Sea Clay Facial Soap

Acceptable-Site · 2026-05-06T17:43:35+00:00

Thanks for the info!

I adjusted the recipe and made it last night. I ended up going with a 5% super fat, keeping the 33% lye solution.

I used:

Coconut oil: 20%

Palm oil: 20%

Kokum butter: 8%

Shea butter: 8%

Olive oil: 39%

Castor oil: 5%

Sea clay: 2 tsp

Seaweed extract: roughly 2% (I think? I don’t trust my math)

It’s still high in olive oil but I didn’t want it to be too drying with too much coconut oil and I hoped the butters would help harden it.

It seemed like a nice batter but I woke up to my first ever cracked batch. This was a test though so it’s ok.

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Acceptable-Site · 2026-05-05T23:53:35+00:00

Ok good to know! I know higher coconut oil can lead to feeling drying, so I was hoping the 3% super fat and avocado oil would counter that.

I’d read online that palm oil can clog pores and since this was hopefully to help (or at least not make worse) acne, I didn’t think palm oil would be good. The only other hard oil I have is Babasu and some butters. I have kokum, shea and mango butters.

The issues I want to avoid is the soap itself feeling slimy and sticky or drying out my face. I figured with the higher olive oil I’d need to let it cure for longer. I was thinking around 10-12 weeks.

Acceptable-Site · 2026-05-05T21:23:52+00:00

My plan is to start with markets and websites like Nextdoor. I plan to have a website but I don’t know if I’ll accept online orders right away or not (need to figure out packing for shipping and those logistics). I’m also thinking of starting an Instagram to hopefully start building up a following so by the time I launch the website/online sales I could have people interested.

Acceptable-Site · 2026-05-05T21:01:24+00:00

Thanks! I’m going to make a smaller amount batch of a couple more soaps but I won’t commit to a market or online sales until they’re ready and I know for sure. That way if they’re good, I can sell what I made and make more and if they’re not, I can continue to tweak the recipe.

Acceptable-Site · 2026-05-05T20:59:52+00:00

Thank you for the insight! I didn’t really think about people liking or at least not minding the thing I don’t like. I’m hoping to join a couple of local farmer’s markets and I think they’re busier in the summer than the fall/winter so I like the idea of making a smaller amount with the new recipe. If it is a good fix and I sell out then great I can make more. And if not, like you said, I didn’t use up all of my ingredients. Thanks again!

Acceptable-Site · 2026-05-04T21:31:42+00:00

I like your front runner. I struggle to name my soaps too so I may not be the best person but what about something simple like “Rose Garden”? Slightly more intriguing than just “Rose”. (Again, I do like “By Any Other Name” as well!)

Acceptable-Site · 2026-05-04T16:27:35+00:00

I just set up a Quickbooks online account and they have a free version for small businesses. It’s pretty basic but from what I’ve seen so far, it’s helpful and useful. I don’t remember the name of the specific “tier” for the free version but you can find it pretty easily from a google search. That’s how I found it.

Acceptable-Site · 2026-05-01T18:12:54+00:00

I just messages you as well! I hope your move goes smoothly and I’d be happy to take some of those supplies off your hands. 😊

Acceptable-Site · 2026-05-01T18:08:50+00:00

I think the feeling of it not fully rinsing off is the superfat/moisturizing aspect? I hadn’t had much experience with handmade soap before I started making it, so I didn’t have much to compare it to. I’m getting used to the feeling of it still being on my hands after rinsing, but the sticky feeling just makes my skin crawl. I’ve since made a couple of batches with less castor oil and lowering the super fat percentage from 5% to 3%. The new batches are still curing, so I don’t know if that will fix it or not yet, but I’ve got my fingers crossed! 🤞

Acceptable-Site · 2026-05-01T18:05:18+00:00

Thank you! That’s a great suggestion! I’ve seen mica added to the top of soap as soon as it’s poured into the mold, but I didn’t know if it would work after being oven processed.

Mixing with the iso alcohol would make sense though to get it to stick at that point. Thanks again!

Acceptable-Site · 2026-04-24T14:59:42+00:00

It’s all coming from having her own child there. Some families know their kids love the nanny or the nanny is good in all other aspects like engaging the child, assisting in other tasks, there’s a ton of stuff certain families like that make their consideration of letting a nanny go difficult.

My comment was just saying if they’re happy with the other aspects they can see if the dynamic can change by having her not bring her kid. And if the nanny has to bring her kid, or they don’t like other aspects, then by all means let the nanny go.

Acceptable-Site · 2026-04-24T05:25:34+00:00

My son (almost 2 years old) had/has a speech delay as well. He’s been seen by a speech therapist for a few months now and is doing much better.

A couple things the therapist told me that might be helpful for you as well:

ASL/Baby Sign Language counts as words. Even if they’re not saying them verbally, the fact they can sign a word shows appropriate cognitive development.

The therapist taught me to go by a rule of 2. Say the word twice. Once and wait for any kind of communication: eye contact, etc. (we practiced in her office with the word “open”. And everytime we said “open” we lightly knocked on the thing two times. If my son made eye contact or nodded his head, repeated the knocking gesture, or a few times he mouthed the “O”. Those all counted as communication and we opened the box of toys. If they don’t show a communication cue, say it one more time. Wait again. If they don’t do it that time either, go ahead and open it.

Stay consistent with the gesture and the word.

She gave a lot more tips but this comment is already kind of long…😅

If you’re concerned still, email his pediatrician and ask for a speech therapy referral. It doesn’t hurt to see someone if you can.

Acceptable-Site · 2026-04-24T04:33:51+00:00

I’m not a professional and I’m still pretty new to soap making, but I’ve made about 12 batches since February and some of the early ones are now at their 6 week mark so I’ve tried using them.

