'sticky' ?

[mzgarden]

I'm making goat milk soap and while everyone I've given it to to try loves it ...  a couple folks have said it 'feels sticky' when they're using it in the shower but the stickiness goes away when they rinse off the lather.  I'm wondering if it's the almond oil?  Needs to go to a stronger trace?  Just curious what might cause temporary stickiness feeling.

Recipe was for a 1# batch
2.4 oz almond oil, 13.6 olive oil
2.2 oz lye, 5.7 oz goat milk
I got the proportions from Soapulator

[feather]

mzgarden,
I'm surprised some soap making people haven't answered you yet.

For one thing, soap feels more sticky on the body than detergents. Many store bought soaps are actually detergents and they have surficants in them to help them slide off faster. Like shampoos, they have surficants in them, they seem to move the water/oil around quite fast, then when rinsing, they come off fast. Even though soap has a little different feeling on the skin while lathering, it does come off nicely in the rinsing.

Think of when you are washing dishes, you've got hot water and sometimes a little oil on the top, you put in one drop of dishwashing detergent and it goes right in, moving the oil away from itself. That is how detergents work but they are a little harsh compared to soap.

The second way your soap bar may be sticky in the shower, is the bar itself, after being in water or being hit with the shower spray, it is sticky to the touch. Some soaps are stickier than others, melting more easily. Your soap is all vegetable, so therefore it will melt more readily and be stickier than an animal or animal/vegetable fat soap. Lard soaps are very hard and melt much slower. So if you were talking about the stickiness of the bar in the shower, that may account for it.

I hope one of those ideas helps.

[mzgarden]

feather, thank you. I've given several bars of soap to others and everyone else seems to love them. Maybe this was just one of those people that likes a detergent feel better. Either way, your information is helpful. I may experiment by adding some lard to a batch and see how it goes. Thanks!