Oil properties and saponification

[NatureandNurture]

I've read here where people just put all their oils in right from the start. However, I've read where some oils are added at trace. I gather the idea of adding at trace is the properties of the oils themselves have a better chance of surviving the saponification process. If you put all your oils together from the start, then there's no way to know which oils will react and which will be left intact in the final soap. So how can we claim that a bar of soap has certain properties? I'm really confused. Even adding at trace, some of that oil will react with the still-caustic lye in the mixture. Can someone please clarify the reasoning behind each method? Or offer any enlightenment at all?

 

[Guest]

Hi , This is my take on it .
I think over time soap makers realized or started to believe that it really made no difference if you added all your oil at once , or to super fat at trace. I believe the reasoning is, that either way , the lye monster takes what it wants and leaves the rest , regardless of which way you do it. By doing it all at once you don't risk forgetting to add your super fat oil.

As far as the properties of the oils used , they would be the same as an oil property chart would state , the lye monster :twisted: does not annihilate all of the goodness of the oils.

HTH

Kitn

 

[gekko62]

Yes,this is a tricky one.....I'm wondering if there's been any scientific testing of whether it makes a diff when the oils are added. Also,does lye sink it's teeth into some oils in preference to others? Does it have anything to do with the fatty acids involved???

 

[gekko62]

A bit OT but have a look at this great explanation of superfatting/lye discounting!
I luv it

http://www.canis-art.com/soaping.htm

 

[IrishLass]

Here is a good thread from last year where this topic was discussed :


http://www.soapmakingforum.com/forum/vi ... ight=trace

In CP, there is absolutely no advantage with adding oils at trace. I've had a chemist who had done experiments with handmade CP soap in a lab explain it to me on another forum . Her experiments consistently showed that only a mere 5% to 10% of oils actually reach saponification at trace.

The Soap Maker's Guild also reported much the same in their Saponifier Magazine.

In HP it's different, though. You can add your luxury oils or butters after the cook in HP and have a much better chance of your goodies remaining intact.

In CP it's a total crap shoot.

Here's one more link to another thread. Scroll down to the last post and click on the links posted within the last post for more direct info about the futility of adding at trace in CP:

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/forum/vi ... t=cranmere

HTH!
IrishLass

 

[gekko62]

Here is a good thread from last year where this topic was discussed :


http://www.soapmakingforum.com/forum/vi ... ight=trace

In CP, there is absolutely no advantage with adding oils at trace. I've had a chemist who had done experiments with handmade CP soap in a lab explain it to me on another forum . Her experiments consistently showed that only a mere 5% to 10% of oils actually reach saponification at trace.
IrishLass

Thanx for that one IrishLass

 

[Guest]

I'm favouring my new crockpot more every day. HP seems far more superior than CP to me.

 

[xraygrl]

I only once in my beginning soap days added extra oils to cp after trace....and that just ended up separating so I never did it again. Anyway, after reading and reading about it I realized that it's really kind of pointless anyway, because there is still so much reactive lye left at that point it really doesn't matter. Now with HP that is a different story. You can add your superfat oil after the cook, and know what you are superfatting with.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the links ladies , interesting stuff