Moisturizing soap

[periwinkle]

I want to try making m&p, but it needs to be really moisturizing, as my dh and two of my boys have really dry skin. What base and additives make the most moisturizing type of soap, that also lathers well?

[Pam W]

http://www.craftserver.com/forums/showthread.php?90126-M-amp-P-Recipes

[periwinkle]

I looked through that thread, but I don't know which ingredients are the most moisturizing. Or if the base makes any difference, other than personal preference.

[Kitn]

I have really dry skin, it does not like M&P at all. Have they tried M&P before?

Shea butter is moisturizing.

I make M&P to sell with the SFIC bases , it has less chemicals than some of the other bases. I believe BB carries it.

[periwinkle]

I have really dry skin, it does not like M&P at all. Have they tried M&P before?

Shea butter is moisturizing.

I make M&P to sell with the SFIC bases , it has less chemicals than some of the other bases. I believe BB carries it.

I've bought a few handmade soaps in the past, but I think they were CP. My dh said they all made his skin feel dry and itchy. I don't believe I've bought M&P before. But, I may have, and just not known it.

[PAgirl89]

I have had great feedback on the MP soap that I use. I buy my bases from Peak, they're in Denver, CO.

http://www.peakcandle.com/products/Shea-Butter-Melt-and-Pour-Soap-Base__MP1012.aspx

You can get it per pound or by 10lbs. You can try the base as is, if it's not enough Shea for moisturizing, you can always add more shea butter to the base.

[periwinkle]

I have had great feedback on the MP soap that I use. I buy my bases from Peak, they're in Denver, CO.

http://www.peakcandle.com/products/Shea-Butter-Melt-and-Pour-Soap-Base__MP1012.aspx

You can get it per pound or by 10lbs. You can try the base as is, if it's not enough Shea for moisturizing, you can always add more shea butter to the base.

Thank you PAgirl89! I aprreciate the suggestion

[GailC]

If you look through the M&P recipes thread, Candybee does a wonderful job explaining which added oils/butters are moisturizing. Per her recommendations, I add castor oil for lather, and glycerin and coconut oil for moisture. She also says that olive oil and shea butter are moisturizing. I just started making soap myself. I bought Peak's goat's milk soap, which already has several moisturizing ingredients. I just sampled the lavender goat's milk soap I made tonight. I added 2 tsp castor oil, 2 tsp coconut oil, and 1 tsp glycerin to 2 pounds of the goat's milk base. My hands feel really soft, so I think it's a success.

I'm definitely not an expert though, just trying different additives as I go. Before I bought the coconut oil and glycerin, I used 2 tsp olive oil and 2 tsp castor oil in 2 pounds of base. I'm afraid to add too many oils at once; don't want to diminish the lather. I like lots of lather. I think this last batch with the added coconut oil and glycerin make my hands feel softer than the earlier batches without them.

[Stella1952]

I've bought a few handmade soaps in the past, but I think they were CP. My dh said they all made his skin feel dry and itchy.

The ingredients may not have worked for him. Many people complain that high percentages of CO in CP soap can leave their skin feeling dry because of the cleansing properties of CO... but CO itself is very conditioning when used as an additive - I use it straight right out of the bottle and my skin drinks it up. Too much glycerin can leave skin feeling dry and itchy, too, by drawing moisture OUT of the skin... Castor oil, shea butter, jojoba oil, etc. are all very moisturizing - it's all in the balance of oils and fatty acids!

Even though you are wanting to use M&P soap, Soap Calc can be VERY useful because you can check out the properties of each oil, the fatty acid profile, etc. I have learned tons just from looking at the different properties of oils and how they change when combined. HTH

[Kitn]

I've bought a few handmade soaps in the past, but I think they were CP. My dh said they all made his skin feel dry and itchy. I don't believe I've bought M&P before. But, I may have, and just not known it.

If the soap was made with coconut oil, he could be sensitive to it, my skin can't handle CO in soap, it makes my skin feel like his did.

[Candybee]

My most moisturizing soap is my oatmeal, milk, and honey soap. I have a customer whose son says he will only use my OMH soap to wash with. He has psoriasis so you can imagine his skin is super sensitive. I'm not claiming its good for psoriasis but I am not surprised as it is a very mild and moisturizing soap. Check out the M&P recipe thread. Its my OMH II recipe and it can be made with any M&P base.

[ksranch]

I have that one out to try next - do you think it's too much additives for SFIC base? That's what I have - or I have 2lbs of base from WSP. I like lather and I note on the recipe you said this recipe is good with lather with any base... I'm just hesitant because when I tried PA's recipe with SFIC I didn't have much lather.. ((sorry for all the ?? - new at this))

[Candybee]

I've only recently started working with SFIC white base so I am no expert. If you are worried about lather try cutting the additives in half. If you are still not getting enough lather you will have to keep adjusting the recipe until you do. Some bases simply don't hold much in the way of additives. Or buy a goat milk base and add the honey and oatmeal to that. I find GM bases to be the best lather wise.

