Stearic Acid in Soap

[brempel]

I was looking at a post in the picture section. They were talking about adding stearic acid to make the soap harder. Does anyone here do that?

brempel

[topofmurrayhill]

I've experimented with free stearic acid but I don't use it in any of my normal recipes. There are people who do. In principle it's perfectly OK to add a few percent and it will harden the recipe.

Personally, it wouldn't be at the top of my recommendations for CP recipes. Almost all recipes have some stearic acid in them because it's found in many oils. However, stearic in the form of an oil saponifies more slowly than free stearic acid. In many cases there's no advantage to speeding up trace. A slower recipe gives you more time to swirl and do other stuff, and makes it easier to use fragrances that move fast.

There's nothing you can do with stearic acid that can't be accomplished by simply adjusting the oils in your recipe to make a harder bar.

[ilovescents]

There's nothing you can do with stearic acid that can't be accomplished by simply adjusting the oils in your recipe to make a harder bar.

I agree wholeheartedly! I love being a "soap chemist" -- to be able to adjust certain oils in your formulation to come up with a perfect bar of soap or according to your preferences.

[IndulgentCreations]

I do add stearic to almost every batch I make. I love my recipe, how it feels just wanted to up the hardness a tad.

[Carriegsxr6]

Steric is great to add when your soft/hard oil ratios are more on the soft side, or you are want to make a low cleansing bar, or a high moisturizing bar, and also prevent DOS.

Usage is about 1% to your oil recipe. Be sure to use full water because it will speed up trace.