Soaping 101 liquid soapmaking video?

[DeeAnna]

I would ~not~ use an air tight cover. Something that is truly air tight (as in KC's pressure cooker) may be asking for trouble. You do not want the container to build pressure or pull a vacuum as the soap heats up or cools down or if any gases are produced.

Snug and well covered is fine -- plastic wrap for example. I just put the normal lid or a dinner plate on the top of my soap pot.

 

[IrishLass]

Please clarify this doubt.
When the batter is holding together without separating into oils and glycerin, we can cover the pot with Lid and walk away, allowing it do the process on its own. In this context I have a doubt if the Stainless steel pot we use for this must have airtight Lid so that the vapor do not escape? I have vague memory that I have read it earlier some where in the internet and some people insist airtight lid.
About the soap calculators, in this forum, I read that if the purity of KOH is 90%, one must use soapcalc.net calculator and if the purity is 95 % , then one must use summerbeemeadow.com Calculator. Is it correct?
Thanks

I don't use a 'true' airtight lid, such as what you'd find on a pressure cooker or anything like that. I just use one of my lids from one of my saucepans that happens to fit my stainless soaping bowl fairly decently. By 'fairly decently', I mean that it fits really well with maybe just an itty-bitty hairline gap on one side. For what it's worth, from time to time I have also just used plastic-wrap to cover my bowl.

Re: lye purity and calculators. On SoapCalc, you can adjust the lye purity for either 100% purity or 90%, but on Summerbee Meadows, it is set at about 94% and you can't change it. I've never used Soapee, but as Kchaystack and others say, you can adjust it manually to whatever is the purity of your lye.

Don't laugh, but I actually never knew the exact purity of the KOH I had been using for the past 4 years for my GLS, because the place where I bought it closed down after the owner passed away (Snowdrift Farms), and there was no way for me to ever find out. But for what it's worth, I've only ever used SummerbeeMeadows Advanced lye calculator with it (with the superfat set at 3%), and my GLS has always come out great for me.

As an aside, two-batches ago I finally used up the last of my Snowdrift Farm KOH, and started in on my KOH from Brambleberry, still using Summerbee at 3@ superfat for my recent 2 batches- even though I know that Brambleberry's KOH is 90% purity (just wanted to see what would happen)- and both batches came out great nevertheless.


IrishLass

 

[DeeAnna]

Irish Lass -- I doublechecked my notes after reading your last post. The last time I checked, both the BB and SMB calcs are set to about 95% purity for KOH. I'd forgotten about the BB calc being that way - it's been awhile. Anyways, either calc should give you about the same results.

ETA:
Ah, I see what you're getting at -- the BB website now says, "...As of July 2015, our potassium hydroxide is 90% purity...."
Neverrrr miiiind!

ETA 2:
I checked the BB calc and it still looks to be set at about 95% KOH purity. You'd think they would tweak the formulas to match the lye they're selling.

 

[dingi]

Thank you DeeAnna, kchaystack, IrishLass for your reply about the airtight lid and about the Lye calculators.

 

[zzzma]

Hello All! I have been reading this thread for weeks along with links etc. and am going to attempt it this weekend. First want to thank you all for wealth of information you willingly share with us! I used to make candles and dabbled in soap about 8 yrs ago. I still have my Kelsi mold in the basement and am glad I never got rid of it! But after I attempt the liquid soap, I know I want to make bars again. Anyway, I've got all my supplies and just received my Lye from the Lye Guy. The MSD sheet for the KOH says it's percentage is 84.5-90.5%. My question I guess is, which percentage would I use to calculate? The high side or low or average? I am planning on using the basic recipe IL posted in the tutorial but I think I want to use the CP method since I don't have a crockpot yet. Thanks again and my name is Kim (shooterkim from years ago).

 

[dingi]

As an aside, two-batches ago I finally used up the last of my Snowdrift Farm KOH, and started in on my KOH from Brambleberry, still using Summerbee at 3@ superfat for my recent 2 batches- even though I know that Brambleberry's KOH is 90% purity (just wanted to see what would happen)- and both batches came out great nevertheless.


