.

[sudsnwicks]

How long did you wait before you used it? It should get harder the longer it sits around.

[Guest EMercier]

I waited about 3 weeks to use it. The other day I cut a piece of a bar still on the rack and it was soft and didn't feel any different then the other one I used last month. Cut just like the same day I first cut the logs.

[eugenia]

Birdie, I think you were visited by the soap fairies. Who knows what happened? Perhaps one of your measurements was a tad off. I'd soap that recipe again.

[RobinInOR]

Could you post your amounts w/ lye and water amounts? How did you calculate your lye? You said you added the 5% castor oil at trace - was the castor oil in the lye calculation? Or did you skip it, and use the 0% lye discount in the calculator?

Just trying to see what your lye discount ended up being - that may have made it soft as well

[eugenia]

Could you post your amounts w/ lye and water amounts? How did you calculate your lye? You said you added the 5% castor oil at trace - was the castor oil in the lye calculation?

Hmmm, did not notice that, but it was the cocoa butter at trace, not the castor. Try soaping that recipe with all the oils in from the start.

[Kaybee23]

I am still a newbie at this. But to cut down on your olive oil usage a bit, maybe try 10% Olive and 20% Rice Bran, if you have it. I think RBO has some of the similar qualities of OO.