# How to make this soap better...



## Dana (Dec 7, 2009)

When I made my first soap I used:
12 oz canola oil
15 oz coconut oil
16 oz lard
13 oz goat milk
6 oz lye

Well it's cured and I tried it last night. It seemed a little too hard. Hubby used it this morning. (He likes lots of lather) He really loved this soap, :biggrin BUT he'd like more lather. 

What should I do different next time to make it more bubbly?


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## Trysta (Apr 5, 2011)

Assuming you don't want to go to a very complicated or very different recipe, possibly replacing the canola oil with olive oil will help. I switched to only olive oil as a liquid oil (at room temp) and I have the impression those soaps produce great lather. I do not have enough experience at all to give you any other advice, but there are super soapers on this forum who can give you more tips.


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

Well, dropping the canola and upping the coconut would help with the lather, but that will also make it harder, though I'm not sure what you mean by "too hard." And some people are bothered by too much coconut. If you go to www.soapcalc.net, you can play around with the lye calculator, seeing what different oils bring to the mix. And from there, you can experiment with different recipes, seeing what you like best. As for an olive-heavy soap, some people really like it and some people do not care for the type of lather you get with olive (definitely more creamy than bubbly) so you'd have to see what works for you.


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## Dana (Dec 7, 2009)

Yes, my husband doesn't like the olive oil soap lather. We have soap I made with a friend last year with lard, olive oil and goat milk. He said it doesn't lather. I like it lots because it's creamy and makes my skin feel very moisturized.

So I'll up the coconut, at least up to 20-30% and lower the canola some.


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## nappint (Jun 26, 2008)

You could try adding castor oil. It makes for a softer bar and adds bubbles without the drying effects of coconut. You can pick up a 4 oz bottle in the laxative section of the pharmacy. I wouldn't go over 10% of the total oils in your recipe though or you'll get a soft and sticky bar.


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

A lard, olive and gm only soap would definitely not lather in a big bubbly way, that's for sure. It'd be creamy and lotion-y. Castor is nice, you can sub a small amount for some of the canola, agreed on the stickiness. I now predict that Vicki will mention that it's fluff, and that you'll get the same result from using more coconut instead.


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## nightskyfarm (Sep 7, 2009)




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## Lynn_Theesfeld (Feb 21, 2010)

^^^^^ hehehehehehehehhehehe


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

:yeahthat All right you guys!!!  You know how easy my feelings get hurt :biggrin

I would move my lard to about 57.14% and my canola to 14.73% and my coconut oil to 23.12% :rofl dance:


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## tlcnubians (Jan 21, 2011)

Or you could get rid of the lard altogether . . . that's what is giving you the brick-like feel to your soap. If you're really adventurous one of these days, try using Crisco, sunflower oil, coconut oil and olive oil. You'll need to let it cure for 5-6 weeks but you'll be amazed at how well this soap lathers. I soaped this recipe for a soapmaking class I taught at the ADGA Convention in 2010 because you can find all these oils at the grocery store: 3 lbs Crisco, 12 oz. Olive Oil, 12 oz. Sunflower Oil and 16 oz. Coconut Oil. For a 5% superfat, use 12 oz. lye.


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## Trysta (Apr 5, 2011)

:down I guess I just found out I don't know what 'lather' is...... I thought creamy or bubbly would both qualify as lather.... There is no hope for my soaping career... Oh well, anyway: my husband does like the soap I made that's a bit heavier on the olive oil. The only problem he has with it is what I named it, 'Great Outdoors'. Since he works outdoors all day, he wants me to call it 'Finally Made it in the House...'


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## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

I always use coconut at about 25%, sometimes 27%. My bars are NOT drying at all! With lard and a soft oil, like sunflower (yes, I make the WM recipe, with a tad of tweaking) and the lather is great! When I started fiddling with other oils, I played with, not just different oils, but the %'s of those oils so that the qualities were similar to the WM recipe, ie hardness, bubbly lather, creamy lather, moisturization, etc. If you read through various threads, Vicki, Stacey, and others suggest this and it's the only way I could try a new formula without reinventing the wheel, per se.

Barb critiqued my oo/co/po bar and had me add a little castor. I started with 5%, but even that was too much. I tried 3% and it is much better!


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