Poll: How much do you superfat your "typical" soa

[kelleyaynn]

I was wondering how much we all tend to superfat our "typical" hand or shower soap. Not the super-special luxury bars with lots of expensive exotic oils, but the everyday soap.

 

[NancyRogers]

Looks like we all do about the same so far. I usually SF at 7%. If I'm doing a 1 - 1 1/2 lb test batch, I"ll SF at 8 - 9% just to be extra safe.

 

[kelleyaynn]

I'm wondering about the 10% superfatting group. Do you find it affects the shelf life of the soap significantly?

 

[NancyRogers]

I'm wondering about the 10% superfatting group. Do you find it affects the shelf life of the soap significantly?

I haven't gone as high as 10%, but my 8-9% doesn't seem to be any different than my 7%.

 

[nattynoo]

I'm a 10%er.
I may not of been soaping quiet long enough to answer your Q..... how long do u want the shelf life to be?? I've got soaps there 6months old, no dos, no drying,cracking or anything. Still perfectly good looking, smelling soap.
I've only had DOS when I very first started soaping & the soap had sunflower (possibly canola...memory is vauge without looking it up) oil in it and I truly believe this is what caused it.
I notice a definite difference between 5% and 10% SF though.
The 5% for me was just still a little drying.
Just my thought/opinoin though.

 

[Hazel]

On a regular bar of soap, I generally use 7% SF. I drop it to 5% if I'm using whipping cream.

 

[paillo]

i usually go between 7-8 percent, higher for salt soap. no dos (except when i was a beginner using cheaper oils).

 

[soapopera]

I started with 5%, then 7% and now playing with 10%. My gosh, I'm a truly 10% convert now. Maybe because I have sensitive skin, but I absolutely love the feel of a 10%. I started soaping since last September, and so far experience 2 DOS. First one a 5%, I suspect maybe the Olive Oil I use was bad. Second a 7%, I think I left it to cure in a spot where there was sunlight hitting on it.

 

[dcornett]

I usually do 5

 

[Relle]

I'm doing 7 at the moment.

 

[soapbuddy]

6 to 7%

 

[Bubbles Galore]

I voted 6-7%. I tend to do 6, 7 or 8 most of the time. :wink:

 

[smellitlikeitissoaps]

I usually stick to 6 or 7

 

[calico21]

I voted @ 5% but if I go over a gram or so when measuring my oil I don't worry either. Just concentrate on the lye water for exactness. I measure all my oils in a stainless mixing bowl so its difficult to take out something you've already added. If I ever start selling I'll measure it all separate.

 

[AmyW]

Been doing 6-7, sometimes 8.

 

[LisaNY]

I started with 5%, then 7% and now playing with 10%. My gosh, I'm a truly 10% convert now. Maybe because I have sensitive skin, but I absolutely love the feel of a 10%. I started soaping since last September, and so far experience 2 DOS. First one a 5%, I suspect maybe the Olive Oil I use was bad. Second a 7%, I think I left it to cure in a spot where there was sunlight hitting on it.

Same here. 10% is my favorite sf level. )

 

[heyjude]

I use between 5 and 6%. For those of you superfatting at 10% are you using a high percentage of hard oils so you don't end up with a soft bar?

 

[GreenScene]

I started at 5%, have done as low as 3% (but I hate those - way too drying for me). My basic recipe is at 6-7% now because my very dry skin seems to do okay with that level, and anything above that makes me nervous because of the humidity in south Louisiana. I have had no DOS so far and have a small stack of 6 mos. old bars that still look fine (and are as hard as rocks and lather beautifully, to boot). See? I do have a little patience! ;-)

 

[GreenScene]

I voted @ 5% but if I go over a gram or so when measuring my oil I don't worry either. Just concentrate on the lye water for exactness. I measure all my oils in a stainless mixing bowl so its difficult to take out something you've already added. If I ever start selling I'll measure it all separate.

I do the same thing when I'm making soap for the family - just measure all the oils into one bowl. If I go a little over, I figure I'll just have a richer bar in the end. No biggie.

 

[soapopera]

For those of you superfatting at 10% are you using a high percentage of hard oils so you don't end up with a soft bar?

Since I'm new at this hobby, I really not sure how much hardness is consider hard. I tried 1 batch with 10% and now been making experimental batches in 10%. They are still curing though. I have batches that the percentage of hard oils (CO and Palm) range from 40% to 50%. I don't have my notes right now, but in SoapCalc I think my general hardness is somewhere around 32% to 36%. One of the main soft oils I use is also Olive Pomace, perhaps it helps with a bit of hardness. So far these 10% babies are curing fine on the rack.