Fats/butters supplementing have question

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Armour is what I use. It is available at Walmart for about $8 for 4 lbs. I am only a hobby soaper, so I tend to try to avoid shipping costs whenever possible.

Thank you I'll go look to see if my walmart has that after I get off work. I appreciate it
 
That's a *heavily modified* portion of an old radio jingle. Here's one:

Hot dogs, Armour hot dogs
What kind of kids eat Armour Hot Dogs?
Fat kids, skinny kids, kids who climb on rocks
Tough kids, sissy kids, even kids with chicken pox
love hot dogs, Armour Dot Dogs
The dogs kids love to bite!

Here's another:

Hot dogs, Armour Hot Dogs
What kinds of kids eat Armour Hot Dogs?
Big kids, little kids, kids who climb on rocks
fat kids, skinny kids, even kids with chicken pox
love hot dogs, Armour Dot Dogs
The dogs kids love to bite!
 
So here's another question. If I have a recipe that calls for all oils and butters, how would you incorporate lard into it? Do you reduce the oils and butter then take the % of what you took out and use that same % in lard?

Either im not looking in the right area or I'm not going far enough into the threads but I can't find a thread that says how to use the lye calc...... Step BY Step. As in telling me what goes in each box and how to figure out what to put in each box. I looked over a calc the other day and it wanted you to put how much you wanted into each both. I thought the calc was used for it that u put say I was 3 lbs soap and I want to use ingredients this, this, this and this. Then it should tell you, ok you have to use 10%/grams with this, 15%/grams that and 50%/grams of this. Is there no calc that does this? Doesn't anyone know where I can find the thread if there is one that explains step by step how to use the calc and explain what each part of the calc is
 
No, no calc will tell you that. One person might want to use 50% lard and someone else might want to use 55% lard. You need to learn what oils bring what to a soap for that. The calcs are used for working out how much sodium or potassium hydroxide you need, as well as the water amount. Another good thing is that you can use a % based recipe (50% lard, 15% coconut etc) and change the desired batch size and it works out how much weight of each ingredient you need.

For learning how to formulate recipes, I can fully suggest reading back at least 10 pages in the following parts of the forum -

Beginners
Lye-based
Soap making recipes & tutorials
Recipe Feedback

There is a lot in there, but seeing the questions and answers will fill in a lot of the useful, basic information straight away. Like the fact that palm kernel oil, coconut and babassau are all drying in soaps and should generally be use sparingly. Palm oil and palm kernel oil are totally different oils and not to be used interchangably. That sort of thing. From there, we can help with basic recipes (if you haven't found the standard basic recipe in those threads) and then with any ideas you have for tweaking it when the time comes.
 
No, no calc will tell you that. One person might want to use 50% lard and someone else might want to use 55% lard. You need to learn what oils bring what to a soap for that. The calcs are used for working out how much sodium or potassium hydroxide you need, as well as the water amount. Another good thing is that you can use a % based recipe (50% lard, 15% coconut etc) and change the desired batch size and it works out how much weight of each ingredient you need.

For learning how to formulate recipes, I can fully suggest reading back at least 10 pages in the following parts of the forum -

Beginners
Lye-based
Soap making recipes & tutorials
Recipe Feedback

There is a lot in there, but seeing the questions and answers will fill in a lot of the useful, basic information straight away. Like the fact that palm kernel oil, coconut and babassau are all drying in soaps and should generally be use sparingly. Palm oil and palm kernel oil are totally different oils and not to be used interchangably. That sort of thing. From there, we can help with basic recipes (if you haven't found the standard basic recipe in those threads) and then with any ideas you have for tweaking it when the time comes.

A few people have said that about the 10 page rule, so does that mean in each our those sections I need to read every thread in pages 1-10 for each of those sections you mentioned? I know sounds like a stupid questions but a few ppl have said that in my other thread but Noone has clarified exactly what am asking, bc I know some 30 thread fit on each page, it would take me months that read all 10 pages X 30 threads, holy cow. , I hope it explains better what you had said bc if I have to know what % of what, and all the lye calc does is give you the amount of lye you need, then using a hand held calculator will give the same info right?
 
Armour is what I use. It is available at Walmart for about $8 for 4 lbs. I am only a hobby soaper, so I tend to try to avoid shipping costs whenever possible.


This brand was not avail at my walmart, there's was only 1 option and it was Lundy and the gv shortning they only had the huge container so I got a small container of cisco. That's the same right?
 
