# SoapCalc is under new management



## DeeAnna (Jul 28, 2016)

From http://soapcalc.net/ --------

"...Botanie Soap Inc is the proud new owner of SoapCalc! Botanie has over 15 years of soapmaking experience bringing a knowledge base to SoapCalc not previously available....

"You will start to notice things changing on within the website as Botanie Soap works to improve SoapCalc. Starting with a new logo and overall look. The lye calculator will remain with the same functionality and will only change in the sense to add new oils to improve its offerings and meet the needs of our users...."


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## galaxyMLP (Jul 28, 2016)

Could be good. Could be bad. We'll have to watch and see. I saw the updated look of the calculator last week. I didn't realize it was going under new management!

I don't use soap calc anymore though. I use soapmaker 3 or soapee.


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## Arimara (Jul 28, 2016)

I tend to use soapcalc before using other soap calculators. This will be and interesting shift.


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## DeeAnna (Jul 28, 2016)

I don't use soapcalc personally, but occasionally I refer to it when answering questions from others who do use it. 

I hope this is a good thing for soapcalc and its users. That said, I'm thinking the original owner has had trouble keeping soapcalc going due to health problems, and I feel sad about that aspect of the change.


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## cmzaha (Jul 28, 2016)

I can say they are very good at answering questions. I was having a slight problem with the date printing and they got back to me almost immediately. 
I am also afraid his health issues have escalated to the point he could keep it going, it also saddens me. He is very nice person and was always good at answering any questions and fixing any problems. Sadly I have forgotten his name since it has been a few years since we had any correspondence.


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## IrishLass (Jul 28, 2016)

Thanks, DeeAnna. I was wondering what was up. as one or 2 things just 'looked' a little different than the norm to me. I use SoapCalc all the time except for when I'm making liquid soap. 

That's sad to hear about the owner going through some health problems. I definitely hope things improve for him. SoapCalc has been (and continues to be) such a wonderful source for me. 


IrishLass


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## jules92207 (Jul 28, 2016)

I couldn't survive without SoapCalc so I am grateful for the old owner (I'm sorry to hear health problems have been an issue) and I look forward to the new owner too as it sounds like they are the right fit for the job.


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## Admin (Jul 28, 2016)

http://soapcalc.net/calc/SoapCalcWP.asp

This it?

I could have our developer create this in a few days. You all use it that much? Maybe we should create one here.


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## KristaY (Jul 28, 2016)

SoapCalc has been invaluable to me! When I'm looking for certain oil qualities, I go to SoapCalc first. I'm so sorry the current owner is going through health problems and I wish him all the best. I agree with Galaxy though, could be good, could be bad. If SMF comes up with a similar calculator, that would be like one stop shopping! One of the only things I don't like about SoapCalc is not being able to save my recipes or input the exact NaOH purity. Makes it a bit of a hassel at times having to input the same stuff time after time. I haven't looked at Soapee so maybe I should.


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## RobertBarnett (Jul 28, 2016)

I use soapee as I don't like soapcalcs interface. But couldn't get by without a calculator. A good one here with a good interface and feature set would be welcome in my book.


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## Guspuppy (Jul 28, 2016)

Soapcalc was the first (and thus far only) calculator I tried. I don't really care for the new cluttered look of the calc page, even my adblocker doesn't clean it up like it used to. So if one were to be made for SMF I'd use it and be happy for it!

Edited to add that my batch size is almost never the same, since I use cardboard boxes and other things for molds a lot, plus I am still new and trying out different recipes. So yes, I use soapcalc every single time I make soap.


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## DeeAnna (Jul 28, 2016)

"...I don't really care for the new cluttered look of the calc page..."

Guspuppy -- I'm in agreement. My pet peeve about many websites nowadays is the herds of blinky ads and gif animations that people seem to think are cute or effective. Finding these ads on the calc page is a serious problem for me. I can tolerate static (non-changing) ads, but ones that flicker and change are intensely aggravating and can even make me a bit queasy after a time. Ugh.


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## jules92207 (Jul 28, 2016)

DeeAnna said:


> "...I don't really care for the new cluttered look of the calc page..."
> 
> Guspuppy -- I'm in agreement. My pet peeve about many websites nowadays is the herds of blinky ads and gif animations that people seem to think are cute or effective. Finding these ads on the calc page is a serious problem for me. I can tolerate static (non-changing) ads, but ones that flicker and change are intensely aggravating and can even make me a bit queasy after a time. Ugh.



I will agree with that as well. It is nauseating.


