Lye to oil ratio and discounting, what are they?

[sapphire74]

Hey there,

I'm a newbie to the soap making world and needed some help on a few topics.

1- What is the ratio of lye solution to oil blend?
2- What exactly is water discounting and how important is it?
3- If I want to add fragrance oils to my soap batter, do I have to reduce the amount of water I put in my lye solution so that I can add the fragrance and the total soap volume stays constant? If not, how do I add fragrance oils to my soap and in what quantity/ratio?
4- When adding colours, do you have to mix the powder with oil or water, and does the addition of that oil or water affect the soap volume overall or is it such a minuscule amount that it doesn't matter?

If anyone could help out I would be eternally grateful!

 

[shunt2011]

Hello and Welcome!

The ratio of lye to oil is figured by the Lye calculator based on the oils SAP values. It can be done manually but I'm not the one to give direction. I like my lye calculator.

Water discounting (Lye Concentration) - the less water used helps prevent warping, glycerin rivers and makes a harder soap upon removing from the mold as well as taking less time to cure due to less liquid to evaporate. I generally soap with a 30-33% lye concentration. Sometimes it just depends on your recipe.

No, just add the amount of FO based on percentage in the lye calculator for fragrance I generally use 6% in my batches.

As for colorants, you can mix them a number of ways. I use mostly micas and oxides. If doing 1 color of soapy I just add my mica directly to my oils with my fragrance before adding the cooled lye solution and give it a good mix. Oxides, I mix with a bit of oil from my batch then add it to the oils. If doing different colors, I add the mica/oxide to a bit of oil from my batch and give it a good mix then add to my separated containers and mix it up.

Here is some great information for you to read as well.

https://classicbells.com/soap/soapyStuff.asp
DeeAnna is very helpful with information and you'll find some great stuff in the above post.

 

[sapphire74]

Hello and Welcome!

The ratio of lye to oil is figured by the Lye calculator based on the oils SAP values. It can be done manually but I'm not the one to give direction. I like my lye calculator.

Water discounting (Lye Concentration) - the less water used helps prevent warping, glycerin rivers and makes a harder soap upon removing from the mold as well as taking less time to cure due to less liquid to evaporate. I generally soap with a 30-33% lye concentration. Sometimes it just depends on your recipe.

No, just add the amount of FO based on percentage in the lye calculator for fragrance.

As for colorants, you can mix them a number of ways. I use mostly micas and oxides. If doing 1 color of soapy I just add my mica directly to my oils with my fragrance before adding the cooled lye solution and give it a good mix. Oxides, I mix with a bit of oil from my batch then add it to the oils. If doing different colors, I add the mica/oxide to a bit of oil from my batch and give it a good mix then add to my separated containers and mix it up.

Here is some great information for you to read as well.

https://classicbells.com/soap/soapyStuff.asp
DeeAnna is very helpful with information and you'll find some great stuff in the above post.

Wow this is all so helpful, thank you so much!! I've checked out your lye calculator and it is a Godsend, pretty much answers all my questions. Thank you once again!