[ksranch]

Awesome, thanks ever so much!

[periwinkle]

Thank you all for the suggestions! I obviously know nothing about soapmaking. It seems overwhelming compared to candles lol. I'll get there tough. However, now that I know a little more than I did, I may order some soaps to try, before I make my own, to get a better idea of which ingredients hubby likes best.

[Sharon in KY]

I bought this when I started with M&P, it was fun to mess with all.

http://shop.sficcorp.com/soapbasesamplepack.aspx

[Candybee]

They actually have the best price for buying their soap. The problem is you have to buy 5 of either the tubs or cut ups. The tubs are a very good price. But how do you cut up a 43 lb block of base? I usually buy in 20 lb bases and its not easy to cut them up but it can be done. Don't know if my knife will cut through a 43 lb block?!

[Sharon in KY]

vvbbgfssssadf

[Ravens]

Just my opinion, with some clinical research to back it up. No-one has to take it as gospel truth and anyone is free to believe it, consider it, or trash it; I won't take it personally, promise!

Having said this, glycerin in not a drying agent. Glycerin is a humectant.

A few studies were conducted in 2008 and 2009 (not positive about the date of the second study, if it was indeed in 2009).

The 2008 controlled, double-blind study conducted by the department of dermatology at Schiller University showed a significant improvement in skin hydration through the application of glycerin; the subjects suffered from atopic dermatitis.

Another study (which lasted several years) on nearly 400 subjects with clinical dry skin compared the moisturizing effects of compounds containing low and high amounts of glycerin. The compounds high in glycerin consistenly won over the others.

Glycerin belong to that class of moisturizers called "humectants". Urea is also a humectant. They work by drawing moisture from the deeper skin cells and help keep it within the stratum corneum. Other classes of moisturizers include emollients and occlusive agents. Vaseline and dimethicone are occlusive agents (which is why you should never use vaseline on a burn).

Emollients make the skin look smoother by smoothing the dry outer cells; a variety of emollient esters are used by chemists.

I realize I may have strayed from the OP topic, and for that I'm sorry! :rolleyes2

But, to sum it all up, I believe the drying effect of the MP soap was not due to the glycerin.

[Stella1952]

I believe the drying effect of the MP soap was not due to the glycerin.

Well, that's very interesting... and contrary to what I have read in MANY places on the web, so I took a look to see what I could find and, apparently, my statement from above...

Too much glycerin can leave skin feeling dry and itchy, too, by drawing moisture OUT of the skin...

is inaccurate! I'm so glad you posted this info, Ravens!

For others, like me, who have been misinformed about this, here's links to some of the articles, studies and sites that I found by searching for the question, "does glycerin moisturize skin?"

Excellent article with references to research articles.

http://truthinaging.com/ingredient-spotlight/what-is-it-glycerin

The Schiller University Study mentioned by Ravens above (scroll down to the actual study):

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18025807

Study about the effects of "Routine use of moisturizers containing dimethicone and glycerine"

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2230.2006.02297.x/abstract

An excerpt from a study comparing the benefits of glycerin and hydroxyethyl urea (one cannot view the whole article without paying)

http://www.cosmeticsandtoiletries.com/formulating/ingredient/moisturizer/2112892.html

Below is a link to a cool, scholarly book, Dry Skin and Moisturizers: Chemistry and Function. The introduction was a fascinating read!

http://books.google.com/books?id=JpfgVgb62nsC&pg=PP8&lpg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false

I also found many inaccurate references to "glycerin robbing the skin of moisture" especially in low humidity conditions... here's a few of those...

This is a mild one from eHow - pretty reasonable until the caution about the drying effects of glycerin at the bottom of the page;

a website FULL of scare-o-rama "myth busting" information which is NOT well cited nor accurate information...

...and this one which leads with the headline "Glycerin is a drying agent on your skin!"

Hoo boy!! No WONDER there is so much confusion about this!! :rolleyes2 - Proof that a lie (or misconception) repeated often enough becomes accepted as truth... and THAT'S why I look stuff up!! :smiley2:

Anyway, THANKS, Ravens, for sending me on a fascinating study session - I learned a lot and hope others will, too! :smiley2:

[HorseScentS]

Just my opinion, with some clinical research to back it up. No-one has to take it as gospel truth and anyone is free to believe it, consider it, or trash it; I won't take it personally, promise!