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## topofmurrayhill (Jul 29, 2016)

Admin said:


> http://soapcalc.net/calc/SoapCalcWP.asp
> 
> This it?
> 
> I could have our developer create this in a few days. You all use it that much? Maybe we should create one here.



To be fair, it would probably take you a whole week to really get it right. 

Yeah it's extremely widely used. Practically universal. If it's done without compromising functionality, SoapCalc has been been begging for a UI makeover for some time. I don't even know exactly when it went live, but I've personally been familiar with SoapCalc for a decade and the basic interface hasn't changed a bit.

If you want to go beyond the UI, I have a few ideas for week 2.


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## dibbles (Jul 29, 2016)

I have used Soapcalc since the beginning of my soapy journey. I've used Soapee a few times, but since I always print out my recipe, I prefer Soapcalc because it prints on one page.


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## McMomWV (Jul 29, 2016)

So sad to hear of his failing health.  I've used SoapCalc quite a bit.  Handy if I'm out of something and want to check using a different oil or butter and I like printing my recipe out with notes as to what fragrance and/or colorant I'm trying if it's a keeper.  The interface seems a bit clunky to me, but gave results so I've kept using.  The flashy ads are so very annoying.


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## artemis (Jul 29, 2016)

topofmurrayhill said:


> To be fair, it would probably take you a whole week to really get it right.
> 
> If you want to go beyond the UI, I have a few ideas for week 2.



I have a few "week 2" ideas, myself! I primarily use the BB calculator app on my android. I prefer it because it is an app. I can edit and save a recipe wherever I am.  So, if we're making soap calculator wish lists, I think a phone app would go on mine.


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## Kristus_Apollo (Jul 29, 2016)

Admin said:


> http://soapcalc.net/calc/SoapCalcWP.asp
> 
> This it?
> 
> I could have our developer create this in a few days. You all use it that much? Maybe we should create one here.



As someone being new to soap making, soapcalc has been invaluable so far so if you had a version here, that would be awesome. Then the soapmakingforum becomes a one-stop website


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Jul 29, 2016)

dibbles said:


> I have used Soapcalc since the beginning of my soapy journey. I've used Soapee a few times, but since I always print out my recipe, I prefer Soapcalc because it prints on one page.





Just so you know, soapee is also now on a one page print out. I only noticed when I made my last batch.


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## dibbles (Jul 29, 2016)

The Efficacious Gentleman said:


> Just so you know, soapee is also now on a one page print out. I only noticed when I made my last batch.



Oh thank you - game changer!


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## Arthur Dent (Jul 29, 2016)

I too dislike the new flashy blinky adds on Soapcalc very strongly.  If they continue I will have to switch.


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## MySoapyHeart (Jul 29, 2016)

SoapCalc is my #1 preferred calc too. 

The flashing adds actually gave me migraines, then I installed AdBlock+, it made a huge difference, no more headaches.

I have tried other calcs too, but SoapCalc is the one I just keep coming back to, no matter what. 

I don`t care that is is still looking the same as it always have, if it ain`t broken, etc...

That said, if the owner of SMF gave a shot at making a new one (without flashing adds, flickering light etc)  I would absolutely give it a fair chance : )


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## MySoapyHeart (Jul 29, 2016)

Tried to quote you *@Arthur Dent*, but the quote phrame came back empty every time, don`t know why that is.

I am sorry Adblock+ doesn`t work for you. It takes care of the problem completely for me, and I can`t see anything other than the things that needs to be there, so I am not sure why that is that it doesn`t work for you. Btw, I use Mozilla Firefox browser. Hopefully you`ll find something that will help you in this regard.


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## DeeAnna (Jul 29, 2016)

AdBlock Plus is usually helpful, but it's not working for me on the SoapCalc ads either. I too wrote to the Soapcalc folks asking them to reconsider their policy on the blinky ad thing. And got a mild headache while I was doing it -- there are those dadgummit ads even on their contact page. Ugh.


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## Arthur Dent (Jul 29, 2016)

Sorry, I deleted my original message when I went back to SoapCalc and discovered that for some reason Adblock+ was suddenly working on those darned adds.  
As per my original message, I left them a polite message explaining how annoying the adds are.
Deeanna, you might try adding the individual elements into Adblock+, close the page then go back.  That's what seems to have fixed it for me.


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## MySoapyHeart (Jul 29, 2016)

DeeAnna said:


> AdBlock Plus is usually helpful, but it's not working for me on the SoapCalc ads either. I too wrote to the Soapcalc folks asking them to reconsider their policy on the blinky ad thing. And got a mild headache while I was doing it -- there are those dadgummit ads even on their contact page. Ugh.



