Low lather soap

[gsb]

I made my first batch of soap with this recipe,
2-3 lb cans of solid shortening
12 oz. lye
2 cups water

The soap turned out but does not lather much. I would like to use this same simple recipe for soap in the future but would like more lather, what do I add to make it more lathery? Also soap is not all white throughout, it is an off white color with white swirls and spots in the bar. Is this normal?
Thanks for any suggestions.

[FloridaWyld]

What method did you use? Cold Process? *How long did the soap set?

It's been my experience that a soap that has off white and white isn't done curing. It can also be a result of differences in temperature in your oils (if one bit cools faster than another) and a few other things.

If you want more lather, I recommend adding some coconut oil to your recipe- around 20% max of your oils.

- Edited to add:

You should always run the recipe though a lye calculator like this one:

http://www.thesage.com/calcs/lyecalc.html

Especially if you change the oils you are using.

[millctrader]

great your making your own soap!- to get more lather, you might add coconut oil for big lather, olive oil for fine lather, i add both to my shortening- the www.thesage.com is a great site with alot of good info-good luck

[aprilconnett]

Try a little bit of castor oil. Oh, you have a pm form me.

[lsg]

Congratulations on your batch of soap.
Shortening soap has a tendency to be soft without much later. *As aprilconnet, suggested, use a little castor oil. *Coconut oil will also boost lather and hardness to a bar of soap. *Lard is a great ingredient for soap also. *Did you use a stick blender? *You can get a cheap stick blender, they make the job of stirring the soap a lot easier and incorporate the ingredients much better than hand stirring.**Here is a link with some great recipes:

http://www.millersoap.com/soapallveg.html
Just a warning: Making soap can be addictive. ;D

[marnee]

I know this is idea has been months gone by and probably not even relevant any more, but you don't really *need* lather. More lather doesn't mean cleaner, it just means lather. We think that the lather means clean, but really, it doesn't make much of a difference.