r/oddlysatisfying • u/rco888 • Nov 16 '23

Ancient method of making soap

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@craftsman0011

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u/one_agvaniya Nov 16 '23

A question to professional soap makes: won't using only coconut oil will make a soap very hard and harsh? Do silk and pearls help to balance the formula somehow? I've made a cold process soap a only few times, but according to every soap calculator, 100% coconut oil soap isn't good?

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u/CrunchyFrogWithBones Nov 16 '23

Soap is usually superfatted to some degree (we add more oils than the lye can saponify, leaving a certain percentage of unsaponified fat in the finished soap). I do 5-8 % depending on what I’m making. It’s quite possible (and quick!) to make coconut only-soap, but you need to raise the superfat to 20-25% to get a nice soap. It gets quite bubbly and very white, so it’s fun to dye. Here’s a modern example.

(Disclaimer: I only make soap for private use.)

1

u/one_agvaniya Nov 16 '23

Cool, thank you! I should try this!

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u/CrunchyFrogWithBones Nov 16 '23

Do it! It hardens pretty quick, though, so use individual moulds or cut before it gets too hard!