Soap Making 101

[Gallina Vecchia]

Thanks FF! I was hoping you would see this and chime in!

 

[Farmfresh]

Hope I can be of help!

 

[valmom]

I have been busy experimenting! I discovered that vanilla FO is a bear- it turned the bars dark chocolate brown and the bars are SOGGY. I used the same coconut/crisco/canola/olive recipe that I have gotten comfortable with, but this FO really messed up. I have them down in the basement with the dehumidifier hoping they stop dripping brown drops of whatever!

Then I made a coffee soap- I had a coffee FO and substituted leftover coffee for the water in the recipe. That one isn't out of the molds yet- I can't wait to see how it comes out. It smells great

 

[Farmfresh]

A lot of the fragrance oils have alcohol or other ingredients in them. NOT the best idea when added to soaps since it often causes a chemical reaction when added.

When scenting soaps you should always try to use botanicals or essential oils. They are a lot more predictable.

 

[~gd]

Ok, here's one for all of you experienced soap makers! I thought I would try a recipe for a lard laundry bar the other day. I normally use fels naptha, borax and washing soda for my wash mix (I use it powdered). Using up a surplus of lard seemed to be a great idea. Well, I made up a recipe using 4 lbs of lard, 8.5 ounces lye and 20 ounces of water. Bars are out and curing. Here is my question: is the 4% excess fat (per the MMS lye calculator) going to make a crummy bar for laundry? After searching around for other laundry bar recipes, it looks like people like 0-1% excess for laundry. Does it really matter if I have a slightly more fatted soap? Thanks!

Yes to a certain extent, the purpose of the fat or oil in laundry soap is to attach to the body or other oils in the frabric and lift them out If your soap has an large excess of fat it could leave the free oils behind on the frabric. For skin soap this deposit of oil on the skin can be good and is soothing. I don't think 4% is enouth to cause a problem in a mix with fat-free ingredients lixe borax and washing soda.~gd

 

[valmom]

A lot of the fragrance oils have alcohol or other ingredients in them. NOT the best idea when added to soaps since it often causes a chemical reaction when added.

When scenting soaps you should always try to use botanicals or essential oils. They are a lot more predictable.

I buy the FO from Southern Scents that say they are made for soaps. I did hear not to try using vanilla extract for the vanilla scent, so I bought the one on SS thinking it would work better. Maybe if the bars dry out they will work- they smell good!

 

[Farmfresh]

Actually the BEST vanilla scent I have ever used was powdered vanilla beans.

We have a small local seed store that also sells organic spices and I found the vanilla powder there.

In the past I have used some fragrance oils that were supposed to be made for soap that did not work at all. I think they were intended for melt and pour soaps and not cold process soaps where their is a lot of chemistry going on. In a melt and pour soap you are just adding scent to an already completed product.

 

[Blackbird]

The time I used fragrance oils (intended for soap) I had the same problem, my bars stayed soft and wore down fast :/

Never used essential oils yet.

 

[valmom]

Powdered vanilla bean sounds good- how much did you use?

 

[Farmfresh]

I think I put about two teaspoons in a big old batch of soap. I just kind of threw some in and sniffed then tossed in some more until it smelled good.

Sadly I was not real exact in the measurement.