jackie Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 My first soaps have all felt good going on but there's a dry feeling after I rinse so I put a recipe thru soapcalc increasing the superfat (prev were 5%). The lye number went down but the moisturizing number stayed the same. So how do you decide what to superfat at? Is it just trial and error? The prev recipes I tried was a beginner recipe, quiet girls and Kat's creamy bubbles). I'm trying to formulate one of my own now. Here's what I have so far:Palm 25%Babassu 5%coconut 20%--should this be lower maybe?olive 40%castor 5%Almond 5% Suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidsngarden Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 It really may have nothing to do with superfat. your skin may not love one or some of the oils in that bar. for instance, my skins doesn't love soaps with high palm or olive. Some people have reactions to coconut oil. Have you used other soaps with similar percentages of ingredients? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 SoapCalc's moisturizing number has nothing to do with Superfat%. The calculations have to do with the particular oil(s) in your formulation. My SF preference for general use soap is 7%. Several accomplished soapmaking friends SF at 8-10%.Your formula doesn't look bad to me. That amount of OO should be pretty mild - though the babassu and coconut combined (both with similar properties) may be a bit too cleansing for you. How well cured is the soap you're finding this sensation with? Are you certain of your measurements? Is your scale really accurate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisR Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 I personally can't use coconut oil any higher than 10%, it leaves my skin tight & itchy. In my recipes I use babassu and palm kernel and skip the coconut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackie Posted March 22, 2012 Author Share Posted March 22, 2012 The soaps are from 5 weeks to 8 weeks old. I have good scales and ck the calibration before use. I was thinking of omitting the coconut since all the others had it in there at anywhere from 15 to 25 percent.I think I'll try the PKO and babassu instead. That would give a comparison to see if it's the coconut. Then if that's better, I can increase the superfat in the next batch and see what that does. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck_35550 Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 I agree with Chris on this one. I have a really good formula that uses no coconut and moderate amounts of palm but babassu is so expensive. I also add jojoba beads in the soap for a mild exfoliant and extra skin care. I love the way the pko changes the texture of the soap too. HTHSteve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackie Posted March 22, 2012 Author Share Posted March 22, 2012 Thanks for the info. There's also no way to account for using milk in your soap when doing soapcalc comparisons--that has fat content also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisR Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 I just replace the water for goat's milk at 100% for all my soaps and never figure it into my recipe calculations and I SF at 6%. Of course my recipe is different......I use Olive Oil, Avocado, babassu, palm kernel and mango butter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackie Posted March 22, 2012 Author Share Posted March 22, 2012 (edited) Thanks Chris. Am I wrong in my line of thinking here--(I like numbers so bear with me)If I use half a can of GM (I make small batches), according to the can that's 12 grams of fat. A 2pd batch is 907 grams of oils (rounded). So I'm adding 1.3% more fat (12/907). Should that be similar to a superfat if I wasn't using milk, in theory at least? note: I prob should have included the 6oz concentrated GM in the total but it's still 1.3% Edited March 22, 2012 by jackie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisR Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 Ya got me Jackie LOL!! You may be just overthinking your recipe. Like I said I don't calculate anything with the goat's milk I use, I just replace all the water with the fresh goat's milk and superfat at 6%. I have no idea what the fat content is anyway, I've never asked the farmer I buy it from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidsngarden Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 I use fresh GM as well and never account for the fat in it. I SF at 5%, the GM's fat is just a bonus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 Something you can try -- go to SoapCalc, get your numbers off the coconut and look at the lye number. Go to another oil, say walnut maybe, sub that into the coconut space and see if that reduces the amount of lye you use. If so, use your regular recipe, but use the number for the lye that another oil lowered it to and see if you like your soap better. Hope that makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackie Posted March 23, 2012 Author Share Posted March 23, 2012 thanks for the idea. Makes perfect sense to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JacquiO Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 I'm the same as Chris..I just sub my goats milk for my water. I don't calculate the milk fat. I also agree to sub PKO for the Coconut oil. I don't superfat at more than 5%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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