I am sorry it doesn`t work for you either, DeeAnna. So strange that it eliminates the problem for me completely. 

I get migraines out of anything flashing/bright etc. I can even get migraineattacks by sitting in a car driving next to the forrest and you get those alternating flashing sunrays because sunlight through the trees. Sunglasses are mandatory for me everytime I go out the door. It really is annoying.

I can`t stop thinking that I really find it a bit *counterproductive *having flashing ad signs like that, on soapcalc*?? *Because it alienates the people who _want _to use it, but _can`t_ because they get seizures/headaches/migraines. Hence -  losing potential customergroup that the very same advertizing was aimed towards.


Arthur Dent said:


> Sorry, I deleted my original message when I went back to SoapCalc and discovered that for some reason Adblock+ was suddenly working on those darned adds.
> As per my original message, I left them a polite message explaining how annoying the adds are.
> Deeanna, you might try adding the individual elements into Adblock+, close the page then go back.  That's what seems to have fixed it for me.



No worries! I just didn`t understand why I couldn`t get the quote thing to work, lol. Glad it started to work for you now, at least it takes care of the annoying bits untill perhaps they get feedback that they are actually alienating their users with seicure enducing adds : P


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## cmzaha (Jul 29, 2016)

My daughter also has seizures and migraines from flashing ads. She would never be able to use soapcalc. I only use it because I am lazy and do not want to sit down and manually do the math, but that could change if the ads start bothering me. I assume all the ads are their way of keeping it free although it has always been free, or at least from when I stared soaping.


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## Steve85569 (Jul 29, 2016)

IT takes a lot of if then statements to make  a good interface for a lye calculator. Then there's the inventory stuff that many people like to see. Keeping all of that simple and down to a single page would be difficult without a lot of "lookup" commands.
I'm working on a simple one for my own use. Since I am beginning to get a feel for the final properties of a given combination of oils I am not including the final profiles (yet).

Here's hoping that our Admin does one or that Soapcalc gets over the bright lights stuff.

Steve


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## TeresaT (Jul 29, 2016)

I just looked at SoapCalc on my computer.  The screen is black with orange and green lettering.  Anyone else?  That is horrible!!  And harsh on the eyes.  The flashing ads combined with the horrible screen colors have just "cancelled my subscription" to SoapCalc.   However, the weird thing is the screen is normal on my iPhone and the ads are so small they don't bother me with their flashing.  I just looked at my iPhone again and found out why the flashing ads don't bother me.  I have to enlarge the screen to read the info, so the ads are not in my view while I'm using it.  (Getting old sucks.  I remember laughing at people in their 40s and 50s when I was in my 20s and 30s because they were using reading glasses.  Oh, Karma! You truly are a b!tch.)

ETA:  I'd also love to have a calculator on the SMF.  One stop shopping and all that.  While I soap with soapmaker 3 now, I still use the SoapCalc when I'm out and a soap recipe comes to mind or I'm researching qualities of soap when I'm on my lunch break at work.  (Or I'm really bored and there's "nothing" to do...)


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## Teapot (Jul 29, 2016)

I just checked, it's black and orange for me too. Wasn't like that last week!


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## Stacyspy (Jul 29, 2016)

It wasn't like that last night, either.




Teapot said:


> I just checked, it's black and orange for me too. Wasn't like that last week!


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## Guspuppy (Jul 29, 2016)

Teapot said:


> I just checked, it's black and orange for me too. Wasn't like that last week!



Wasn't even like that this morning for me. I just went to see if my adblock+ had started working again, but no luck. And now even more horrid colors! UGH.


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## Arthur Dent (Jul 29, 2016)

I got this reply from them a little while ago:

"Thanks for contacting us, I’m a little unsure as to what you mean by the “new ads” as we have only adjusted the color pallet of the website and starting looking into updating the oils list. The ads that appear on the boarders have always been there, they may have seemed less obtrusive due to the yellow background maybe?
I’m sorry that you don’t like them, but as SoapCalc is a free to use service we do need to collect revenue somehow to defer the hosting costs. If it’s too much of an issue, I would suggest using an ad blocking program for your browser, I have for years and it really helps.
Please feel free to send us any other feedback you may have as that is the only way we can make SoapCalc better."


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## TeresaT (Jul 29, 2016)

Arthur Dent said:


> I got this reply from them a little while ago:
> 
> "Thanks for contacting us, I’m a little unsure as to what you mean by the “new ads” as *we have only adjusted the color pallet of the website* and starting looking into updating the oils list. The ads that appear on the boarders have always been there, they may have seemed less obtrusive due to the yellow background maybe?
> I’m sorry that you don’t like them, but as SoapCalc is a free to use service we do need to collect revenue somehow to defer the hosting costs. If it’s too much of an issue, I would suggest using an ad blocking program for your browser, I have for years and it really helps.
> Please feel free to send us any other feedback you may have as that is the only way we can make SoapCalc better."



