Superfat issues

[nikky]

Hello everyone,
I Have a question that has been bothering me for a long time now of which i have read so many articles and found no answer to.
Can you lovely soapers shed more light on this issue for me please
Superfatting? when i get a recipe online and its says for example 8% superfat,
What does it mean.
I usually think am supposed to incorporate that into the soap myself by either reducing the lye amount by 8% or add 8% more oil to the soap.
But am also thinking that this has been done and the recipe adjusted to incorporate the superfat, which means i don't have to bother adding oil or subtracting lye on any recipe.
The same goes to the lye calculator, does the lye calculator add this superfat oil to give you the total oil or you have to do that yourself.
I hope i have been able to put these out correctly so you guys can understand my questions.
I really need your expert advice.
Thanks everyone.

 

[Guest]

superfatting simply is having more fats/oils in your formula than the amount of lye you are using is able to saponify. its done for a number of reasons and mostly all based on preference.

I dont know which calculator you are using so... In the calculator i use, when it states a superfat amount by default, this has(or will ) already been figured in the formula so there is nothing else to do unless i want to adjust it. if i want to change the amount i can and when i recalculate, the formulas will be adjusted to reflect the amounts of lye and oils i need to use to achieve the superfat i want. it is also called a lye discount and means the same thing either way.

i cant comment on someone elses recipe, but id guess if they have given you the lye and oil amounts and stated that it is a certain superfat, my guess is that you have the correct lye and oil amounts that will result in that superfat. you can always plug it into a calculator to check though.

 

[IrishLass]

First and foremost, no matter where you find your recipes- whether in a book or on the web- always run it through a lye calculator to doublecheck things before attempting to make it. Some recipes online or in books may or may not account for the superfat, and/or some might have typos, so plugging the recipe into a lye calculator is a good practice that will keep you safe.

Having got that out of the way, whs explained what a superfat is very well.

If you are wondering why one should superfat, the basic answer is to ensure that your soap will not be lye-heavy. I use SoapCalc as my go-to calculator and it has a default superfat of 5% aleady built into it, but you can change it to whatever superfat you want and it will automatically calculate the correct amount of lye for you. A 5% default is pretty standard for making sure that your soap will be quite safe from lye heaviness. Beyond the 5% default to prevent lye heaviness, you'll find that soapers superfat at varying levels depending on their personal preferences and/or what they are trying to achieve with their soap. Basically, the more free oil you have in the soap, the less drying it will be, but bear in mind that too much superfatting will start to cut in on your bubbly lather quotient. It's a balancing act that'll take some trial and error to reach the right balance that you're happy with.

IrishLass

 

[nikky]

Thanks guys,
another thing is,
if the calculator has incorporated the superfat amount and i don't have to do anything else, and i want to add a special oil at trace for it moisturising quality how do i do that?

 

[Genny]

If you want to add an oil at trace, make sure you've added it to the recipe and run it through a soap calculator. Then add it at trace. But keep in mind that the lye will saponify whatever oils it wants to that has saponifiable constituents, no matter if you add them at trace or in the beginning.

 

[IrishLass]

If you want to add an oil at trace, make sure you've added it to the recipe and run it through a soap calculator. Then add it at trace. But keep in mind that the lye will saponify whatever oils it wants to that has saponifiable constituents, no matter if you add them at trace or in the beginning.

Exactly. That's why add mine all up front.

Here is an excellent link to Dr. Kevin Dunn's work debunking the 'superfatting at trace' theory:

http://cavemanchemistry.com/LyeDiscount-Dunn.pdf


You may have a better chance with HP than with CP, but I've been reading some recent info on a couple of different forums that seem to indicate that even with HP, the superfatting hypothesis is somewhat theoretical when looked at on a deeper level. See these threads from our own forum:

viewtopic.php?t=28175&highlight=fatty+acid+swap
viewtopic.php?t=27065&highlight=fatty+acid+swap


IrishLass

 

[nikky]

Thanks all.

Has anyone expirenced discolouration with ROE?
Cos i tried a batch yesterday and i wanted a white soap but it changed the colour to a somewhat red hue before i poured into the mold.
i don't know how to deal with that because i really need to add ROE to my oils to prevent it from going rancid quickly.
please help me with your advice.

thanks

 

[Genny]

How quickly are your oils going rancid without it?
I've only used ROE once, but it didn't turn my soap a different color, I just didn't like the smell of it.
What color is your ROE?

 

[nikky]

i have not had any batch long enough to know if it will go rancid but am just trying to be on a safer side, Although my oils are fresh and most will expire in 2015.
The ROE is kind of redish brown.
so it changed the colour of the soap to light brown.
not too bad but i wanted a white soap.
Do you have ROE with a different colour?

 

[Genny]

The only ROE I've used has been was green, it was from The Sage.

How long are you keeping your soap for? You should at least keep some of your batch to watch for dos and discoloration, so that way you know how that recipe behaves over time.
If your oils are fresh, you really don't need an antioxidant.