Do these percentages sound right?

[CBE]

I'm VERY new to CP soap, I haven't tried it yet, but I'm goin' for the gusto. I'm ready to take the plunge and just DO IT. First of all, I didn't realize how confusing these recipes and stuff could be. I played around... (going on four hours now) and came up with this recipe... please give me your thoughts on it... advice welcomed also!!!

Palm Kernal 15%

Coconut (frac.) 10%

Lard 15%

Cocoa Butter 5%

Avocado 15%

Olive 20%

Castor 15%

Hemp 5%

Hardness 36

Cleansing 19

Condition 59

Bubbly 32

Creamy 31

Iodine 64

INS 141

A few questions: Lard.... I'm assuming CRISCO right?

What does INS stand for? :embarasse

What does iodine have to do with CP soap?

Can you tell I'm a cp soap virgin? LOL

I will be ordering my lye tomorrow... I have everything else on hand.

I'm really excited. But why am I so nervous? LOL

[Meridith]

Lard is not Crisco - Crisco is actually soybean oil and lard is pig fat.

The INS ( I don't know what it stands for) but it is a measurement of the soaps physical qualities based on the iodine and SAP values.

Those number look pretty good. I never use over 5% os castor in my batches. I would sub out the FCO for 96 or 76 coconut oil since IMO FCO is better saved for other applications but that is JMO. Now go give your recipe a try and let us know how it turns out. I bet it will be a wonderful soap.

[Crafty1_AJ]

I agree with Meridith -- I'd use regular 76* coconut and drop your castor to no more than 10%. You could add that extra 5% as more cocoa butter or lard (I'd make that 5% a hard oil, not soft). Your conditioning and lather numbers look good, but this is likely to make a bar that's a bit on the soft side, IMO. That's why I suggest dropping castor to 10% and adding 5% lard or cocoa butter -- the latter especially will really help increase bar hardness.

Look for lard in a bucket or slab labeled MANTECA. M's right -- it's not the same as Crisco. Crisco is hydrogenated liquid oils such as soy, and perhaps cottonseed. Lard is from hogs.

Good luck!

[CBE]

Is hydrogenated soy considered a hard or soft oil?

I'm starting to think twice about the lard. Does adding lard usually make a good soap? Doesn't lard have an off smell? Or is that Tallow that has the off smell?

[CareBear]

Some feel lard has an odor. I myself find it smells a little like fat/oil - and don't know what they are talking about. I get no "piggy" smell like those compain of, and neither has any of my testers. I make 100% lard soap as a stain stick so you would think I would pick it up from that if nothing else.

[Meridith]

Is hydrogenated soy considered a hard or soft oil?

I'm starting to think twice about the lard. Does adding lard usually make a good soap? Doesn't lard have an off smell? Or is that Tallow that has the off smell?

Hydrogenated soy will add some conditioning properties and help stablize your lather, but it won't make as a hard bar as other things like CO, PKO palm or cocoa butter. When I am making a vegan bar, I will sub out my lard for hydrogenated soy. I still get a great bar, but it is a bit softer than the batch with lard.

Lard in soap is actually wonderful. Lard helps to produce a hard bar with stable lather. I've never noticed any smell with it. I buy mine at Walmart in a large blue bucket. I can't remember the name brand right off hand.

As for your numbers, I'd take that extra from the castor and I'd add it to your OO amounts. I would also only use 10% avocado oil and add that left amount either to my OO, cocoa butter or to my lard depending on the numbers I was trying for.

[MarieJeanette]

I would just go ahead and try it, see how the finished soap behaves, how your skin likes it, and then tweak your next recipe from there, because everybody's skin is different in what it likes and dislikes.

As far as the numbers go, they are not all that bad, actually. I personally like my soap hardness number to be at least a 38, but that's just my own personal preference. Soap cures out to a nice hardness over enough time anyway.

Also, I'm different than some of the other posters here in that I actually lke a high castor oil percentage. To me, 15% is just fine and wouldn't make me bat an eyelid at all. My favorite recipe uses 23% castor. I use it in my very high tallow% recipe and it's awesome in that. That soap is as hard as a rock, too, and it feels to me somewhat like a Castile, but without the softness and sliminess that some people complain about with Castile's.

Just go for it! The only thing I would maybe change for the next time you make soap (and there will be a next time ) is using 76 coconut oil instead of FCO. FCO is just too precious and expensive for me to put in soap when the cheaper 76 coconut oil does just fine. You're not actually using a very high percentage of it in this recipe, so I don't see anything wrong with sticking with it for this batch if you want to.

Have fun! :smiley2:

MarieJeanette