Ingredient proportions / percentages

[Butterfly777]

Hi I am a M&P newbie I do not know how to figure out how much (in weight / volume or percentage) of each ingredient to put in. Per kg, how much of the batch should be lye water, how much should be a combination of the oils, the solvents, fatty acids etc. I am trying to create my own recipe for M&P that is luxurious, creamy, bubbly lather - not too hard but not soft either. The oils I have available to use are castor, coconut, avocado, grapeseed, sweet almond. I am just a little confused as how much the percentage of each "section" is used for the recipe. Can someone help me or point me in the right direction?

Hi

I have to make large batches of M&P - 50kg in total and there is not enough time to use a crockpot. I will be using a large pot to accomplish this but I need to work as fast as possible. I saw on a YOUTUBE video that I can melt the oils before adding the lye water. And then I saw one soapie video where the person became impatient and microwaved in the last phase? Can that be done? If I need to hurry up the process can I microwave to / during gel phase till it becomes liquid and clear.

Thank you!

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Hello

I merged these two posts together.

So - are you looking to make your own M&P base? In which case, I can move this in to the "lye based" section.

If so, what experience do you have with making soap?

Either way, you do not need to be thinking about 50kgs of something that is totally untested, especially when it sounds like you are really unsure of what you are doing.

 

[traderbren]

I'm very confused. It almost sounds like maybe you are trying to do a Hot Process soap rather than make a melt and pour base that you can use for future batches?

 

[DeeAnna]

The OP mentions "solvents" which suggests the Butterfly really is talking about making M&P from scratch. I have to say I am hesitant to encourage Butterfly to do this. Making 50 kg of soap, whether it's CP, HP, or handmade M&P -- and get it done in a rush is not a project that a complete newcomer to soaping should be tackling. I strongly suggest finding a quality commercial M&P base and designing a quality product around this base.

 

[traderbren]

Curiosity got the better of me and I googled "making a melt and pour soap base" and the first video that showed up was the one where the lady got impatient and put it in the microwave, so I see that Butterfly really is trying to make a melt and pour base.

 

[Seawolfe]

Making a good melt and pour soap from scratch needs skills from making cp soap and hp soap, with quite a bit of knowledge and research. I have made m&p in a group setting, with an experienced person making the calculations and keeping an eye. I would be comfortable making another 5 lb batch, no WAY I would try a 50 lb batch. Some things don't scale well, and this wouldn't, not without industrial equipment.

I think that microwaving to hurry the process is just asking for trouble.

 

[Dharlee]

Making a good melt and pour soap from scratch needs skills from making cp soap and hp soap, with quite a bit of knowledge and research. I have made m&p in a group setting, with an experienced person making the calculations and keeping an eye. I would be comfortable making another 5 lb batch, no WAY I would try a 50 lb batch. Some things don't scale well, and this wouldn't, not without industrial equipment.

I think that microwaving to hurry the process is just asking for trouble.

I think 50 kg is more like 110 pounds!!:Kitten Love:

 

[shunt2011]

Either way, that's just nuts. Sounds like someone has decided to sell before even making it maybe? Giving the benefit of doubt, there's no way you should be making that large of a batch with not ever making it before. That's a huge risk for failure. I highly suggest you start small to see if it's even worth using.

 

[cmzaha]

I would also have to ask what the op thinks they are going to mix it in? If truly looking to make such a large batch of m&p I can tell you if will cost considerable more than purchasing a quality M&P base. I make a couple of m&p bases but it is not cheap. Also m&p made without all the proper additives such as surfactants and solvents will render a useless batch of m&p. I still have not figured out the exact percentages to give a nice re-meltable m&p. Mine remelts but at such a low temp it is hard to get a pretty, smooth pour.

If asking about making hp I would also ask the same question, "how are you going to mix, stir, heat, pour a 100 lb batch. I am really wondering if they meant kg. I would certainly suggest learning how to make soap first with 1 -2 lb batches then go with 25lb batches at the very most.

 

[Butterfly777]

Thanks

Hi all - I agree with everyone. Definitely not making 50kg at one go. Will try and test very small batches till I'm happy with the result. If I cannot produce something I like, I'll purchase from a local manufacturer - and yes, I see after calculations it can be quite costly