Teach Soap

Good morning! If I have a soap recipe that I like and want to add some Shea butter do I just add the 2 oz and recalculate, or take 2 oz away from say the palm or coconut and recalculate?? Also when infusing herbs into oils is there a shelf life?? Soap melts are they a one shot deal in the tub,or shower or do they last longer? do they need to cute like soap? the books just tell you how to make them nothing else. Getting ready to make Christmas presents!! Thanks everyone you are all awesome:))))

I am not sure about the melts as I have never tried that but I can help with the recipe. If you have a recipe where the oils equal 100% and you want to add a different element (ie: shea butter), you need to take away from one or more oils and add it back with the new oil or butter. Make sure you run the recipe through a lye calculator like soapcalc because the amounts may be different. I would take some away from the palm and replace it with the butter but I can't stress enough to run the recipe through a lye calculator. The shelf life on infused herbs is most likely going to be the shelf life of the oil. HTH some.

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Haven

Just wondering by soap melts do you mean the melt and pour soaps?

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Anna Rose @-}--
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Assuming that when you say "recalculate" you mean running the recipe through a lye calculator, you could go either way. Shea butter is a hard oil, so if you just put in 2 ounces without taking out 2 ounces of another hard oil, you will reach trace faster, and your soap will get harder faster. That may be good or may be not good. If your recipe already has a high percentage of hard oils - coconut, palm, lard, tallow, cocoa butter, etc - then my personal choice would be to remove 2 oz of one of the other hard oils (not the coconut, b/c that adds lather), add the 2 oz of shea butter and then run it through a lye calculator.

Hi, my recipe is 12 oz coconut,12 oz palm, 18 oz olive oil, 2 of castor oil, 7.3 lye, 17.08 water,I would like to add a couple of oz of Shea butter to this or take away from palm or olive oil?? As far as melts I saw some recipes in Making Scented Soap recipe says melt Shea butter, beeswax, and jojoba, let cool add eo's, let cool, pour into mold, let cool again and pop out of mold. I'm assuming their a one shot deal, some of the recipes say massage melts for the bath.

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Haven

Thanks Haven, the melts just looked like quick little projects, maybe you use them in the shower and there done.

If they are bath melts, as opposed to lotion bars, then yes they are a one use deal. They do make for a slippery tub so be careful getting out. On the other hand, a good bath melt makes my dry skin feel great.

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Linda

I learn so much when I can't leave well enough alone!

I love bath melts! Yeah, they're a one shot deal. But they are a huge hit. I usually make them in sets of 12. The ones I make most are mostly cocoa butter, and I add lavender, so they smell like lavender chocolate when you use them. So good!

There is a similar thing you can do with melt and pour soap mixed with sugar (and whatever FO and color you want). Those are a one shot deal, too- you're supposed to smash them and use them as a scrub, I believe. I've been meaning to make some, but I ran out of M&P base.

Great! Bath melts it is for the girls at work, the book Making Scented Soap has a lot of nice recipes. Thank u

Thanks dixiedragon. Either way I go I will recalculate, adding the extra 2 oz would make it my own new recipe whoo hoo!! Only have 10 batches under my belt and loving soap:))). Wouldn't mind a faster trace either. Dee

Thanks....looks good!

I add add 10% castor oil to most recipes. You can still do a lot of swirls and such, it just depends (a lot) on the rest of your recipe and perhaps some practice and/or experience. You can also have 27% coconut without being drying, that also depends on the rest of the recipe and the superfat level. But, if you do go higher coconut (over 25%) then you really don't need high palm too. I would just add the shea into the recipe and see what that does. You can add how many ever ounces you want and still have a 100% recipe. You can take away from another oil, but you do not need to. It is whichever way you prefer. Check it out on the calculator and see what adding or taking away from one oil or the other will do. Play with the calculator a bit and see what you come up with. Make and try different things and different recipes, if for no other reason than to compare and see for yourself!

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

Tammy