Has anyone done a video tutorial on using soapcalc? I know that was a very daunting screen when I was starting out. If not, I could probably do a short one.

That would be wonderful if you can post one so I can actually watch how it's done and explain what your doing. I learn better by watching people do things as apposed to reading
 
No, Crisco is not the same as GV shortening. It has its own line on the soaping calculators. You should have picked up the lard, though.

Here is the SoapCalc tutorial: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=49627

I use Soapee.com lye calculator, as I find it less cluttered, and it will save my recipes. SAVE YOUR RECIPES!!!! Print them out, or save them on the computer, I don't care. But SAVE THEM.

I am going to give you my standard basic recipe. This is not some dumbed down recipe because you are a newbie, this is what I use to make 80% of the batches I make because I have tried all the expensive stuff, and this is what works best for me. Your mission (should you choose to accept it) is to plug it into a lye calculator to find out how much NaOH and water to use. I typically use 32 oz of oil in a batch, as this is what fits my mold.

Lard 65% (you can try substituting palm or tallow, or use a combination of two or three)
Coconut Oil 15%
Olive Oil 15%
Castor Oil 5%

Superfat 5%
 
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A few people have said that about the 10 page rule, so does that mean in each our those sections I need to read every thread in pages 1-10 for each of those sections you mentioned? I know sounds like a stupid questions but a few ppl have said that in my other thread but Noone has clarified exactly what am asking, bc I know some 30 thread fit on each page, it would take me months that read all 10 pages X 30 threads, holy cow. , I hope it explains better what you had said bc if I have to know what % of what, and all the lye calc does is give you the amount of lye you need, then using a hand held calculator will give the same info right?

That is what we mean.

EVERY thread might be a bit much, but certainly anything that looks at recipes, helping to solve a recipe issue and so on. Anything about colours or scents you could go back to at a later time, though.

It might seem daunting, but it will bring you up to speed on a lot of things. Even if you were to ask the question now, some of the information might not be repeated, some of the additional questions asked by people might not be asked this time and so certain nuggets of pure gold would be missed out on.

That is, however, if you want to know why certain things happen. You can search around, find a recipe and make it as it stands and that is all well and good. But knowing the why behind it all allows you to make your own recipes that really suit your needs - the difference between someone who makes soap and a soaper.
 
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That is what we mean.

EVERY thread might be a bit much, but certainly anything that looks at recipes, helping to solve a recipe issue and so on. Anything about colours or scents you could go back to at a later time, though.

It might seem daunting, but it will bring you up to speed on a lot of things. Even if you were to ask the question now, some of the information might not be repeated, some of the additional questions asked by people might not be asked this time and so certain nuggets of pure gold would be missed out on.

That is, however, if you want to know why certain things happen. You can search around, find a recipe and make it as it stands and that is all well and good. But knowing the why behind it all allows you to make your own recipes that really suit your needs - the difference between someone who makes soap and a soaper.
That is understandable and I thank you for clarifying for me I will do that, thanks
 
No, Crisco is not the same as GV shortening. It has its own line on the soaping calculators. You should have picked up the lard, though.

Here is the SoapCalc tutorial: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=49627

I use Soapee.com lye calculator, as I find it less cluttered, and it will save my recipes. SAVE YOUR RECIPES!!!! Print them out, or save them on the computer, I don't care. But SAVE THEM.

I am going to give you my standard basic recipe. This is not some dumbed down recipe because you are a newbie, this is what I use to make 80% of the batches I make because I have tried all the expensive stuff, and this is what works best for me. Your mission (should you choose to accept it) is to plug it into a lye calculator to find out how much NaOH and water to use. I typically use 32 oz of oil in a batch, as this is what fits my mold.

Lard 65% (you can try substituting palm or tallow, or use a combination of two or three)
Coconut Oil 15%
Olive Oil 15%
Castor Oil 5%

Superfat 5%

when I went to Walmart I looked at the back of the Crisco and it says hydrogenated palm oil so I figured it was the same, sorry I promise I'm not trying to be stupid or arrogant I just want to make sure that I'm understanding EVERYTHING 110%. thanks for the tip I will definetly save all my info, id hate to get te perfect recipe and not be able to get it right again bc I forgot what I did the time before. does the kind of olive oil make a difference? so far with all my other body products body butter sugar scrubs bb I haven't used olive oil at all as I assumed that's for cooking only. and then I went to soapcalc.net the box for water its auto set to 38% (haveno clue what this eans) but it auto set for 1lb and everything under soap qualities and fatty acids was also auto set, when I put in on the right side of the screen what you listed, olive co lard and castor it gave me NaOH 0.135 & KOH SAP0.19, what is KOH? is this NaOH correct? if not how far off am I or I should say the calc?
 
