# What unit of weight* do you work with?



## Kila (Sep 14, 2019)

This might be a really dumb question sorry in advance... 1. Do you use fluid ounces (versus regular ounces) when making soap?
2. Do you work with ounces or grams? I would like to work in grams but my scale doesnt show the decimal points (ie. 120.2 g) instead it would just show 120 grams. Would this affect anything especially if weighing out the lye and water?


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## Saltwater Scented (Sep 14, 2019)

I'm new at this and I use grams.  College degree is marine biology with a minor in polymer chem so I'm pretty comfortable with it.  Plus with my experience in mining, gold is measured in grams and troy ounces.  Our explosives were small scale so we measured everything in grams there.  I liked having all my fingers at the end of my hands rather than off doing their own thing so I took the most accurate weight system. 

I don't think anyone's recipes out there are using fluid ounces, they're regular solid ounces. 

There are 28.35 grams per solid ounce.  If your scale is measuring ounces to only one decimal place but it shows you full grams (if accurate) then you're better off with grams.  The difference between 1.1 ounces and 1.2 ounces could look almost negligible or it could be 5.5 grams difference.  That scenario would be when your scale just has enough to flip to the 1.1 reading versus when it's almost ready to display 1.3.  

Will that make a difference in a five pound batch?  Statistically speaking, not really.  Will 5.5 grams make a difference in a one pound batch?  If you're like me and knocking out 4 or 5 recipes a week and want to be able to really get a feel for the differences each permutation of oils make since I have no working knowledge?  Dang right I want that margin of error razor thin to eliminate that variable.


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## BattleGnome (Sep 14, 2019)

The gold standard of the forum is weight. It is personal preference if you choose ounces or grams. 

The larger internet doesn’t always keep to the same standard. Many “mommy blogs” use volume in their recipes, so if you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask. We’ll do out best to help you translate volume to weight.


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## TheDragonGirl (Sep 14, 2019)

I use weight! I weigh by the oz, my scale allows me a certain amount of precision with that, thankfully. 

Volume just seems super risky, you're never going to get a clean calculation out of that.


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## Kila (Sep 14, 2019)

TheDragonGirl said:


> I use weight! I weigh by the oz, my scale allows me a certain amount of precision with that, thankfully.
> 
> Volume just seems super risky, you're never going to get a clean calculation out of that.


Ooh, yeah I'm definitely using weight. I guess that would make more sense for me to use solid ounces as well since my scale isn't as precise with grams. Thanks


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## lsg (Sep 14, 2019)

I use ounces in weight for my soap.  Some people like to use gram weight.


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## Obsidian (Sep 14, 2019)

I use ounce weight but if I have a tiny amount of a additive like citric acid, I'll use a gram scale for precision.


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## DeeAnna (Sep 14, 2019)

Your scale is just as accurate when you set it to ounces as it is when you set it to grams. It's the same scale with the same mechanism and thus the same accuracy. Only the display you read will change.

I'm assuming your scale shows ounces with 1 decimal place (0.1 ounce), since you say its display, when set to grams, reads in whole grams. A difference of 1/10th of an _ounce _on your scale is the same a difference of 3 _grams _as far as your scale is concerned. If you see a change of 0.1 ounce, that's the same as seeing a change of 3 grams.

See why your scale's display reads the way it does?

Pick which units of weight you prefer and stick with it. You'll do fine. My preference is for grams, because I'm a science geek and that's what I was trained to use. But ounces is fine too.


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## John Harris (Sep 14, 2019)

I use grams.  Fluid oz would be hard to be accurate with, I would think.


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## jcandleattic (Sep 16, 2019)

For soapmaking I weigh in oz, everything else I weigh in grams. 

Always use weight and not fl oz or volume. 
weight will always be weight, meaning a lb will always be a lb. 

Maybe you've heard the age old question - which weighs more, a lb or feathers or a lb of bricks? 
Well, they both weigh the same, however, their volumes are worlds apart. 

Same goes for certain other ingredients in soapmaking. 1 fl ounce of castor oil will be different than 1 fl ounce of say sunflower oil, but 1 oz weight of each will still weigh 1 oz each.


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## amd (Sep 16, 2019)

Kila said:


> . Do you use fluid ounces (versus regular ounces) when making soap?
> 2. Do you work with ounces or grams? I would like to work in grams but my scale doesnt show the decimal points (ie. 120.2 g) instead it would just show 120 grams. Would this affect anything especially if weighing out the lye and water?



As stated by several others: always use weight when measuring for soap making - although you can fudge slightly with things like colorants and measure in volume tsp - but oils, lye, water, fragrance should be measured by weight.

I started with ounces and in July switched to grams for soapmaking. I make lip balms and B&B items using grams, so it made sense to make everything the same. I would not worry about not having decimal place grams, unless you are making intricately small batches (which isn't good soap practice anyways). I generally follow the advice I was given when I started: If you can't be exact, measure oils and water over, and lye under. Of course it matters how much under/over you measure.


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## shunt2011 (Sep 16, 2019)

I always use grams.   I find they are the most accurate for me.  I use grams for all my products.  I use a jewelry scale for small batches.   I did start with ounces when I first started.  And a stated, round up for oils/butters and down for lye.   It's not failed me yet.   I'm usually over a bit in oils as I mix my colorants sometimes with a bit extra not from the batch as I master batch my oils in most cases.


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## bookreader451 (Sep 16, 2019)

amd said:


> As stated by several others: always use weight when measuring for soap making - although you can fudge slightly with things like colorants and measure in volume tsp - but oils, lye, water, fragrance should be measured by weight.
> 
> I started with ounces and in July switched to grams for soapmaking. I make lip balms and B&B items using grams, so it made sense to make everything the same. I would not worry about not having decimal place grams, unless you are making intricately small batches (which isn't good soap practice anyways). I generally follow the advice I was given when I started: If you can't be exact, measure oils and water over, and lye under. Of course it matters how much under/over you measure.



I use a pipet to make my sure I hit hundredths of an oz.  I know you can round but, I am too new at this to play fast and loose with measurements! 

I also use grams for my scrubs and butters and lotion bars.  I guess because when I started researching and making them, the recipe weights were in grams and I just stuck with it through my tweaks and changes.


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