Lorraine Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 I melted 4 oz of the Tres Leches soap base and added my fo (sandlewood vanilla) and a little vanilla stabilizer and I just unmolded the bar to find it extremely soft and rubbery. I can actually hold the bar in one hand and squeeze it, or hold it in two hands and twist it! This soap came out crazy soft! What would be my best bet to get this soap to harden up enough without compromising the lather? I've never had any soap turn out this soft even when I've added way too many ingredients to it Please help me figure this out Thank you... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Try remelting your 4 oz soap and add about 1/4 tsp of stearic. When I use EBC bases I usually let them harden overnight before using. For a lb of their base I use 1/2 to 1 tsp stearic. You'll have to test it until you get the right amount of hardness without losing your lather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noodle Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 (edited) Leave your bars out for a few days unwrapped and see what happens first. EBC bases are slow to set and take longer to harden. It is great base though. However, I have never tried the base that you have described.I agree about the stearic. I would not worry about the lather too much. If you put in a few drops of liquid soap base, it will make all the difference with your lather. In the past, I have had to do this with "difficult" base. Edited September 30, 2011 by Noodle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorraine Posted September 30, 2011 Author Share Posted September 30, 2011 Candybee, thanks so much for giving me a starting point for the stearic. I will probably start testing later today or tomorrow. Noodle, thanks so much for your reply. Leaving the bars out unwrapped for a couple of days is a very good idea. I have had to do that with other bases I've tried and it did help them harden up. I will try adding the stearic alone and see how the lather is and then if I have to I will add a few drops of liquid bronners as you have suggested. I really panicked with this base because I bought 20 lbs of it and couldn't believe that with only adding some fo and vanilla stabilizer it is so soft that I could take my square bar of soap and literally bend it up so that the two opposite corners touch! It has been like washing my hands with a giant marshmallow! LOL! Made me so sad because I LOVE the way this soap moisturizes my hands! It makes them feel like I put lotion on them! I'm going to try my best to remedy this issue. Thank you both again for your help. Much appreciated... Lorraine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorraine Posted October 4, 2011 Author Share Posted October 4, 2011 Melted down that first bar I made and added 1/4 tsp stearic and a small amount of some left over pieces of SFIC base and the soap hardened up nicely to where I can use it! Thank you Candybee! I took fresh 4 oz chunk of the soap and added my fo and 1/4 tsp of stearic, left it in the mold almost 24 hrs., took it out of the mold and let it sit on a rack for a few days and the bar hardened up nicely. Still not as hard as I would like and was wondering...instead of adding more stearic next time, is there something else I could add "in addition to" the 1/4 tsp of stearic? Maybe some cocoa butter?? What else would help harden the bar besides the stearic? TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Coconut oil, olive oil, cocoa butter. All will help harden the soap. I like coconut oil the best. With olive oil you want to use very sparingly as too much will make your soap greasy/oily.I actually use a combination. With 1 lb of soap I use 1 tsp CO, 1 tsp OO, 1 tsp CB, and .5 tsp stearic. A tsp is about 5 grams if you prefer to weigh. I don't like to use more than 1 tbs (3 tsp) of butters and oils combined in my soap as some bases won't take a lot before they lose their lather. Remember you may also be adding FO and dye so I use this rule of thumb; only 2 tbs of any additive combo to 1 lb of soap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorraine Posted October 4, 2011 Author Share Posted October 4, 2011 Coconut oil, olive oil, cocoa butter. All will help harden the soap. I like coconut oil the best. With olive oil you want to use very sparingly as too much will make your soap greasy/oily.I actually use a combination. With 1 lb of soap I use 1 tsp CO, 1 tsp OO, 1 tsp CB, and .5 tsp stearic. A tsp is about 5 grams if you prefer to weigh. I don't like to use more than 1 tbs (3 tsp) of butters and oils combined in my soap as some bases won't take a lot before they lose their lather. Remember you may also be adding FO and dye so I use this rule of thumb; only 2 tbs of any additive combo to 1 lb of soap.This is just what I needed to help me get this soft soap base figured out! THANK YOU!!! I really love the base and want to make it work! I'm totally excited now!A MILLION THANKS, CANDYBEE!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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