No, Crisco is not the same as GV shortening. It has its own line on the soaping calculators. You should have picked up the lard, though.

Here is the SoapCalc tutorial: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=49627

I use Soapee.com lye calculator, as I find it less cluttered, and it will save my recipes. SAVE YOUR RECIPES!!!! Print them out, or save them on the computer, I don't care. But SAVE THEM.

I am going to give you my standard basic recipe. This is not some dumbed down recipe because you are a newbie, this is what I use to make 80% of the batches I make because I have tried all the expensive stuff, and this is what works best for me. Your mission (should you choose to accept it) is to plug it into a lye calculator to find out how much NaOH and water to use. I typically use 32 oz of oil in a batch, as this is what fits my mold.

Lard 65% (you can try substituting palm or tallow, or use a combination of two or three)
Coconut Oil 15%
Olive Oil 15%
Castor Oil 5%

Superfat 5%

o so I just went to soapee and left everything as it was with all the numbers etc and only put in the co,olive,castor,lard and its telling me water weight 190g, NaOH 69.3g lye concentration 26.7. is this correct? I really need to get my pc to act right so I can watch the toturials, as it is my pc and tablet and phone all hate this website for some reason as it takes FOREVER to load anything then stops responding all together so I have to close and restart, talk about a royal pain in the butt
 
Olive in soap is nice. Some folks make 100% Olive soap. However it takes a very long time to cure. I don't like it personally but many do. It's a gentle soap.

NAOH is sodium hydroxide and makes solid soap. KOH is potassium hydroxide and is used for shaving soap and liquid soap.

As for reading the forum topics, I read every single one of them from the beginning. Call me crazy but I learned so much. It answered so many questions that I didn't even know I needed answers to

We are here to help but you can learn so much just by reading and watching you tube videos. I recommend soaping101 and Brambleberry. For starters. I don't care for their recipes but it's good for learning he process.
 
Crisco is hydrogenated palm oil. GV shortening is tallow + hydrogenated palm oil. If you want strictly hydrogenated palm oil, then Crisco is what you want. I assumed (I know that is always a bad idea) that you wanted GV shortening due to the discussion that preceded your shopping trip.

No one is assuming that you are stupid or arrogant. We all had this same learning curve going into soaping. You just need to be patient with us as we try to address one issue at the time. Also, you need to take the time to do that reading. You have so many questions that will be answered by reading. It isn't that we don't want to help, we do, or we would not be here. It is that you will even have questions answered that you did not even know enough to ask yet if you go do that reading. Read everything with "help" in the title, at least.

The type of olive oil does indeed make a difference! The darker green, more "virgin" olive oils will cause more problems for you right now that you do not want to be dealing with-like color and how your batter behaves. Save yourself some time and money and buy that cheap yellow GV brand OO. It is what I soap with as I get good consistent results with it.

KOH is potassium hydroxide, that is what you make liquid soap with. Ignore it. Just use the NaOH.

Did you read that tutorial for Soapcalc? If not, go read it before proceeding.
 
o so I just went to soapee and left everything as it was with all the numbers etc and only put in the co,olive,castor,lard and its telling me water weight 190g, NaOH 69.3g lye concentration 26.7. is this correct? I really need to get my pc to act right so I can watch the toturials, as it is my pc and tablet and phone all hate this website for some reason as it takes FOREVER to load anything then stops responding all together so I have to close and restart, talk about a royal pain in the butt

Sorry to hear about your computer problems! Yay on the Soapee.com! Good job! You just ran your first recipe through a lye calculator! This is one of the reasons I love Soapee! SoapCalc has just too much going on on one page for a newbie to figure out. And SoapCalc does not save recipes.
 
Sorry to hear about your computer problems! Yay on the Soapee.com! Good job! You just ran your first recipe through a lye calculator! This is one of the reasons I love Soapee! SoapCalc has just too much going on on one page for a newbie to figure out. And SoapCalc does not save recipes.

that's good to know that site doesn't save so I will bookmark the soapee one as it did look much easier to use. the soapcalc, omg when I got to the calc I about had a panic attack(lol) when I saw all that extra stuff.
 

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