I’ve made a batch that is so so soft,
I think that is due to 11% SF.
I’ve made a batch that is so so soft, when I’ve checked with other Soapers, they say I have too much water in it. looking for suggestions of how to rebatch and what oils to add to harden it.
Oh, I hadn't thought of that! Good point!!!Which could be to counteract the approximate 32% Coconut Oil.
Good point! But I feel I should mention that in all my 18 years of soapmaking I've never experienced DOS or Soda Ash as many others seem to have.We are all here to help, but we won't always suggest the same thing.
I’ve only done a few cp batches. (Still waiting for them to cure) Started off with m&p and loved the quick result.
I still don’t fully understand the soap calc. If I follow what is says I still mess up. When you all start talk about reduction and percentages I get a little lost. I’m still learning big time.
i put in a tablespoon each of French green clay and turmeric powder, even two teaspoons of salt dissolved in a tiny bit of hot water, thinking all of these things would add to the water absorption and eventually assisting hardening.
im so pleased to have found this site.
I pretty much agree with Alison, but I did formulate my soaps to last with longevity in mind since I sold soap for many years. But I also kept the cleansing lower and worked around the lather issue with low superfat, chelators and very seldom milk use.Hi JenZen,
With the clays in there to help absorption, and some time on the curing shelf, your soap will probably be fine.
Regarding the SoapCalc, the main benefit of that to beginners is knowing how much lye to use for the specific fats you have chosen. After that, most of the settings are really up to you. For instance, I personally never pay attention to the INS number, or the Sat:Unsat ratio. Some folks do, because the factors behind those numbers are important to them.
What's important to me for my soap, and my skin, is keeping the cleansing number low (usually between 10 and 12), and conditioning high. I also keep the superfat low (usually 2 to 3) because I want more bubbles and less soap scum. I don't personally care about longevity because I don't sell my soap, and I make a lot, so for me, it's good if it is used up fast. I also don't use lots of olive oil or coconut oil, because they don't agree with my skin in large amounts.
Regarding the water and lye setting, I use lye concentration because then my soap recipes are more consistent when scaling up or down. Using water as percentage of oils can cause lye-heavy soap in small batches, and water-heavy soap in large batches. I also believe it is actually easier for beginners to use and stick with a 33% lye concentration until they are comfortable knowing how and why to change that.
You can see how other people with different priorities, skin preferences, or soapmaking goals might make different choices than what I make. Keep that in mind when you hear conflicting advice. We are all here to help, but we won't always suggest the same thing. Stick with it, and soon this stuff is going to make sense.
...I use lye concentration because then my soap recipes are more consistent when scaling up or down. Using water as percentage of oils can cause lye-heavy soap in small batches, and water-heavy soap in large batches.
I also believe it is actually easier for beginners to use and stick with a 33% lye concentration until they are comfortable knowing how and why to change that....
My understanding is that when using the water-as-percent-of-oils setting in some small batches, one can end up with not enough water to dissolve the NaOH.
Well, I must be utterly confused on that issue then, and will look back on the threads that talked about why not to use it.I tried 2 oz of oils with my recipe...at 33% Lye Concentration, my Lye 0.28, DW was 0.56. I had to drop down to just under 15% Water as % of Oils in order for the Calculator to drop water below my Lye.***
*** - I was kind of surprised that I didn't get a 'warning' that my water to lye was less than 1:1
...when using the water-as-percent-of-oils setting ... one can end up with not enough water to dissolve the NaOH. So what I should have said was that one could end up with undissolved lye - not a lye-heavy soap. Is that correct?...
Hope you feel better soon DeeAnna.I guess I still don't see how batch size comes into play in this problem, however -- it seems to me that this problem could happen with any size batch. I'm feeling a little under the weather today, though, so I could easily be missing an important point.
Sorry you aren't feeling well, and thanks for replying while in that state. I honestly can't remember which threads I was reading here on SMF on this issue. Someone ran a bunch of calcs to show the problem with using that setting; I'm probably just remembering them wrong. If I do find them, I'll circle back and clarify. Meanwhile, it sounds like the only for sure thing with water-as-percent-of-oils is that it can be way too much water for CP soap.Oh, okay, I see where you're going now. Thanks for explaining!
Yes, you're perfectly right. If a person sets the "water as % of oils" percentage low enough, they could unknowingly create a recipe that has too little water to properly dissolve the dry alkali for that particular recipe.
The only way to know if this is a problem or not is to check the lye concentration to see if it's 50% or lower.
Now that I see your point, this is another argument for ignoring "water as % of oils". If you have to understand enough about lye concentration to do this double check (and also understand you need to do the check, which would be my failing!), then why not just use lye concentration in the first place?
I guess I still don't see how batch size comes into play in this problem, however -- it seems to me that this problem could happen with any size batch. I'm feeling a little under the weather today, though, so I could easily be missing an important point.
Someone ran a bunch of calcs to show the problem with using that setting
With respect, I want t explain the amount of lye in any given batch of soap isn't affected by the water setting, whether you choose to use "water as % of oil" or lye concentration or water:lye ratio. YOu won't get a lye-heavy batch if you use "water as % of oils" as opposed to lye concentration. Only the superfat (lye discount) percentage and the weights of the various fats determine whether a recipe is going to be lye heavy or not.
It also doesn't matter which water setting you use if you decide to scale a specific recipe to make a larger or smaller batch of that recipe. A 1000 gram batch will have the same relative proportion of water to fat as a 500 gram batch will. A smaller batch won't have any more water in proportion to the other ingredients as a large batch will -- it makes no difference whether you used lye concentration, water:lye ratio, or water as % of fats to set up the recipe.
The choice of water settings, however, does become important if a person wants to make soap with different types of recipes. If you want the ability to use a variety of recipes AND get more consistent results from those recipes, you really do want to calculate the amount of water based on the alkali (lye) weight. To do that, you should use either lye concentration or water:lye ratio.
It's a long slog to explain the mathematical reasons why lye concentration and water:lye ratio are more useful than "water as % of oils" ... and not everyone is interested in the geeky details. If you want to know more, check out my article Water in soap | Soapy Stuff
No argument there -- this is very sound advice.
Hi AliOopWith respect, I want t explain the amount of lye in any given batch of soap isn't affected by the water setting, whether you choose to use "water as % of oil" or lye concentration or water:lye ratio. YOu won't get a lye-heavy batch if you use "water as % of oils" as opposed to lye concentration. Only the superfat (lye discount) percentage and the weights of the various fats determine whether a recipe is going to be lye heavy or not.
It also doesn't matter which water setting you use if you decide to scale a specific recipe to make a larger or smaller batch of that recipe. A 1000 gram batch will have the same relative proportion of water to fat as a 500 gram batch will. A smaller batch won't have any more water in proportion to the other ingredients as a large batch will -- it makes no difference whether you used lye concentration, water:lye ratio, or water as % of fats to set up the recipe.
The choice of water settings, however, does become important if a person wants to make soap with different types of recipes. If you want the ability to use a variety of recipes AND get more consistent results from those recipes, you really do want to calculate the amount of water based on the alkali (lye) weight. To do that, you should use either lye concentration or water:lye ratio.
It's a long slog to explain the mathematical reasons why lye concentration and water:lye ratio are more useful than "water as % of oils" ... and not everyone is interested in the geeky details. If you want to know more, check out my article Water in soap | Soapy Stuff
No argument there -- this is very sound advice.
... I was able to use a 55% Lye Concentration....
Sometimes -- and perhaps a lot of the time -- the default of "38% water as % of oils" works just fine ... until it doesn't. But there's no way to know why it works or why it doesn't by just looking at that one number.
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