Hello from India

[pai]

Hi everyone,
I am very new to soap making, have made 2 batches which are both lye heavy...and i have two questions (for now), any help/insight would be much appreciated! :
does anyone have any experience with making CP soap in the monsoon? I am thinking of making a cure box with 2 light bulbs. and a insulation box for the molds with polystirine , would that work?
second: I want to use only locally available oils(extracted by me) and a few of them don't show up on any lye calc. what to do? for example- chikoo =sapote seed oil and A.heterophyllus=jackfruit, which are supposed to be very good but how much lye do i need to mix?:Kitten Love:
that's it for now.
thank you in advance for any ideas,
pai:

 

[farmgirl62]

welcome, don't know the answers to your questions but would love to know how you extract oils.

Hope you get your answers.

 

[pai]

Thanks farmgirl62,
to extract the oil you need to collect seeds and dry them,peel them and crush and then put in an oil press. my husband is building one at the moment. we have some time as,as i said we are in monsoon now and so impossible to dry anything...

 

[three_little_fishes]

Welcome! I also don't know the answers to your questions, but I'm sure someone here can be of some help.

 

[pai]

ha ha just saw zapote oil on www.soapcalc.net !! success. still need the jackfruit, anyone?

 

[judymoody]

Welcome!

Over here, people who work in very humid conditions, use a dehumidifier to help their soap to cure. I don't know if you have access to something like that where you live. Some sort of heat lamp as you suggest might work.

Regarding lye calculation, soapcalc.net has the most comprehensive list of oils that I know. I looked at oils derived from tropical seeds and fruits and nearly all came in with SAP values between .13 and .139 with an average of about .135. Zapote seed is .134 by the way.

You might try to find an an oil on soapcalc that reflects an average, say .134 or .135 for your unknown oils and use a generous superfat/lye discount of 10-12% to give you a margin for error and see what happens. Make small batches so if your calculations are off, there will be less waste.

That's really all I could think of. Hope it helps and welcome to the forum!

 

[pai]

yes i think a dehumidifier is best idea but as i am just beginning on my soap making venture i am trying not to spend too much money for now. and thanks for the average idea, will definitely give it a try. I have a few more seeds i would like to try so will use same idea for them all

 

[pai]

Hi,
I have found in one article that the saponification value of jackfruit is KOH 296. so what would be the NAOH? and isn't that much higher than most oils on soapcalc?
thank you everyone for answering, it warms my heart that someone out there is willing to help!

 

[sabon]

Hi,
I have found in one article that the saponification value of jackfruit is KOH 296. so what would be the NAOH? and isn't that much higher than most oils on soapcalc?
thank you everyone for answering, it warms my heart that someone out there is willing to help!

Is the value 0.296? or is it 296?. I any case all you need to do is divide the saponification value of KOH by 1.403

Here is a link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saponification_value

 

[sabon]

Welcome to the forum Pai, that makes at least two of us from (South) India

 

[mesmerise]

Hi, Im from India and trying my first batch of handmade soaps M&P process.

 

[shunt2011]

Hi, Im from India and trying my first batch of handmade soaps M&P process.

Hello and welcome! This thread is 6 years old. Please start a new thread to introduce yourself. The other posters haven't been here in years.