I'm so confused! What do the numbers mean?!

I've tried several different recipes, some basic, some with much nicer ingredients, but I can't seem to figure out what is causing what! So far, I think my best bubbly lather comes from this recipe:

Almond Oil 10%
Olive Oil 40%
Lard 25%
Castor Oil 10%
Coconut Oil 15%
SF 7%

Other recipes have had even more percentages of castor and coconut and seem to produce LESS bubbles and lather, which doesn't make sense to me. The only thing I do know for certain that I like is what milk products bring to my soap; the lather feels different, heavier maybe? Not so thin, on my skin. I can't tell a difference after it's rinsed off though, my skin just feels great regardless compared to using commercial products.

So my question is what numbers should I be looking for in terms of things like Lauric, Myristic, Palmitic, Stearic, Ricinolieic, Oleic, Linoleic, and Linolenic? I understand people don't want to give out their best recipes and I have no problem playing with Soapcalc to create my own, it's just that I have no idea what of those are good/bad, and where the numbers should ideally be to create a desirable bar of soap!

It's frustrating me because every time I go to make a new test batch of soap I get totally stressed trying to decide which recipe I should use, washing my hands 20 X testing the different recipes I have used to see which is more bubbly, which has a more creamy lather, which leaves a better feel on my skin....uggghh....I'm so confused! And what is happening is I put it off and don't make the soap I will be SO thankful to everyone who offers suggestions so I can make not just a nice bar of soap, but one that makes me go, "WOW!!" Thank you in advance! :wink:

I have a book that explains (in words, not numbers) the properties, qualities, pros & cons of each oil, butter etc. I create my recipes based on these descriptions and personal preference. I don't use soapcalc, I use the MMS calculator which keeps things nice and simple and stress-free (for me, anyway!).

Don't get too hung up on numbers, I've never looked into numbers, I just experiment and go with what works. Personally, I think the only rules that should be strictly adhered to when soapmaking are the safety precautions. Relax and have fun with it!

Yeah...I don't look at the numbers. Ever. It's not completely accurate...expecially when it comes to olive oil. We know that olive oil will make a hard bar of soap...soap calc says it's soft...

I use MMS lye calc more often than soapcalc.

those calc just helping tools
they give us Approximate quality of our soap depends on recipe

Yes- don't get too hung up on the numbers. Use them as a guideline of sorts to improve on your formulas, but don't look to them as the 'be all, end all', because there's more to a soap formula than the numbers, like synergy for example. Much rides on the synergy of the specific blend of oils you are using, and synergy is something that the calculators are too limited from taking into account.

The way I settled on my own formulas was to experiment like mad (using SoapCalc as a plumbline to work off of or to help me tweak) and when I had a handful of formulas I liked, I looked at the fatty acid profiles of each and compared them with the formulas I didn't like, and from there I was able to tweak more intelligently (using the fatty acid profiles as a guide) until I was finally able to formulate some really good keepers.

Other recipes have had even more percentages of castor and coconut and seem to produce LESS bubbles and lather, which doesn't make sense to me.

Click to expand...

It all depends on what else is in the formula and how much of it. And therein lies the 'trick' of soaping- finding the right synergistic blend of oils that lathers the way you like and makes your skin happy.

If it makes you feel any better, I feel your frustration! It took me over a year or more of constant experimenting and tweaking (and washing!) before finally getting my formulas where I really liked them (although I still find myself tweaking every now and then after 5 years of soaping ).

So my question is what numbers should I be looking for in terms of things like Lauric, Myristic, Palmitic, Stearic, Ricinolieic, Oleic, Linoleic, and Linolenic?

Click to expand...

Well, that all depends on how you like your soap to feel. It's all very subjective due to individual likes and dislikes, and so one person's 'numbers' might very well differ greatly from someone else's 'numbers'.

If it helps any, I took your posted recipe and tweaked it on SoapCalc to get it to where I think I'd like it (it's actually not far off of one my own favorite forumulas):

Olive oil 40%
Coconut oil 25%
Lard 20%
Castor 10%
Almond oil 5%



Happy soaping!
IrishLass

I usually do a 5% castor on mine and that makes lots and lots of bubbles especially with 20% coconut oil. It may make your hands sticky until they dry. Sometimes it would happen to me at 10% sometimes not. I just lowered it to 5% and never had an issue, and i get LOTS of big fluffy lather and it saves a little $ too, castor is expensive i think!

When I first figured out soapcalc, I'd go crazy trying to get my recipe to fall closest to the middle of all the ranges. I would tweak the recipe 10 times till I finally found numbers that I was happy with. I try that bar next to a bar that I never ran through the calc...and I can't tell the darn difference!

I will say that I use it now to make sure my numbers are at least within the ranges. If I'm trying to use up some oil or I don't have an oil on hand, I'll run it to make sure I'm not going to make a disaster.

Does anyone else find that the liquid numbers are much higher on soapcalc than on thesage?

I love using soapcalc. I think its like a jigsaw, trying to fit all those individual oils (pieces) together in the quest for the ultimate bar.

However it doesnt take all things into consideration - it cannot look outside the square.

I have found (maybe its just me), that some of my soaps have more bubbles after cure compared to when freshly cut.

Also - I always use 25% coconut, 5% castor and change up the other oils. The combination of the other oils seems to make a difference to the bubbles, i.e I made a high percentage cocoa butter bar and I noticed a difinate decrease in bubbles.

Its hard to be sure though, its hard to get a second opinion because other dont really notice the slight drop in bubbles lol - I could be imagining the whole thing

Also I'm wondering if superfat has anything to do with bubbles. If you had a higher superfat perhaps the free floating oils would conteract the bubbles in the soap??