Talk to me about the 2:1 lye:water ratio.
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kelleyaynn
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I think it helps the oil and lye mixture to trace faster, and the bars of soap will get harder faster during the cure since there is less water that needs to evaporate.
PrairieCraft
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I don't think it cuts time off your cure rather the soap sets up and can be unmolded faster and there is less chance your bars will warp as the water evaporates. I'm pretty sure it should still cure for the same amount of time though.
reallyrita
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When going this low with the ratio you can easily get instant trace. Start with a spoon for stirring at first. Be careful with the SB.
A 2:1 water to lye ratio- aka 33% lye solution- is my normal (and favorite) solution rate because it's not too fast and it's not too slow for me. While things do move quicker at this rate than they would with a full water amount, I still have plenty of time to play with swirls and such.
I've never had instant trace with it unless I was soaping a notoriously seizing or fast moving FO. I would say that the time it takes my soap to to reach medium-thick trace with a 2:1 ratio (using my stickblender off and on) usually falls somewhere between 5 to 10 minutes or so, plenty of time for me to play and pour smoothly provided I'm using a well behaved FO.
I also like the 2:1 ratio because it allows me to unmold and cut my soap quicker, usually 12 to 18 hours after pour, even for 100% Castile soaps. Some of my formulas can even be unmolded as little as a few hours (my 100% CO formula, for example).
Although I can soap faster and unmold faster, which frees up my time to take care of other priorities (and frees up my molds to make more soap), my cure time remains the same- 4 to 6 weeks. There's just no substituting for a good cure, I always say.
IrishLass
I've never had instant trace with it unless I was soaping a notoriously seizing or fast moving FO. I would say that the time it takes my soap to to reach medium-thick trace with a 2:1 ratio (using my stickblender off and on) usually falls somewhere between 5 to 10 minutes or so, plenty of time for me to play and pour smoothly provided I'm using a well behaved FO.
I also like the 2:1 ratio because it allows me to unmold and cut my soap quicker, usually 12 to 18 hours after pour, even for 100% Castile soaps. Some of my formulas can even be unmolded as little as a few hours (my 100% CO formula, for example).
Although I can soap faster and unmold faster, which frees up my time to take care of other priorities (and frees up my molds to make more soap), my cure time remains the same- 4 to 6 weeks. There's just no substituting for a good cure, I always say.
IrishLass
Okay just want to clarify.
You have 2:1, Lye:water in your title.
This would be (for example) 2 oz lye and 1 oz water. You should never do a solution this concentrated as that probably isn't enough water to dissolve the lye. I don't ever use less water than I use lye.
Now...with that said, I do a 2:1, water:lye ratio. This would be 2 oz water and 1 oz lye. This is my typical ratio mainly because it's super easy to calculate.
The hightest I will go is a 50% solution (1:1). I do this mostly for high olive oil soap.
You have 2:1, Lye:water in your title.
This would be (for example) 2 oz lye and 1 oz water. You should never do a solution this concentrated as that probably isn't enough water to dissolve the lye. I don't ever use less water than I use lye.
Now...with that said, I do a 2:1, water:lye ratio. This would be 2 oz water and 1 oz lye. This is my typical ratio mainly because it's super easy to calculate.
The hightest I will go is a 50% solution (1:1). I do this mostly for high olive oil soap.
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