IrishLass

IrishLass, it is great to hear that both batches for you came out well, despite purity of KOH is unknown or about 90% and still using Summberbee at 3% superfat. That means even if the purity of KOH varies from different supplies, using Summeerbee calc would bring good results. Thanks.

One more doubt about lye solution and oil to be poured :
I don't know if I am asking a silly doubt, but as a beginner it happens to arise from my mind. Please share your experience that may show light on this aspect to me.
1. Is it necessary ( or possible) to pour the lye solution, scrape it till the last drop into the oil pot, to ensure accuracy of the proportion? But still I am thinking how to go about it with accuracy.
2. Same thing with oil: Weighing each oil ( Olive oil , Coconut oil and Castor oil) separately and pouring into the designated soap pot, some oil may still be sticking to the container from which we pour. How to do it perfectly? Thanks

 

[DeeAnna]

Yes, it is important to scrape the container well. But don't take anyone's word for this -- it's easy to prove it to yourself and you owe it to yourself to answer questions like this with practical experience. Here's how I would do this experiment:

Keep your scale turned on.
Pour lye or oil into your soap pot. Weigh the lye or oil container.
Scrape the container well. Reweigh the container.

How much lye or oil did you scrape out of its container?
What percentage is the "scraped weight" compared with the total weight?
Is the scraped weight an important part of the total weight?

How to scrape out a container perfectly?

Cleaning a container requires patience, thoroughness, and a good scraper -- but you will never be able to do it perfectly.
A better way is to get away from weighing separate ingredients into multiple containers.
With lye, this issue is often unavoidable the way most people make their lye solution.
With oils, learn to accurately measure directly into your soaping pot. This will totally eliminate the error.

 

[dingi]

DeeAnna, thanks for your suggestion and I some what understood and would try to learn weighing all the Oil directly in the designated soap pot.

I would like to know IrishLass's experience also regarding my query and awaiting reply :neutral:

 

[ngian]

DeeAnna, thanks for your suggestion and I some what understood and would try to learn weighing all the Oil directly in the designated soap pot.

Just beware that there might fall in the pot a little more liquid oil than the recipe needs and it will be difficult to remove the excess amount from the other oils that are already there.

 

[DeeAnna]

If you're going to measure oils directly into the soap pot, then how you pour becomes even more important. It is not a wise idea to pour the whole amount of an oil directly from a large container if you want precise control. Most people aren't that good.

Instead, pour most of the oil from the container but stop short -- do not pour the last ounce or two. Switch to a pipette or a spoon to add the last bit of oil to reach the target weight. Or pour a small amount of oil from its large container into a small measuring cup with a sharp, accurate spout, and pour the last bit from the cup.

 

[dingi]

Thanks ngian and DeeAnna,
I did not mean to pour oil from a large container. After storing enough oil approximately in a small container and then pour it to the designated soap making pot. By "Directly", what I meant is, instead of measuring each oil separately and then pouring it, I thought to put the soap pot in the digital scale and press "Tare" button to make the pot weight "0"and then pour the first oil till it reads the required grams. Then press the "Tare" button again to make reading "0". Then pour the other oil till the reading shows the needed grams and continue with the same with other oil. I am not sure if this is correct.
Thanks DeeAnna

 

[DeeAnna]

That should work, Dingi!

 

[dingi]

That should work, Dingi!

Thanks DeeAnna. Hope it works.

 

[kchaystack]

It will work. It's what I do.

 

[dingi]

It will work. It's what I do.

Thanks kchaystack. That's nice to hear

 

[IrishLass]

1. Is it necessary ( or possible) to pour the lye solution, scrape it till the last drop into the oil pot, to ensure accuracy of the proportion? But still I am thinking how to go about it with accuracy.

