The Making of a Soap Recipe

I'm working on making some really good recipes for soaping so that I can start selling my soap at the market.  I want to sell but I really want to have a good product that is easy to make that has the qualities in soap that I like.  I have been adjusting my recipes so that my soap is hard and conditioning at the same time.  Most conditioning soaps are very soft.  So far my answer to my delima is to add sodium lactate to my soap.  Here are four videos the first is the making of my bastille soap recipe without sodium lactate and the second is the cutting and unmolding of that recipe.  In it you can see how soft this recipe is. Then the third video is the making of my bastile recipe after I added sodium lactate. The fourth is the cutting and unmolding of the sodium lactate soap.  


Making Strawberry Swirl Soap




Cutting and Unmolding Strawberry Swirl Soap



Making Strawberry Hearts Soap



Cutting and Unmolding Strawberry Hearts Soap




As you can see the sodium lactate did an excellent job at hardening the soap.  I could take it out of the flower mold much more easily.  Also this will make the bar last longer when someone goes to use it in there shower.  

I've also tried putting the mold in the freezer as suggested but some of my soapy friends.  It worked well, however, I found the soap will sweat for a little bit as it unfreezes once it's out of the mold.  Also this doesn't lend any enduring qualities to the finished soap.  

I think I may adjust this recipe further by adding some more hard oils to it.  I'm debating on this since doing so will reduce the conditioning number on the recipe.  This is my favorite kids soap recipe if once I get my new molds it doesn't harden up as much as I need it to I may just adjust it.  Till then I like it the way it is.  

Angela's Bastile Soap Recipe 

Coconut oil 5%

Castor Oil 10%

Olive Oil 60%

Palm Oil 15%

Shea Butter 10%

Super fatted 8%

Additives

Sodium Lactate 2%

Fragrance 1oz/lb

1 tsp/lb Vitamine E

Mica or Oxides for color

Always put any recipe through a lye calculator!