# Questioning a recipe



## narnia (Apr 4, 2016)

I saw this recipe on "Soaping 101" Youtube.

21 oz      Olive oil 
  8 oz      Coconut oil 
  4 oz      Cocoa butter
  4 oz      Shea butter
  2 oz      Castor oil  
4.5 oz     Sodium hydroxide
11.15 oz  Water
  2 oz      Hemp milk
  2 oz      Coconut milk

It looked good, so I plugged in the numbers in soapcalc.
In order to get to the 4.5 oz lye, I had to set the sf to 20%.  AND, this recipe has more liquid in it than soapcalc calls for.

Is this a workable recipe?


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## kchaystack (Apr 4, 2016)

While I love Soaping 101 for her toutorials, her recipes are...  less than exciting.

Are you set on all vegetable oils, or are you open using lard?


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## Susie (Apr 4, 2016)

Is it a liquid soap or a bar soap?  The liquid amount makes it look like a liquid soap.  I can't find the recipe in her home page.  Please use NaOH or KOH rather than "lye" in recipes, it makes trying to answer questions so much easier.


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## narnia (Apr 4, 2016)

Bar soap.  This is the recipe exactly as she has it written out on the video.  Called, "Double Double Creamy Soap."


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Apr 5, 2016)

I feel that when soaping "stars" have to constantly churn out new recipes to keep the masses interested, it is only natural that they will start dredging the lower parts of the barrel at some point.


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## LisaAnne (Apr 5, 2016)

At 5% superfat I didn't think the numbers in soap calc looked bad. 
36
14
61
18
27


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## lenarenee (Apr 5, 2016)

The Efficacious Gentleman said:


> I feel that when soaping "stars" have to constantly churn out new recipes to keep the masses interested, it is only natural that they will start dredging the lower parts of the barrel at some point.


 

Yes ^^^.   Also 1) she sells soap and may not want to give out her best recipes. 2) Was she doing a unique swirl or design with this soap?  HPing?


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## topofmurrayhill (Apr 5, 2016)

LisaAnne said:


> At 5% superfat I didn't think the numbers in soap calc looked bad.
> 36
> 14
> 61
> ...



Focus on the "hardness" and "conditioning" numbers. Those actually describe saturated versus unsaturated fat. 36 to 61 is kind of out of balance in my book, except maybe for those who are really into olive oil soaps. If you split the olive with some palm oil (going the veggie route), it starts looking more balanced to me. Ordinarily 61 is higher than you want, but they mislead you by calling it "conditioning" which sounds really good.


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## Susie (Apr 5, 2016)

She does say that the milk's amounts had been subtracted from the water amount.  I would be willing to bet that the typed recipe does not reflect that subtraction.


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## KristaY (Apr 5, 2016)

I think the recipe itself looks fine BUT the SF doesn't. Not only is it 20% SF but then she's adding 4oz of milks which will increase the SF more, not to mention the addition of more liquid. I'm not sure if it's a typo on her video but this is a good reminder we should ALWAYS use a lye calculator no matter the source of the recipe. Just because they're on the "big screen" doesn't mean they can't make errors too.

I just popped over to the video to see if there was any "magic" about the recipe or technique and saw a comment dated 2 years ago. The person said they noticed it was 20% SF and asked if that was really right. There was no reply. It's mostly an ad for ED's molds and cutter.


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## LisaAnne (Apr 5, 2016)

topofmurrayhill said:


> . If you split the olive with some palm oil (going the veggie route), it starts looking more balanced to me. Ordinarily 61 is higher than you want, but they mislead you by calling it "conditioning" which sounds really good.



Thank you, I am finding that I don't want my conditioning numbers so high. On the hardness I thought the olive oil would help.

 I do pay close attention to my sat to unsat numbers in my recipes and not trying to boost the conditioning numbers too high. Also looking at the fatty acid numbers in a different way. 
I do use lard and I play with soap calc all the time. What I am noticing is that with lard making up a lot of the recipe  keeping my coconut at 15 or 16, castor at 6 or 7 I have 15 to 25% for oils or a little  butter to play with. Am I on the right track? I hope so because I'm liking my bars a lot better.

Superfatting still baffles me. Not the concept, just where I want my numbers for a particular recipe. I'd like a nice bar with a lower superfat number.


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## Susie (Apr 5, 2016)

Each person has to decide what their favorite superfat amount is.  Mine for summer is 5%, for winter is 8%.  What I find is fine for summer, I find drying for winter.  Your results will depend on your skin.


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## narnia (Apr 5, 2016)

KristaY said:


> I think the recipe itself looks fine BUT the SF doesn't. Not only is it 20% SF but then she's adding 4oz of milks which will increase the SF more, not to mention the addition of more liquid. I'm not sure if it's a typo on her video but this is a good reminder we should ALWAYS use a lye calculator no matter the source of the recipe. Just because they're on the "big screen" doesn't mean they can't make errors too.
> 
> I just popped over to the video to see if there was any "magic" about the recipe or technique and saw a comment dated 2 years ago. The person said they noticed it was 20% SF and asked if that was really right. There was no reply. It's mostly an ad for ED's molds and cutter.



Yes.  The SF is the point that I was questioning for the most part.  So, what should the sf be for the recipe to be ideal?


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## kchaystack (Apr 5, 2016)

narnia said:


> Yes.  The SF is the point that I was questioning for the most part.  So, what should the sf be for the recipe to be ideal?



There is no perfect number.  It will depend on the skin of the person that uses the soap.  But 5% is the default (unless there is alot of cleansing oils).


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## Susie (Apr 5, 2016)

I would start with 5% also.  If you find it drying, go up on the superfat.


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## IrishLass (Apr 5, 2016)

I agree, there is no 'general' perfect S/F number. Although I do have a number in mind, it is based purely on the likes on my own skin-type...... as well as how minimally hard/soft and long-lasting I like my soap. For me, 5% S/F would be plenty with that kind of recipe, but maybe just a bit overkill with the milks in there. Probably something in the realm of 3% would be more my speed for it. 

Apart from the really high S/F, it doesn't look like a terribly horrible recipe to me as Castile-types go, but my own likes demand that it should have at least 8% more coconut in it for me to want to make it. :razz:


IrishLass


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## narnia (Apr 6, 2016)

Thx everyone!  Sooooo helpful to hear all of your insight!


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## LisaAnne (Apr 7, 2016)

Apart from the really high S/F, it doesn't look like a terribly horrible recipe to me as Castile-types go, but my own likes demand that it should have at least 8% more coconut in it for me to want to make it. :razz:


IrishLass [/QUOTE]

Irish lass, so you make up towards 20% coconut oil? I am going to have to try a higher coconut oil number and  the superfat should go as high as 8%?


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