EASIEST way to smallify a recipe?

[welovesoap]

Yes, yes, smallify is not a real word. But you know what I mean, right?

So, I have decided to make a new batch of soap EVERY DAY in January. As a sort of intensive learning exercise/giving myself something to blog about/figuring out what my PERFECT basic soap recipe is. There's no better learning than hands-on, IMHO.

BUT to keep some of my expenses down while experimenting, I would like to make great use of my guest size silicone mold from Whole Sale Supplies Plus. (Psst! It's this one.) But it's only 11 oz!

I can do the basic math to convert a soap recipe to the smaller size. But I believe that the water and lye ratios don't always work as, uh, ratios? Is this true? How do I figure out how much lye and water to use? Will something like soapcalc.com help me with that? Or is there some super-secret rule of thumb that I should know about? Or is it (please say it ain't so!) just trial and error?

 

[IrishLass]

I would plug your re-sized recipe through SoapCalc.

IrishLass

 

[Hazel]

You could enter your regular sized recipe into soapcalc. Make sure you've clicked on the percentage circle in the "Soap Recipe" section, then change the "Weight of Oils" to the amount you want.

If you only want the total batch weight to be 11 oz, then you'll have to use only 8 oz of oil. It's going to be very hard to weigh such small amounts so I recommend you use grams and hopefully you have an accurate scale.

Good luck!

 

[debbism]

www.summerbeemeadow.com has this feature - just plug in your recipe, hit calculate then resize the recipe to fit your mold. Voila!

 

[welovesoap]

Thanks for all your help!

I usually weigh my recipes in grams. I really need a scale that does 0.1 grams, though. :roll: Well, we'll see.

 

[judymoody]

I do sample recipes this size from time to time. A scale with 1 gram increments should be fine. If in doubt, round down your lye. Enjoy!

 

[carebear]

if you don't change components, but only reduce your total batch size then yes - everything changes proportionally.

this said, it's best to run through a lye/soap calculator anyway.