Recipe Troubleshooting

[BRONZ'D]

Hi Everyone,

I hope you're all doing well! Thank you in advance for taking the time to help me refine my soap recipe.

I'm currently working on an oatmeal soap bar. While I’m happy with the overall outcome, I’d love to enhance it further to make it more nourishing and moisturizing post-shower. Right now, I notice a bit of that "squeaky clean" feeling afterward, and I'd like to reduce that sensation while ensuring the bar leaves the skin feeling softer and more hydrated.

Below is the recipe I’ve been using. My most recent test batch was superfatted at 7%. I’d greatly appreciate any advice or suggestions you can offer to help me improve its performance.

Thank you so much for your insights!

Best regards,
[Your Name]


Phase A

• Lye
• Water

Phase B

• Olive Oil - 25%
• Shea Butter - 20%
• Coconut Oil ( 76 deg) - 20%
• Cocoa Butter - 15%
• Palm Oil - 15%
• Castor Oil - 5%

Phase C

• Honey - 2TSP/PPO
• Colloidal Oats - 2TSP/PPO
• Goat Milk (powder) - 2TSP/PPO
• Sodium Lactate - 1TSP/PPO
• Preservative

NOTE:

• Total Weight - 50g
• Lye Concentration - 33%
• Superfat - 7%
• Fragrance 0.7oz/lbs.

 

[Yooper]

One of the most common claims is that coconut oil helps create that ‘squeaky clean’ feeling. You can cut the coconut oil to 15% or less, and that should help. Also, it’s not responsible for that stripping feeling but soap doesn’t need preservatives and with those butters and palm oil, you don’t need sodium lactate. Sodium lactate will help release the bars out of the mold faster, but with those hard oils you don’t need it as it doesn’t do much else. That’s quite a bit of honey, but if it works for you, that’s fine.

 

[BRONZ'D]

One of the most common claims is that coconut oil helps create that ‘squeaky clean’ feeling. You can cut the coconut oil to 15% or less, and that should help. Also, it’s not responsible for that stripping feeling but soap doesn’t need preservatives and with those butters and palm oil, you don’t need sodium lactate. Sodium lactate will help release the bars out of the mold faster, but with those hard oils you don’t need it as it doesn’t do much else. That’s quite a bit of honey, but if it works for you, that’s fine.

Hi Yooper,
Thank you so much for your helpful input! I'll reduce the coconut oil to 10%. Would you recommend adding another nourishing oil or increasing the shea butter instead? Also, what are your thoughts on using 1 TSP/PPO for the honey? I agree it might be too much—I noticed some scorching in my last batch. Lastly, since soaps are often kept in wet areas, is there a risk of mold or other organisms growing? That’s why I was considering adding a preservative.

Looking forward to your thoughts!

 

[Yooper]

Hi Yooper,
Thank you so much for your helpful input! I'll reduce the coconut oil to 10%. Would you recommend adding another nourishing oil or increasing the shea butter instead? Also, what are your thoughts on using 1 TSP/PPO for the honey? I agree it might be too much—I noticed some scorching in my last batch. Lastly, since soaps are often kept in wet areas, is there a risk of mold or other organisms growing? That’s why I was considering adding a preservative.

Looking forward to your thoughts!

I’d like the see the ‘numbers’ of the recipe before a recommendation on which oil to increase, but since you have so many hard oils already, I think olive oil would be the one to bring up 10% or so.

A preservative isn’t necessary in soap- soap doesn’t mold in normal circumstances. A preservative IS necessary in lotions with water, etc, but soap may melt in water but not mold.

 

[BRONZ'D]

I understand. I need advice on soap cutters, hope it's okay... I currently have one that cuts 1/4-inch thick bars, but I want to make thicker bars. I prefer not to use a single wire cutter in the event I have multiple loaves to cut. Can you recommend a better option? I've attached a picture of my current cutter.

 

[BRONZ'D]

Hi there,

I’m reaching out once again for your help—thank you in advance for taking the time to assist me in refining my soap recipe!

I'm currently working on an oatmeal soap bar. While I’m happy with the overall result, I’m hoping to make it more nourishing and moisturizing. Right now, the bar leaves a bit of a "squeaky clean" feel post-shower, which I’d like to reduce. Ideally, I want the soap to leave the skin feeling softer and more hydrated.

Previously, I received some great suggestions and implemented the following changes:

• Reduced coconut oil to 10%
• Removed the preservative and sodium lactate
• Reduced the amount of honey
• Increased olive oil to 35%

The new batch turned out well overall, though I did notice some soda ash and gelling. However, my main concern is that the soap still feels a bit stripping and lacks the moisturizing quality I’m aiming for. I’m a bit stuck and unsure of what to adjust next.

For reference, here’s my current formula:

Phase A

• Lye
• Water

Phase B (Oils & Butters)

• Olive Oil – 35%
• Shea Butter – 20%
• Coconut Oil (76°) – 10%
• Cocoa Butter – 15%
• Palm Oil – 15%
• Castor Oil – 5%

Phase C (Additives)

• Honey – 1 tsp/PPO
• Colloidal Oats – 2 tsp/PPO
• Goat Milk Powder – 2 tsp/PPO

Notes:

• Total Weight: 50g
• Lye Concentration: 33%
• Superfat: 7%
• Fragrance: 0.7 oz/lb

If you have any thoughts or suggestions on how I can make the bar more conditioning and less drying, I’d greatly appreciate your guidance!

 

[Yooper]

I gel all my soaps, but never get soda ash so it’s not from that. You can spritz the newly poured soap with alcohol to ensure you don’t get it.

If you want a rich bar, I’d decrease the hard oils. You have 50% ‘hard’ oils which I do like, but you may want to increase the olive oil and leave out the shea butter, for example. Or use sunflower oil, avocado, or rice bran oils. If you’re not needing an all vegetable soap, lard makes a wonderful soap.