Calling all soapmakers

[yotetrapper]

I have a question. I know that most of the homemade soap I have seen is a hard soap. Can softer soap like storebought (i.e. zest, coast, dove, etc.) be made as well? What determines the "hardness" of the soap?

 

[DuckLady]

The types of oils you use determine the hardness and other qualities. Olive oil yields a very hard bar but takes forever to cure as it is a soft oil and coconut oil will add lathering qualities but is harder then castor oil, which is also a lathering oil.

this is a good chart telling about the different properties of different oils

http://candleandsoap.about.com/gi/d...s=0&zu=http://www.soapnuts.com/indexoils.html

And a page going into more detail of each oil
http://candleandsoap.about.com/gi/d...t=0&bts=0&zu=http://tlcsoaps.com/oilsused.htm

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

That is a cool chart! Yeah...my soaps are VERY hard...but they lather well with coconut & soybean oils....although it does make them last a lot longer--the harder they are.

I'm sure there are people that make softer bars....I've used goats milk soaps that are softer (probably due to the fat content of the bar?)

 

[yotetrapper]

Those charts have me a bit confused. All the ones that say "soft" also say can only be used from anywhere from 10%-50%. Does that mean that the other % would need to be "hard". If you used 50% each of two oils marked "soft"... would the soap not set up or something?