What's up soap calc?

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TVivian

TVivian

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After trying recipe after recipe.. All different, every oil combo under the sun. Butters waxes.. Goat milk.. Buttermilk.. Sugar, salt, honey..... you get the picture. The soap I love the very best has terrible numbers on Soap Calc. It says low bubbles, my soap is bubbly. It says low hardness, my soap is hard. It says low cleansing, I'm not stinky.

Is Soap Calc a liar? ;)


Sent from my iPhone using Soap Making
 
I've mentioned many times how I feel about the "numbers" on soap calc and why I don't think people should depend on them to figure out the outcome of their soap. If you don't understand the fatty acid profiles of the oils you use and how soap calc interprets them you can be misled on your formulas. I'm glad you love your "bad" numbers soap and glad you gave it a try. I would take this recipe and by looking at the fatty acid profile of the oils in your formula use that information to help you interpret the "numbers" on any soap calculator so you don't miss out on another combination you might love.


I'm sure someone will come along and explain this in more detail, I just can't type to long on my iPad mini keyboard with out my eyes wanting to cross.
 
I see soapcalc as a great tool. But what looks good on paper, doesn't necessarily have to be good in real life.
The only way to learn is by trying, getting to know the feel of each ingredient in different combo's/percentages and that's what makes soapmaking fun :D
 
Last edited:
I agree - I've made some awesome soap that soapcalc says should suck :) I try to pay more attention to the FA profiles than the "conditioning, hardness, etc" numbers. Soapcal will tell you that adding avocado oil will bring down the conditioning, and maybe it does, but I love me some 15% avocado :)
 
I keep reading about fatty acid profiles but I don't know what I'm looking for with that. Is there a good place to learn?
 
Following that "shampoo bar" thread really made me wonder if the numbers were all that important.. So much good info in there! I don't understand the science of it all either, and I'd like to. I start reading about fatty acids and my head starts spinning haha!


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Soapcalc has good info about the oils, I think. But you know, grain of salt and all.
 
I find SoapCalc to be a really useful tool, but I don't let a set of "bad" numbers stop me experimenting ...... Sometimes the "experiment" ends up like SoapCalc predicts and sometimes not! Sometimes the characteristics of soap are as dependent on the additives as they are on the oils. And some types of soap, like shampoo bars and shaving soap, don't necessarily fit with the numbers.

My approach: if the idea seems interesting, make a small batch and see how it works in practice. That way you can test your idea, and not waste too many oils and additives.


Sent from my iPad using Soap Making
 

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