Temps of lye water and oils?

[Kerye]

HI all,
Okay, I have all my supplies ready(and my cute little mold! Will put up pictures when done!)

Is there a formula for the temperatures of the lye water and the oils when mixing?
I cannot find an exact recipe for what I'm using but what I'm reading from Miller Soaps for OO and Coco oils, is temps between 90-100 degrees. This is for when I am mixing them together, correct?

Kerye

 

[Pug Mom]

When I first started I was anal about the temp of the water and oils, now I just soap when they start to cool down. I prep my lye first, then melt my oils, when they are kind of cool, the lye is too andI just dump them together... I haven't noticed a difference in the soap with the different temps.

 

[Kerye]

Thank you!

 

[MikeInPdx]

My method I learned early on from soapbuddy.

Basically, when the soap pot is just warm, you're ready to go. No need for a thermometer.

 

[IrishLass]

I use a thermometer when I'm soaping a lot of high stearic fats that have a higher melting point (like cocoa butter & mango butter, etc....) If I don't soap them warm enough to stay liquid throughout my soaping session, the stearic acid in them resolidifies, causing my batter to prematurely go into what looks like a thick trace (but it's really just the stearic resolidifying), and my finished soap ends up with a bunch of little, white 'stearic spots' throughout. I soap those batches at 120 degreesF to prevent that from happening.


IrishLass

 

[Dixie]

If you are anxious about it...a good temp to soap at is 110
In time you'll learn by feel

 

[NatureandNurture]

One book I read said to soap at 80-90*, another I read said to soap at 110*, and the most recent one said between 120-140*. With such huge variations in recommended temps I figure maybe it's not as absolutely critical as some of the books mention. If it was, how could these apparently successful soapers be working with varying temps and getting the same great results.

I have trouble keeping my oil temps up. Usually everything is melted (if I don't add beeswax) by around 105-130*, and even beeswax is usually melted by 140*. So for the most part I try to get the lye down to around 120* and keep the oils around 110*. Thus far it's working well for me.

 

[Guest]

I do rtcp , melt the oils and mix the lye and let them cool to room temp .

Kitn

 

[vivcarm]

We all have our different ways, I melt my solid oils, in the micro, add by room temp oils, then add by warm/hot lye water, works for me and no thermometer, in fact I started using this method when I broke mine