Teach Soap

Hi!

I'm going to try CP!

I bought a bar of someone's CP soap two years ago and it was awful, it was slimy and gooey and my hands turned very red and burned after using it. I emailed the seller and she said this batch was fine, so I just tossed it. Since then, I keep seeing lovely soaps are craft shows but I'm afraid the same thing will happen and I'm afraid to buy...So, I'd like to make my own.

What kind of oils will give you a bubbly lather rather than a creamy one? Or rather is it the percentage of each type of oil that makes for a nice bar?

Thanks in advance!

Welcome aboard. I think you would benefit to check out the section here called :if you are a newbie to CP then read".
Has a great lot of information in there and also takes you to sites where the basic information you are seeking can be found. Do check out Youtube too as quite a few videos provide recipes and really I started with a recipe from the experts. You want to optimise success at this stage. Spend time learning the process developing the skills sets. Make small batches at first till you get the hang of it. Every batch will provide learning opportunities for you to build on along the way.
I am a newbie as well and have made roughly 50 odd batches and still am loving and learning. Been developing my own recipes for the past 20-30 batches involving different techniques as well. Have fun and stay safe.

Welcome!

It sounds like that soap you were given was lye-heavy. Sorry to hear that it burned you and gave you a bad impression of cold process soap, but I'm glad you've decided to give it a try!

You should definitely check out Ann-Marie's SoapQueenTV videos. Especially this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yR6ttCSrLJI
This is all about lye safety, and if you only watch one video, this should be it. But, I encourage you to watch the other three videos in the series. They will give you a great foundation on how to create a great batch of soap.

Now, to answer your question, I find that coconut oil makes a wonderfully bubbly AND creamy lather. I made a 100% coconut soap (20% superfatted) and I love the feel of the lather it makes! However, many people find coconut to be too drying to the skin, so the recommended usage is up to 30% in recipes. (Some would say 20%)

Welcome!
Sounds like that soap was lye heavy. I wrote a sticky some time ago. It's worth a read. viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3800

_________________
Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Welcome to the addiction! Yes, it sounds like you had a bad batch of soap and an irresponsible soap maker to boot. That type of person gives us all a bad name and I am so glad that you have decided to give it another chance. She should be happy that you didn't sue her!

Anyway, take a look at the stickies here, the Soap Queen blog, the Teach Soap pages, and the Soap Queen videos on utube. You will gain a wealth of info. Going back through old threads on here can also teach you a lot and answer a lot of questions you don't even know you have right now.

As for the one you asked, yes there are oils that are more bubbly than creamy and more creamy than bubbly. And yes, it is the % that you mix ingredients that changes your soap quality. So many oils, so little time! Lol Another great tool is the soapcalc.net . You can input all the oils you are thinking about, in the percentages you are thinking, then see what the numbers tell you. You can then change some % and see what it does or doesn't do to your soap. Since you need to check all recipes, even ones you get in books, try putting in the recipe as it is written first and then change it up to see what happens. You really can lose a lot of time there playing with the oils and seeing what they change when you change %. It can seem overwhelming in the beginning, so don't stress over it. But keep reading and asking questions and it will all fall into place.

_________________
Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy

Thanks! I have a lot of reading to do!

This will be fun. Waiting to cure though is not something I'm going to be good at. Would you say that each soap recipe feels different? Based on what I've read it should be the case can't wait to get my NaOH !