Liquid soap recipe questions

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I'm new to liquid soapmaking and I'm not used to using lye calculators. Does this check out as a good recipe? Did I do everything right? I don't want my first batch to be a flop.


Recipe Oils
Oil % Grams
Castor Oil 10 95
Olive Oil 90 855
100 950

Total Water Weight: 332.5 grams
Total NaOH Weight: 124.1 grams
Total Oil Weight: 950 grams
Total Batch Weight: 1,435.1 grams
Superfat: 3%
Lye Concentration: 27.2%
Water : Lye Ratio: 2.679 : 1
Saturated : Unsaturated: 15 : 85

The recipe size is based purely on the size of castor oil available to me which is 100mL, which weighs just over 95g according to endmemo.com. I chose these oils simply because I wanted a bastile recipe without coconut, and 90% olive 10% castor is what was suggested in another forum.

Also, how do I do the glycerin method? Is it 50/50 water and glycerin? 75/25? Is there a specific ratio or is each recipe different?

Thanks!

 

[shunt2011]

Here's a great thread for making LS. May be helpful to you.

https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/my-creamy-cocoa-shea-gls-tutorial.57974/

 

[Zany_in_CO]

There's good information for beginners on this site:

http://alaiynab.blogspot.com/2014/07/basic-beginner-liquid-soap-and.html

It is highly recommended when starting out to make small 12 oz (350 grams) - 16 oz (450 grams) oils until you get a feel for the process. You can then divide the paste into portions to try different amounts of dilution water and various additives and fragrances.

90% olive oil and 10% castor oil is challenging because it takes around 45 minutes to trace and requires a long cook time (10 hours for me the first time I made it.) You would better to start with a more balance recipe, i.e., 50% coconut oil + 50% oils of choice for a more satisfactory result.

The glycerin method lends itself VERY well to making high olive oil castile soap because the high heat makes the batch go through all the phases of becoming soap in 2 minutes!



It is an advanced technique, not recommended for Newbies but great fun when you try it for the first time. You will also need a stick blender with a stainless steel shaft because the lye is so hot it melts plastic! That's how I lost my very first SB that lasted for 9 years!

 

[WillieWright]

Yeah Bro! You are doing in the right direction. You recipes is good and have all ingredients. Good Luck for your Batch.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

how do I do the glycerin method? Is it 50/50 water and glycerin? 75/25? Is there a specific ratio or is each recipe different?

After Carrie (in the video above) shared her method, as true diligent soapers (aka "mad scientists" LOL) we took her method and ran with it. When soaping olive & castor, I'm confident using 100% glycerin. Using any other ratio also works but slows down the complete reaction to becoming soap as shown in the video. Some soapers even cook the batch beyond the point where the batch finishes saponifying on its own. As I advised above, it's best to get a few batches under your belt so you have the experience and understanding of how the process works before trying the glycerin method.

Or like your new bro, Willie Wright says, go for it! It wouldn't be the first time a soaper has ignored good advice and shot for the moon and landed on their feet! Myself included.