Teach Soap

Hello Everyone in the house,

This is my first time of dropping a post on this forum. I will be so happy to get your advise on the issue below:

I started making CP soap in 2014 and I now have a formula that is very mild on the skin. My formula has mostly soft oils and I don't want to increase the proportion of my hard oil because I tried that and it was too harsh for my skin. I have given my soaps to people and I have received good feedback that it lathers well, mild and moisturizes the skin but one problem I noticed is that some of my soaps doesn't have enough scents as I would like it to have after two months...well, I know its because some essential oils fades quickly than others. Also, I think I used 7g of soap after each shower which makes my soap of 130g to last for approximately 19 days after 4 to 6 weeks of cure. Plus my soaps always break into two or better to say it becomes softer as it is getting used up. To avoid all these, I am thinking of making my soap in REAL french milled way and not rebatching afterall I have a good base formula to start with. This is because I intend to really commercialize my soap in the future and I am sure people will buy dove soap for example just because of those little issues with my soap considering the market I want to serve even though my soap is milder with more skin loving ingredients. I currently live in Finland, I am planning to take my base formula to a french mill soap factory in France or any other one close to me in Europe, negotiate to pay certain fee for my soap to be french milled in their factory as I don't have the machines yet. Then compare the outcome with my normal CP soap. I am willing this will result into a more quality bar in terms of preserving the scents, lather and durability of the soap. Also, get better commercialized look soap in terms of shape and smoothness. This qualities has to be added to my soap for it to really sell in African market. If this experiment is positive then I can move to the next stage of souring for fund to start a french mill soap factory. One thing I will make sure is not to remove the glycerin from my soap during the milling process so as to retain the moisturizing quality I have in my current CP formula. I will like to know what people here think? Any major flaw in my line of thought here before I make a huge mistake?

You seem to have several goals going on here. You think that French milling is going to make your soap scent last longer? And you want to compete on a commercial level? You are in Finland but plan to sell in Africa? You think that "hard oils" are unkind to the skin?

Wow. Just wow. I think that each of these problems needs to be tackled separately. One step at a time.

I don't even know where to start...

Milling does press out the glycerin. I don't think you can mill and not lose the glycerin formed in the soapmaking process. The soap is forced through extruders and then rolled under extreme pressure. The major benefit of handmade soap is the fact that it still has all that wonderful glycerin.

There's nothing wrong with having more hard oils in your soap. My recipes are 60-70% hard oils and are very mild. It all depends on the oils you use. There are quite a few hard oils that are mild.

As for the scent, are you using the correct amount for each essential oil? Are you anchoring the scent with a base note like vetiver, patchouli, cedarwood, etc? Even a small amount of one of these scents can help a lot. Are your essential oils pure and not cut with a carrier oil?

_________________
Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

Triple milling or French milling is done with commercial machines and extruders. They take out the glycerin so it doesn't gum up the rollers. This isn't something that can be done at home. I realize some sellers list their soap this way, but there is no way this can be done at home. Milled soap for handmade CP soap is called rebatch. If you would rebatch handmade soap three times, it would be crumbly and drying.

If your scents are not lasting, you either need to use the maximum safe percentage, go by weight or switch to a different supplier.
Now, with that said, some fragrances simply fade in soap no matter how much you use.

Get all your problems worked out first before you start selling.

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