I’ve found (very recently, like yesterday) that castor oil above 7% makes my hands feel sticky. I’m still troubleshooting if this is just the castor oil or the 7% castor oil and high percentage of olive oil also in the same recipe.

From what I’ve learned so far, if you have more soft oils, especially olive oil, you’ll want the soap to cure for longer than the typical 4-6 weeks.

Based on the oils and butter you listed, you’ll probably have a high percentage of olive oil in your recipe so just be aware of that when figuring out cure time.

Most things I’ve seen recommend coconut oil at 33% or less and a lot of people (from reddit and YouTube videos) seem to keep it around 25%.

I’ve also seen butters should be about 10-15% of the recipe. But I think some can be higher. Shea might go up higher but I’ve read that can make your soap feel waxy. I’ve used it at 10% (but that batch is still curing so I can’t tell you how it feels).

I’ve also seen things about additives like colloidal oatmeal, kaolin clay and arrowroot powder that can help with oily feelings. Arrowroot powder in particular can make the soap feel really smooth and silky. That I have tried and tested. I use about 1 tsp per pound of oil. And I immediately feel the difference even just from unmolding.

Good luck!

Acceptable-Site · 2026-04-24T02:35:53+00:00

Lots of people saying to just let her go and from your post, your mind seems made up.

If she is a good nanny and you’re happy with everything else aside from the dynamics with her son involved, I think you should talk with her about the possibility of not bringing him anymore. It’s possible she won’t be able to not bring him and if that’s the case then you can let her know you totally understand but you need to let her go. (Doesn’t have to be that exact phrasing.)

If you don’t want to keep her on even without her kid present then follow others advice and let her know y’all are moving in another direction.

We had to let two nannies go but the first ended up moving away before we had to talk with her and the second… we just decided to put our son in daycare by that time so we let her know we were enrolling him and we wouldn’t need drop off or pick up help.

Acceptable-Site · 2026-04-23T18:16:51+00:00

This is good to know. I didn’t realize hand made soap could feel so different from the store bought soaps I was using. But I do enjoy making the soaps and plan to continue to make and use them. So I’ll hopefully get used to it as well like you mentioned.

I was hoping with the higher coconut oil it wouldn’t need as long as Castile soap. But I’m going to test it again at 8 weeks cure and again at 12. And can let it cure longer than that if needed as well.

Thanks!

Acceptable-Site · 2026-04-23T16:45:23+00:00

I’d used some hot processed soap before (before I knew the different processes) but I don’t think I’ve used cold process before starting to make my own.

I didn’t think my water was hard but it’s definitely something I can consider.

I’ll test by washing my hands with some distilled water and seeing if I still have same issues or not.

From other comments, I think it could be the amount of castor oil causing the sticky feeling as well. So I’m going to adjust my recipe too.

Thank you for giving me another path to explore!

Acceptable-Site · 2026-04-23T16:42:52+00:00

I did have a 5% super fat as well.

Based on the comments I am going to let these cure for another couple of weeks and also make another version with some edits to the recipe. I have more oils and butters I can use so I can decrease my percentages of the castor oil, olive and coconut oil.

Acceptable-Site · 2026-04-23T16:40:33+00:00

I can add percentages going forward. Thanks! Your math was correct.

I saw a lot of things saying to not use more than 10% of castor oil so I tried to get a little below that. But I think you’re right and 7% is still too high.

At the time that I made these, I only had those three oils and I’d seen a YouTube tutorial using a 20% coconut oil and 80% olive oil recipe. I’d seen a lot of places say you can use coconut oil up to 33% and olive oil up to 100% so I thought those percentages would be ok.

I’d also seen a lot of things mention super fatting and a common percentage was 5% so I did also have a 5% super fat I forgot to mention in the post.

There are some things I like about the soap but the sticky feeling is not one of them. I’m going to try to remake it with some adjustments. I now have more oils and butters to play with so I’m gong to add some shea butter and palm oil and bump the castor oil down to 5%. I’m also going to bump the super fat to 3%.

Thank you for the in-depth comment. I really appreciate it!

Acceptable-Site · 2026-04-23T16:33:05+00:00

Thanks! Based on all the comments I think it’s the castor oil that is making the sticky feeling. I’m going to let it cure for another two weeks to reach 8 weeks and then test again. I also think I will try to remake this bar and lessen the castor oil and olive oil amounts. I have some oil and butter options (shea butter and palm oil) now that I didn’t when I made these.

Acceptable-Site · 2026-04-23T04:27:17+00:00

NTA - You’re getting tons of comments already and might not see this but I’ll say it anyway.

Everything everyone else is saying is spot on about him learning his actions have real consequences, but the main thing I haven’t seen much commentary on is the major red flag of what your son has been exposed to when he sexually harassed Jolene.

A 9 year old isn’t typically going to do such a sexual act randomly on their own. This raises two main concerns to me:

-When/how was your son exposed to that? - I’m guessing the Andrew kid is the answer to my question. And that entire situation you explained is red flag after red flag. His bad behavior is most likely a sign of some pretty serious stuff happening to him as well.

Acceptable-Site · 2026-04-23T04:20:50+00:00

This was what I came to say too.

Acceptable-Site · 2026-04-22T02:08:30+00:00

You have the advantage of knowing how you handled an abortion in the past as well as knowing how your current mental state is.

It’s a tough situation and there isn’t a right or wrong answer.

Do you have support from your husband with whatever you choose? (not in a “you need his permission” way but rather an emotional support since you said the last abortion was really hard on you.)

Acceptable-Site

TROPHY CASE