Soaps are very soft after unmold even after 3 days

[johnthesoaper]

so this is a basic soap recipe I am using.
almond oil 5%
castor oil 6%
sesame oil 10%
coconut oil 25%
olive oil 39%
shea butter 15%

I'm using rose oil and geranium. Also, I use a 12% water discount and a superfatting at 4%. I also added salt to make the bars hard.

somebody please help me and check this recipe. I am getting very soft soaps.

I want to cure the soaps faster and unmold them quicker. Please tell me how to do it. I would really appreciate that. suggestions on fragrance are welcome too.

 

[Yooper]

That soap will eventually get harder- but since 85% of it is soft oils, it will take a while. If you want a hard soap, using 40% hard oils would be the way to go.

Salt does help, but it won't make a softer soap recipe very firm in just a few days.

 

[johnthesoaper]

Hey. Thank you for your reply. Isnt coconut oil a hard oil. Because I included it and according to that hard oils are 40%.
What oils do you suggest I should add or change percentage of. Really appreciate your suggestions.

I cant use babassu oil or palm kernal oil since they are not available. Cocoa butter is a bit expensive but can be included if we change the overall recipe that is great for everyone including sensitive skins.
Please tell me what to so now. Also suggest a good fragnance or if current is okay

 

[Yooper]

Yes, coconut oil I guess is technically a hard oil, but aside from the shea butter all of the ingredients in there will not make a hard soap in a short period of time. Olive oil soaps will eventually get very hard- hard enough to pound nails, but that’s with a long cure.

Palm oil (not palm kernel oil) is a good one, although it’s hard to find a brand that is sustainably sourced. If you’re not opposed to animal products, tallow and lard are very good and not expensive like some of the butters are.

One of the things that may really help with a recipe like you have is stearic acid as an additive.

 

[johnthesoaper]

With the current recipe, how much cure time you think I will need.

Dont have palm oil. Need something else.

How much stearic acid would I need to cure faster and unmold faster too?

Also tell me if I need to increase my water discount to 18-20%?

 

[Yooper]

I usually do a 2:1 water lye ratio, give or take. I don't do % as that is more difficult ot figure. I think a good amount of stearic acid would be 0.5% of the total weight of the oils to start.
One cheap hard oil to use, depending on where you live, can be something like Crisco which is fine for soap.