I'm late to the party, but for what it's worth, when I scrape my lye solution into my oils, I use 2 spatulas. One to scrape out practically every last drop from the container (or as close as I can get to every drop), and the other to scape off whatever leftover solution might still be clinging to my first spatula. In the end, it's only natural for a small fraction to get left behind, for it's impossible to be 100% perfect/precise, but that small of an amount is not enough to cause problems in my soap by any means.

2. Same thing with oil: Weighing each oil ( Olive oil , Coconut oil and Castor oil) separately and pouring into the designated soap pot, some oil may still be sticking to the container from which we pour. How to do it perfectly? Thanks

Again- it's impossible to do it perfectly, but for what it's worth, this is what I do:

1) First, I place my soaping pot on my scale, tare it out, and weigh the largest amount of my batch oil/fat into the pot. Then I remove the pot from the scale and set it aside.

2) Next, I get out a separate measuring container and place it on the scale, tare it out, and weigh out my next largest oil/fat into it. Then I scrape that out into my main pot using my 2 spatula routine explained above. When done, I place the now empty measuring container back on my scale, which, if all the oil is properly scraped out, should register as weighing zero on the scale.

3) Then I repeat #2 with all the remaining oils in my batch.

I personally don't like keeping my main pot on the scale, taring/pouring, taring/pouring each oil directly into it one right after the other. I used to do that, but as Ngian said, if a little more oil falls into the pot than the amount you intended, it's very difficult to remove that particular oil without also removing some of your other oils....... which happened to me one too many times for me to ever want to do it again. lol


IrishLass

 

[dingi]

I'm late to the party, but for what it's worth, when I scrape my lye solution into my oils, I use 2 spatulas. One to scrape out practically every last drop from the container (or as close as I can get to every drop), and the other to scape off whatever leftover solution might still be clinging to my first spatula. In the end, it's only natural for a small fraction to get left behind, for it's impossible to be 100% perfect/precise, but that small of an amount is not enough to cause problems in my soap by any means.




Again- it's impossible to do it perfectly, but for what it's worth, this is what I do:

1) First, I place my soaping pot on my scale, tare it out, and weigh the largest amount of my batch oil/fat into the pot. Then I remove the pot from the scale and set it aside.

2) Next, I get out a separate measuring container and place it on the scale, tare it out, and weigh out my next largest oil/fat into it. Then I scrape that out into my main pot using my 2 spatula routine explained above. When done, I place the now empty measuring container back on my scale, which, if all the oil is properly scraped out, should register as weighing zero on the scale.

3) Then I repeat #2 with all the remaining oils in my batch.

I personally don't like keeping my main pot on the scale, taring/pouring, taring/pouring each oil directly into it one right after the other. I used to do that, but as Ngian said, if a little more oil falls into the pot than the amount you intended, it's very difficult to remove that particular oil without also removing some of your other oils....... which happened to me one too many times for me to ever want to do it again. lol


IrishLass

Wow IrishLass. That is a very good explanation of your method of weighing Oil. It is a nice idea using two spatulas to scrape out the lye. Definitely it has shown light on this aspect to me and I would try to do it. Thanks

 

[Susie]

I personally don't like keeping my main pot on the scale, taring/pouring, taring/pouring each oil directly into it one right after the other. I used to do that, but as Ngian said, if a little more oil falls into the pot than the amount you intended, it's very difficult to remove that particular oil without also removing some of your other oils....... which happened to me one too many times for me to ever want to do it again. lol

IrishLass

This! I still use separate containers for liquid oils. I do weigh my solid oils in the same container, as it is easily removed. But liquid oils get weighed out separately. I would rather wash an extra dish or two than have to go to the computer to re-calculate the whole recipe.

 

[dingi]

Susie Thanks for your view and when it comes to liquid, as IrishLass and you say, I also feel that it is better to weigh each oil separately which would be safe and very close to accuracy.

 

[zzzma]

How do you get any fragrance in this soap (either FO or EO) with the Olive Oil smell? It's a hard one to disguise!