Super fat v bubbles

[welsh black]

I'm new to soaping - only 5 months practice ! I've been trying did different recipes -oils and super fat % to see which one people like the best. when I give someone a bar of soap they all seem to like:-

1. Smell
2. Bubbly soap
3. The look of the bar.
4. Creamy(not drying )

I found a recipe I like which gave me a bubbly of 23 and creamy 43. I made the first batch at 5% super fat and want to take it up to 10%. The question is thar when I change the ratio on supercalc the bubbly and creamy ratios do not change, but I've seen lots of posts that say that super fating effects the bubble production ? Is this correct? If so what does super fat ting add to the bar - which soap bar quality changes?

 

[lsg]

Are you using SoapCalc? If so just plug in the oils and change the superfat % to see what happens. Adding sugar to the water and stirring until dissolved before adding the lye will increase bubbles. I never go above 8% superfat and usually use 5%-6% unless I am making a salt bar.

 

[Moody Glenn]

Hello! The concept of superfatting is a safeguard so that all of the lye is reacted with the oils and fats. You do not want any left-over lye so you make sure you have a small percentage of extra oils and fats left in a soap batter. Generally, a superfat percentage of 5 to 6 is good for most soapmaking. Superfatting your soap also helps to condition your skin. That being said, too much superfatting (above 8% and higher) can lead to very poor lather development, feel more greasy or oily and, more importantly, cause rancidity to rapidly develop within the soap bars.

 

[welsh black]

I thought if I changed the super fat % from 5 to 10 then soap calc would show a different bubble number ? But it didn't (perhaps I did it wrong). I'll stick to 5%. Most comments I've had seem to like the lather and creaminess anyway.

 

[Obsidian]

I do believe that creaminess just means how creamy the lather is, conditioning is what you want to increase for more skin conditioning. If I don't like how bubbly is, I adjust my recipe to have more coconut oil until I get numbers I like.

 

[pamielynn]

No, soapcalc won't change your numbers when you adjust the superfat. But your end result will change. And remember, those soapcalc numbers are an estimation. Nothing will tell you about the feel and performance of a recipe more than making it will.

 

[welsh black]

Thanks for all the replies , probably using the soaps are the best test!

 

[newbie]

Interestingly, I posted once about the percentage of SF affecting bubbles/lather and one of the very knowledgable admins told me the SF does not affect lather at all.

 

[Terri E]

I have found that super-fatting much above What is recommended (5-6%) leaves my soap slightly sticky and oily feeling with ok lather though not the best. I like bubbly with a relatively high conditioning number.

 

[mel z]

Bubbles, I think, are the combos of oils. Coconut, Palm Kernel, and Babasu are good. But I think a good blend of oils and a bit of castor help. I have been adding some sugar when I don't have any coconut or PK, haven't purchased babasu.

One of my best soaps with lovely bubbles has no bubbly oils, superfatted at 8%, but the water was replaced with beer. The sugar in the beer made great bubbles.

Too much shea will reduce bubbles, and brings on ash, so I keep that to 5% or lower now. Usually 5. I will guess all the hard butters do the same?