Longevity

Yeni

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Sep 17, 2020
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Hi,
Please can some advise. Everytime I make a bar soap I find it dissolves easily.
My recipe below
Coconut : 26.67%
Palm oil(red palm oil but I bleach it); 20%
Olive oil: 40%
Palm kErnel; 13.33%
sodium lactate: 2tsp

please any advise what I can do make a long lasting bar. Thank you
 

Yooper

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Olive oil soaps will tend to dissolve easily, but a very long cure may be helpful. Also, make sure they are in a soap dish that is lifted above any moisture to avoid having it sit in a damp place because that will also cause it to melt easily.
 

Yeni

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Sep 17, 2020
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Thank you, am new to soap making. Please what do you thinking about the recipe? Thank you
 

Yooper

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I've never used red palm oil or palm kernal oil myself, so I don't have any experience with those ingredients. I do make olive oil soaps, and let them cure a long time, and they do get squishy if they stay wet. But I still like them, and keep them out of moisture as much as possible.
 

WilliamD

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Sep 27, 2020
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Hi Yeni, looking at your recipe you have an extremely hard bar of soap that doesn't last.
As a suggestion you can add Coco Butter to your recipe to make it last longer and reduce Coconut Oil accordingly. Your Bar of Soap is very hard so you don't need to add the sodium lactate (A hard bar of soap doesn't necessarily mean it will last longer). Just my opinion and hope this helps.
 

Yeni

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Sep 17, 2020
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Thank you so much, so what do you think about this recipe since you are saying I should reduce my coconut oil.
Any suggestions is truly appreciated, hence I am new to
Coconut oil: 16.67%
Palm oil(red palm oil but I bleached it); 20%
Olive oil: 40%
Palm kErnel; 13.33%
Coco butter; 10%
sodium lactate: 2tsp(So should I remove this)

thank you
 

WilliamD

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Sep 27, 2020
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I think your new adjustments are much better! I think this will produce a better bar for you. The thing about soap making is a lot of trial and error so don't be afraid to experiment. What I really like about this site is that you can plug your numbers in and experiment with different ratios to get the desired effect you want shown on a graph. Back in my day it was a lot of mental calculations; trial and error! Have fun and let us all know how this bar works out for you.
Also I noticed your Palm Oil is Red......Is this the Palm Cooking Oil? I know that to be red..I have never used that myself; just the regular solidified Palm Oil is what I use.
All the Best......Bill
P.S. and yes, remove the sodium lactate.....I personally think you do not need it in this recipe :)
 
Last edited:

Yeni

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Sep 17, 2020
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7
Thank you for your response. Yes it’s the regular cooking palm oil has they don’t have the light colour palm oil here in Nigeria. So decided to bleach it to get a light colour. I noticed the red palm oil makes it trace easily(I stand to be corrected if am wrong😁).
Also if I want to add powder and additives like sandalwood and honey, do I add them to the oil or after it’s traced.
Basically when am I suppose to additives like powders and honey.

Thank you,
Looking for to the response.
 

WilliamD

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Your quite welcome.....here's a rule of thumb for you....additives are added at trace....BUT....If it's powdered additives you can add them at trace...Liquid honey should be added at an Early Trace so it can be incorporated into the soap solution before it gets too thick. You may warm the liquid honey a little before adding to make it incorporate easier.

Powdered Oxides and Mica for coloring...people add at trace but I add them to the oils when they are warm ( below 130 degrees F) before adding the lye/water solution. This is actually a time savor when adding essential oils etc. to the soap.

Hard Exfoliants like poppy seeds etc...I also add to the warm oil solution (Below 130 degrees F) before the lye/water mixture is added for better suspension/dispersion in the bar of soap.

All the Best....Bill
 

Yeni

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Sep 17, 2020
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Thank you so much, will try all this and give you an update. Thank you so much
 

WilliamD

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Sep 27, 2020
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You are quite welcome Yeni. Also let me explain about the Sodium Lactate... Yes it will speed up hardening the bars of soap in the mold BUT if the hard oils you are using (Palm. Palm Kernel, Coco, Coco Butter) etc. total about 60% of your oils, then there is really no need for the Sodium Lactate unless you absolutely can't wait for the soap to harden. I find when using 60% hard oils I can un-mold my soap in about a day with no problems...which is fine for me. Just my opinion....Good Luck, keep me posted and All the Best....Bill
 

zoilaflor1

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Oct 2, 2020
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totally recommend adding stearic acid, raw honey and sugar on the liquids. omg the best bar ever
 
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