Preservatives and calculations

[Soapy_soapingson]

Hi all,

so I am trying to understand how to formulate my own recipes and I would like to start as I mean to go on using percentages so it’s easily scaled. Now I have seen preservatives such as Preservative Eco that’s used at 1%. So say my recipe is 100% with sugar, oils, fragrance... do I include that 1% on top of the 100% or is it included within the 100%.

I really hope that makes sense to somebody lol because my mind is becoming boggled.

thank you in advance!

 

[lsg]

I use 100% of whole recipe, including FOs, sugar, etc.

 

[Soapy_soapingson]

I use 100% of whole recipe, including FOs, sugar, etc.

Thank you so much for your response! Would you do the same for say an emulsifier? Or is that included in the 100%

 

[lsg]

I figure it as a percentage of the whole recipe.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I always calculate it in the 100%, as in -

50% water
49% oil
1% preservative
* Not an actual recipe! Do not try this!

 

[Soapy_soapingson]

I always calculate it in the 100%, as in -

50% water
49% oil
1% preservative
* Not an actual recipe! Do not try this!

Oh really? So two different responses lol Maybe there isn’t a ‘right way’ to do it if each way is working for you both. When I try googling it just nothing simple or a straight forward answer comes up!

Thank you your response

 

[DeeAnna]

If your total batch size is 500 grams and you're using preservative at, say, 1% of the finished product per the manufacturer's recommendations, then you're going to measure 5 grams of preservative. The other 495 grams are your other ingredients. That's the requirement you have to meet.

I personally include that 1% of preservative as part of the 100% total, just as TEG does. In other words, the rest of the ingredients make up the remaining 99% of the batch.

But that's not the only valid way to do the calculations. It's up to you to choose the method you prefer. Chemists use one of several methods depending on which one makes the most sense for a given situation. For example, molarity and molality and normality are 3 acceptable ways to calculate molecular concentration.* The goal is to calculate the correct weight no matter which method is used.

* See Molarity, Molality, or Normality? (A Quick Review)