Creating more Creamy Lather?

[PurpleHippie]

I used a bar of soap that had very creamy lather, little bubbly.The creamy lather felt great on my skin. I asked the person that made the soap what ingredient made it so creamy and she told me it was the Avocado oil. When using a soap calculator what range in the creamy catagory should I aim for when trying to create more creamy lather versus bubbly?

[Barbara AL]

The creamy can max out at 34 I have had some soaps that were 28 and they were very creamy.

Barb

[topofmurrayhill]

You would be surprised how often people don't know what makes their soap the way it is. Oils with a high proportion of stearic are a good way to make the lather more creamy. Avocado won't do that for you.

[Elizabeth]

Coconut oil will make for alot of lather but can also be a bit drying.. If you up the cco, you may want to adjust your other oils/butters to add conditioning.

It really is the marriage of a few different oils that give that happy balance of lather and conditioning IMO.

[3bees~1flower]

when looking at the number is soapcalc, cocoa butter always increases the creamy lather, and i do find it is so when using soap with and without cb.

[topofmurrayhill]

Yup. Where I mentioned stearic oils before, butters would be a good example. Cocoa butter is especially good for a shot of stearic. Also hydrogenated oils and tallow.

[PurpleHippie]

Thanks everyone. I like the way avocado oil products feel on my skin and even in some hair poducts. So I assumed when she said it was the avocado that was indeed the reason I loved the soap so much.

[topofmurrayhill]

Thanks everyone. I like the way avocado oil products feel on my skin and even in some hair poducts. So I assumed when she said it was the avocado that was indeed the reason I loved the soap so much.

I don't think it would have anything to do with the avocado oil. It's probably just well balanced soap.

The properties of soap depend on the balance of the fatty acids that go into making it. Even a small change in the fatty acid balance will cause a noticeable change in the soap, so that's far and away the most significant trick to making good soap. The effect of any unique compound in a specific oil is negligible in comparison.

That's why many people have found that they can make the ultimate soap using only the most common oils. Once you've learned to do that, nobody can beat it by using some exotic oil.

There's lots of stuff in an avocado though. The products you like might be using something other than the oil.

[JacquiO]

The creamiest lather I ever got was from a soap I made with 50/50 water/coconut milk for my liquid.

[PurpleHippie]

That sounds interesting! I happen to have a lot of coconut milk on hand. I use it for smoothies:) I use GSE in my oils. Do I need preservative when using milk?

[chuck_35550]

I make goats milk from fresh whole milk and have tried powdered buttermilk and powdered coconut milk soaps and never used a preservative.

[Carrie]

You could also use some silk in the lye water. That helps to make a creamy lather.

[Fire and Ice]

You could also use some silk in the lye water. That helps to make a creamy lather.

Yup! I never soap without Silk. I also use a lot of GM in my soaps as well. Using Half & Half or heavy cream might help too. There's a thread, over at the dish, on the soap talk section about using heavy cream instead of GM or CM. I haven't tried it yet but I plan to at some point.

Edited August 26, 2009 by Fire and Ice

[PurpleHippie]

I've never used silk, I'll give it a try:smiley2:

[JacquiO]

I've never used silk, I'll give it a try:smiley2:

Just keep in mind silk isn't vegan. (I read in another post that you were trying to stay vegan with your recipes)

I haven't soaped with 100% coconut milk but the 50/50 worked great. It felt like I was showering with a lotion bar. No need for preservatives.

I do vegan and non so silk would be worth a try for me too.

[cdesousa5]

Can I ask why silk is not vegan. It is made from the silk worm I get but do you have to kill the silk worm to get it? Is a silk worm an animal or a insect?

[Carrie]

Can I ask why silk is not vegan. It is made from the silk worm I get but do you have to kill the silk worm to get it? Is a silk worm an animal or a insect?

Honey isn't vegan either cdesousa. It isn't that anything was harmed but that it is produced by a bug or animal. At least that's the way I understand it. I'm not up on veganism, it just doesn't seem natural to me but that is just my opinion.

Just FYI, the silk that I sell in the co-ops that I run is harvested from the cocoons after the worms have left them.

Edited September 2, 2009 by Carrie

[JacquiO]

It's not vegan because it's derived from animals. I personally have no problem with silk.

I think you'd have to be a pretty extreme vegan to object to silk but vegan ethics does have much to do with the exploitation of animals for material gain which may extend to even worms breed in captivity.

Personally when you think of all the toxic pollution that's created by the manufacture of petroleum based synthetic fibers I'd choose a silk shirt over a polyester one any day.