To Superfat Or Not to Superfat...That Is the Question

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Thanks Scotsman.
I think I'm finally starting to understand a bit more about the lye discount.
I'm glad you mentioned the FOs. I was thinking of getting a lavender scent too.
 
The lavender scent that I mentioned isn't really a true-to-life lavender scent, but it is very clean and nice. If you are looking for a lavender scent that smells just like the flower, that same company carries one. They also have a very true-to-life hyacinth FO as well.
 
The proper SF is just the one you happen to like. Some people here SF at -2%(yes, negative two percent) to 2% and do not get zapping soap. A bunch of us made -40% SF soap (made with excess water though), that did not zap and which some people found to not be drying, although others others did. If your soap doesn't pass the tongue test after cure, you should not use it on your body, but you might be surprised what happens to a low SF or even a low negative SF soap.
 
Newbie, curious as to why you would do a negative SF? I can't puzzle out what the benefit would be...other than to experiment
 
^^ I second what Newbie said!

A big advantage of a negative superfat (lye excess) is that it ensures there is no unsaponified fat left in the finished soap.

For example, the -40% SF soap recipe originated as a way to use up olive oil that had been previously used for cooking. Used fats are more prone to going rancid, so it's a good idea to fully saponify the fat rather than leave some in the finished soap. Not sayin' one has to use THAT much of a lye excess however.

The key point with a soap like this is to have the patience to wait until the soap is fully tongue neutral (not zappy) before even thinking about using it.

I have been using my -40% SF soap in the shower for several months now. The two batches I made -- one all olive, one a high-oleic safflower and lard mix -- are lathering well and are not drying to the skin at all.

Would I make all of my soaps this way? Probably not, but I'm sure not afraid of a lye-heavy soap, if the soap is otherwise well made. I visited with Kevin Dunn about this point. He said he had tested soaps up to a -5% SF (5% lye excess) and found the same results -- the soaps had no excess alkalinity (no excess lye) after cure.
 
I still superfat in the 0-3% range, which I started doing for plumbing purposes. My hubby just commented that our plumbing has been behaving so much better the last year. Most soap for selling are superfatted at 2% using a low percentage of CO
 
I still superfat in the 0-3% range, which I started doing for plumbing purposes. My hubby just commented that our plumbing has been behaving so much better the last year. Most soap for selling are superfatted at 2% using a low percentage of CO

I'm using a 5% superfat with a 24% CO in my body bar. If I lower my superfat to 2%, for plumbing purposes. What should I change my CO percent to, to keep the same bar bubbles I have. I didn't want the bubbles increased by lowering the superfat percent.
 
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