Having said this, glycerin in not a drying agent. Glycerin is a humectant.

A few studies were conducted in 2008 and 2009 (not positive about the date of the second study, if it was indeed in 2009).

The 2008 controlled, double-blind study conducted by the department of dermatology at Schiller University showed a significant improvement in skin hydration through the application of glycerin; the subjects suffered from atopic dermatitis.

Another study (which lasted several years) on nearly 400 subjects with clinical dry skin compared the moisturizing effects of compounds containing low and high amounts of glycerin. The compounds high in glycerin consistenly won over the others.

Glycerin belong to that class of moisturizers called "humectants". Urea is also a humectant. They work by drawing moisture from the deeper skin cells and help keep it within the stratum corneum. Other classes of moisturizers include emollients and occlusive agents. Vaseline and dimethicone are occlusive agents (which is why you should never use vaseline on a burn).

Emollients make the skin look smoother by smoothing the dry outer cells; a variety of emollient esters are used by chemists.

I realize I may have strayed from the OP topic, and for that I'm sorry! :rolleyes2

But, to sum it all up, I believe the drying effect of the MP soap was not due to the glycerin.

I believe it, because when I was younger I had to avoid glycerin soap because it aggravated my acne really badly. I hope it won't bother my skin now in M&P base. To this day I refuse to buy glycerin soap at the store.

[jeanie353]

I hadn't given it a 2nd thought about glycerin NOT being a humectant until I read some of the links in Stella's post. Started out just reading them for info purposes but ran across one that said glycerin pulls from the skin and does make the skin drier. I'm now confused and will do more checking around on this too. Possible a small amount of glycerin is good and a larger amount or used too often can cause drying? Here is the copied info from the link:

GLYCERIN (Material Safety Data sheet)

MYTH: Promoted as being a beneficial humectant.

FACT: This is a clear, syrupy liquid made by chemically combining water and fat. The water splits the fat into smaller components – glycerol and fatty acids. It improves the spreading qualities of creams and lotions and prevents them from losing water through evaporation. Glycerin, however, has a tendency to draw water out of the skin and so can make dry skin dryer (Chase). A solvent, humectant and emollient in many cosmetics, it absorbs moisture from the air and therefore helps keep moisture in creams and other products, even if the consumer leaves the cap off the container (Winter). SEE HUMECTANTS. Unless the humidity of the air is over 65%, glycerin will pull the moisture out of the skin, drying you from the inside out.

[Candybee]

This is why I tell my customers that its a glycerin soap. Glycerin helps your skin retain moisture. Its a great selling point. Plus its naturally hypo allergenic and gentle enough for most skin types.

Anyone who has been making M&P soaps for any period of time will eventually get exasperated by the fact that the glycerin in the soap will also pull moisture out of the air and form crystals on the surface of the soap leaving it looking fuzzy and a bit slimy to the touch. This happens when the soap is exposed to too much heat and or humidity. I run into it constantly when I am selling soap at my summer farmers market. The good news is you can simply remelt the soap down and make another soap with it.

I think some people that complain about "dryness" when using M&P soap has more to do with the fact that it cleans your skin squeaky clean. If you are not used to this or have been using a commercial soap that leaves a residue on your skin you may mistake the feeling as "dry". Happened to me when I first started using it. It takes a couple of washings to get used to that squeaky clean feeling my skin gets. But it also beads up with moisture when I wash. Not so with commercial soaps. With commercial soaps my skin gets that dry tight feeling about 10 minutes after I bathe. Then I have to go back and slather lots of body oil and lotion on my body. With my M&P soaps I just pat dry with a towel and NEVER use body lotions or body oils all over my body anymore. It just takes time to get used to the squeaky clean feeling. I think we forget that this is what soap should do! BTW-- CP soap is good for this too! LOL

[Candybee]

This is exactly why I tell my customers its a glycerin soap. Glycerin helps your skin retain moisture. Not only that but its naturally hypo allegenic and gentle enough for most skin types. I say most because I have had at least one customer who was allergic to glycerin.

I think some people who complain about M&P soap drying their skin are confusing it with the squeaky clean feeling you get when you wash with it. If you are not used to it you may confuse it with drying your skin. Not so. We forget that that is what soap should do, clean and moisturize your skin.

When I use commercial soap it left a filmy residue on my skin. I always thought that it was normal to slather my skin with body oils and lotions after I bathe to keep my skin from drying out. But when I starte using my M&P soaps I no longer use body oils and lotions all over to moisturize my skin. I simply wash with one of my soaps and my skin is in much better condition than its ever been before I started using it. BTW-- CP soap does this too!! LOL

[Candybee]

Okay. I keep trying to post and it keeps disappearing. I think because my post is too long?