Help with recipe

[lizzysoap]

So I made a batch of a recipe I have used before with success, with 3 changes. The recipe is in the photo below with the addition of BB sensuous sandalwood fragrance oil at 7g, and vitamin E oil at 11g and Mica mixed with some of the soap oils. The problem I am having is that the soap will not de-mold, it has been 4 days and is still super sticky on the bottom. I think I should also mention it has rained almost non stop sence I made the soap. I am not sure if it just to humid, or a problem with the recipe. I am new to adding fragrance and colors to soap, and I read that adding vitamin E oil would help prevent the DOS that I got on a batch of soap, (the soap was 2.5 years old before the DOS showed up, but still not fun.) Also I did not add extra oil for the superfat.

 

[penelopejane]

You've used 5% SF and 26% Lye Concentration. That is full water and may take a while to set. Leave it for another day and see what happens.

Next time try 30-32% lye concentration. That will speed things up a little.

The soap calculator you have used puts the superfat up the top but it is automatically included in the recipe. You don't add it as extra oil. So you did the right thing.

 

[shunt2011]

I agree with PJ. You’ll just need to let it sit longer due to the extra liquid and higher SF. It will be fine though.

 

[IrishLass]

I agree with Penelope and Shari- that's a whole lot of water. It might possibly even take up to a week to be able to unmold gracefully. I once made a 100% extra-virgin olive oil soap with a full water amount and it took a little over a week before it finally felt somewhat sturdy enough to be able to unmold, just as long as I handled it very gently. Once unmolded, it took a few extra days beyond that before it could stand up to being cut half way decently. It eventually turned into a very nice batch of rock-hard soap in the end, after a good long cure of several months, that is.

IrishLass

 

[DianaMoon]

I just made my first batch and went with the Soap Cal default of 38% water. The formula above is 37% - and you all are saying that's too much! Oy.

What's with Soap Calc? Why do they make such a large water percentage as a default?

 

[DeeAnna]

Just to be clear -- everyone who has answered your thread are talking about lye concentration, not "water as % of oils".

It isn't just soapcalc -- it's every online soap recipe calculator I've looked at as well as many, many soap tutorials, books, classes, videos, and blogs. Most use "water as % of fats" as the way to determine the amount of water-based liquid based on the fats in the recipe.

The math involved with the "water as % of oils" setting calls for more water to be used with recipes that need less and vice versa. Many soapers do not realize the "water as % of oils" setting actually makes it harder to create a reliable, trustworthy soap recipe.

You will be much happier in the long run if you start calculating the amount of water based on the alkali (NaOH or KOH) instead. To do this, use lye concentration or water:lye ratio. These two settings are directly comparable to each other, so pickthe one that makes the most sense to you and get familiar with how it works.

More about this subject: https://classicbells.com/soap/waterInSoap.html

 

[DianaMoon]

"Just to be clear -- everyone who has answered your thread are talking about lye concentration, not "water as % of oils".

OK. I have to think about that one.

 

[IrishLass]

"Just to be clear -- everyone who has answered your thread are talking about lye concentration, not "water as % of oils".

OK. I have to think about that one.

Don't feel too bad- that's something we all had to wrap our heads around at some point. Once you understand the difference between the two (either through the hands-on/'hard knocks' method, or the easier route of just reading about it), it will soon become very clear which is the superior way that gives more consistent results in your soap (i.e., "lye concentration").

Definitely read DeeAnna's excellent explanation in her ClassicBells link.


IrishLass