Newbie Question!

[Sboylan2012]

Hi Soapers(sp?)! I'm new to soaping(have yet to make my first batch) and need a good starter recipe. I finally have everything I need(except ingredients) to start making soap, but I don't have any recipes! I found a few but I think they might be over my head. I really want to use lavender and I'm not sure about lard. I have done a lot of reading and you-tube video watching and I feel familiar with the process and I'm planning on going the hot-process route. I'm really just looking for a basic recipe. I found this:
66oz Lard
25oz Water
8.5oz lye

This seems off(due to only have lye mixture and lard) but is in the basic criteria that i'm looking for. I want to find everything I need in town so i don't have to order a ton online. I'm also not sure about a zap test and how it works and really confused when using any soapcalc(sp?). Any help and/or advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Chookie2]

Newbie query

Your recipe needs absolutely to be checked through a soap calculator. What it says to me is a basic laundry soap. Your water lye ratio must be double checked before you Belgian. The zap test at two weeks is just to make sure all the lye has saponified (turned to soap). Before you get to that stage try and watch a you tube on using soap calc, it will really make it easier for you. Adding some coconut and olive oil will make a nicer personal use soap.

 

[Robert]

"Nicer" is of course a matter of taste. A lard-only soap can be just fine for some users; it would certainly be mild as soaps go.

 

[Sboylan2012]

hmmm.... laundry soap....
I guess i better start over. I think i will play with soapcalc a little more and see what i come up with. Thanks

 

[dagmar88]

Lard soap is perfectly fine to start with. It'll make a nice bar, but more importantly; a cheap and simple way to get you started and learn the process of soap making.

 

[Robert]

hmmm.... laundry soap....
I guess i better start over. I think i will play with soapcalc a little more and see what i come up with. Thanks

There's nothing about lard soap that shouts "laundry" to me, even if it's unsuperfatted.

 

[Hazel]

Your recipe needs absolutely to be checked through a soap calculator. What it says to me is a basic laundry soap. Your water lye ratio must be double checked before you Belgian. The zap test at two weeks is just to make sure all the lye has saponified (turned to soap). Before you get to that stage try and watch a you tube on using soap calc, it will really make it easier for you. Adding some coconut and olive oil will make a nicer personal use soap.

It doesn't sound like laundry soap to me. It sounds like a very mild soap which will leave a little emolliency on her skin. She could even use more lye since her superfat is almost 9%. Many people love 100% lard soap. It's personal preference on what someone considers a nice soap. I think 100% lard soap is all right by my preference is to add coconut, olive, sunflower and castor for more bubbles and more conditioning. :wink:

Personally, I'd never make laundry soap with a superfat. All of mine have been 0% or even with a slight lye excess. After all, I'm not using it on my skin, I don't want any oil left on the clothes and the clothes go through a rinse cycle to remove all the soap.

I wouldn't wait two weeks to zap test soap. If it is lye heavy, you've just lost 2 weeks of time when you could have rebatched it within a day or two. Soap which has been formulated correctly should be zap free in approximately 24-48 hours. Sometimes it can be sooner and sometimes it takes a few days longer depending on gel/non-gel and other factors. I test my soap when I unmold it if I've gelled the soap. I test on the third day for ungelled soap before I unmold it. If it still zaps me, I leave it in the mold and test again the next day and so on. Of course, this is just what I do. Other people have their own way of checking, etc.

However, I do agree it's good advice to always double check a recipe with a lye calculator.

 

[Sboylan2012]

I want to use this recipie:
12 oz lard, 6 oz coconut oil, 6 oz. olive oil, tea tree oil, lavender oil, and lavender buds
how do i turn it into percents so i can put it in soapcal? Im not sure what superfat means, but 9% seems like a lot!

 

[hlee]

You don't have to put in %'s. Just check the box for oz.s instead. It is right next to the % box.
9% SF might be a bit high but probably ok. Just don't go below 5% and your good.

 

[Sboylan2012]

How do i make a test size batch without %?

 

[dagmar88]

If you run it through soapcalc in oz, it will automatically give you the percentages and you can adjust to the weight you want it to be. For test batches, stay around or over 500 grams.
9% is a bit high; but that all comes down to personal preference. You could changeit to 5-7%.

 

[Chookie2]

Sorry my wording was a littlle off there on the laundry soap. That recipe is close to one i use for laundry soap but of course it may suit others perfectly as personal soap. Please accept my apologies for the inference that the lard soap is not suitable.

You can make a test batch by putting in whatever amounts of fats and oils from 1 oz to 1000 or more of any oil/ fats you want to use. The 5%superfat is an average but a good place to begin. Imho.

 

[Hazel]

Im not sure what superfat means, but 9% seems like a lot!

Depends on what oils you're using in a recipe. I use a higher superfat in batches with a high percentage of coconut to make them less drying to my skin. Superfat or lye discount - I tend to use the term 'superfat' but what I'm really doing is using a lye discount. I think I just use the term 'superfat' from laziness. Less letters to type. Basically, superfat is you're adding extra oil and lye discount is reducing the amount of lye needed for 100% saponification. Example - with 12 oz olive, 6 oz coconut and 6 oz lard, you would need approximately 3.5 oz of lye to completely saponify the oils. (I say approximately because SAP values are only averages of how many milligrams of lye are needed to convert 1 gram of fat to soap.) Because I prefer to have free oil or unsaponified oil left in my soap, I would use a lye discount anywhere between 5% to 20% depending on the recipe.

A 5% lye discount for 12 oz olive, 6 oz coconut and 6 oz lard means I would use 5% less lye than is needed so basically I'm only going to use 95% amount of lye. 3.5 ounces minus 5% equals 3.3 oz. Fortunately, you can enter whatever percentage into SoapCalc (section #4 Superfat & Fragrance) and it will calculate the amount for you.

A 5% superfat is adding extra oil into the batch. 12 oz olive, 6 oz coconut and 6 oz with 3.5 oz lye and I would add an extra ounce of oil to increase the free oil amount by 5% - approximately. :wink:

I hope this all makes sense. If not, maybe someone else can give a better example.

I saw hlee already answered your question about turning into percents so I won't go there. 9% isn't too high depending on what you prefer. I know one member mentioned she always uses 10% SF. I'd actually use a higher superfat for the above recipe since it's low on the conditioning value. But this is only my opinion because I have dry skin. If I only had these three oils to make a batch, I'd use 12 oz olive, 6 oz lard and 6 oz coconut with a 5% superfat since I've found this superfat is what I prefer for soap with 25% to 30% lard in it. It would make a nice bar for the shower.

You have to keep in mind that everyone can only make suggestions about recipes. You have to make it and find out what you prefer for your skin type. I prefer soap with more conditioning oils and a slightly higher SF but some of my family members prefer soap which isn't as conditioning with a lower SF (this is mainly the male members).

@ Chookie2 -

No worries! It's as I've said before - different strokes for different folks. Everyone has their own opinion on what makes for a wonderful soap. There are some members who would never any animal product in soap. I can imagine it now - one of the vegan members seeing this topic and screaming "You're using what?" then swooning across the keyboard. (Okay people...don't get upset with me about this last comment. I saw someone browsing the board and I couldn't resist teasing her. :twisted