Which one picked the colors?    Dracula or a Philadelphia Flyers fan?


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## Stacyspy (Jul 29, 2016)

Harley Davidson owner?... or maybe they like Halloween almost as much as I do.




TeresaT said:


> Which one picked the colors?    Dracula or a Philadelphia Flyers fan?


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## Arthur Dent (Jul 29, 2016)

They say they are the same adds, I don't remember them blinking and flashing like that.  Have I been asleep?


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## topofmurrayhill (Jul 29, 2016)

Arthur Dent said:


> They say they are the same adds, I don't remember them blinking and flashing like that.  Have I been asleep?



They might not have done anything. Maybe it's just the ad server is serving up different stuff, which wouldn't be under their control.


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## DeeAnna (Jul 29, 2016)

I got pretty much the same reply as Arthur Dent did. I really don't remember the blinking and flashing thing going on in the past. Maybe it is the change to a light background or something that makes the difference. I've used soapcalc enough in the past to know I haven't gotten a headache when I've used it in the past, however, so something's definitely different now.


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## TheDragonGirl (Jul 30, 2016)

The actual menu area used to be bigger so the ads weren't as visible before, I think


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Jul 30, 2016)

ToMH makes a good point - the ads are likely from an advertising group. You let the group advertise on your site and companies pay the group to advertise in their areas.


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## Arthur Dent (Jul 30, 2016)

Now that I think about it, I have been using Adblock Plus for a few years, that's probably why I haven't been seeing those annoying adds.  Whatever they did recently must have "broken" my Adblock settings so the adds suddenly came through.  After fiddling with settings for a while I was able to get rid of them again.  But those new colors are awful.


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## DeeAnna (Jul 30, 2016)

Perhaps that is what has happened to me too, Arthur. Good advice -- I'll look into that. 

It begs the question if a website needs ads as an income stream, then why would a website owner advise users to block those very ads? As a small business owner, I track whether my advertising is effective and will drop ads in publications that don't result in sales.


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## Dorado (Jul 31, 2016)

Arthur Dent said:


> Now that I think about it, I have been using Adblock Plus for a few years, that's probably why I haven't been seeing those annoying adds.  Whatever they did recently must have "broken" my Adblock settings so the adds suddenly came through.  After fiddling with settings for a while I was able to get rid of them again.  But those new colors are awful.



How did you fiddle with settings 
Still have flashing adds, very damaging to eyes,
I'll have to use another calculator  :cry:


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## Arthur Dent (Jul 31, 2016)

DeeAnna said:


> It begs the question if a website needs ads as an income stream, then why would a website owner advise users to block those very ads?



I thought that was odd too, it doesn't really make sense.




Dorado said:


> How did you fiddle with settings
> Still have flashing adds, very damaging to eyes,
> I'll have to use another calculator  :cry:



You have to add each element (ad) to your ad blocker individually, how you do this will vary depending on which ad blocker you use and possibly which browser you use too.
With Adblock Plus in Google Chrome, left click on the ABP StopSign in the upper right hand section of the browser bar, in the drop-down menu click where it says "block element" then follow the instructions.  Or, you can right click directly on the ad then click on "block element".  If you are on a mobile device or other browser then I can't help you, sorry.


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## MySoapyHeart (Jul 31, 2016)

Some of you comment on new colors in soapcalc? 
But here on my end it is just the same as it always has been... (Printed the screen)


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## topofmurrayhill (Jul 31, 2016)

MySoapyHeart said:


> Some of you comment on new colors in soapcalc?
> But here on my end it is just the same as it always has been... (Printed the screen)



I didn't see the new colors right away either. I get them now.


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## techiemeka (Jul 31, 2016)

About those blinking ads ... I can use soap calc on my iPad and then enlarge the screen and block out the sides.  Just a quickly way around. But yes, annoying ... And the colour choice is nor particularly attractive.


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## Dorado (Jul 31, 2016)

Got rid of the adds, Thank you Arthur


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Aug 1, 2016)

Well, I just had a look - the ads are of course local to me over here in Austria, so I can't judge that.  But the new colour scheme is............interesting.


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## TheDragonGirl (Aug 1, 2016)

'Interesting' is certainly a word for it.


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## Arthur Dent (Aug 1, 2016)

Maybe if enough people complain to them about the eye-bleed color scheme they will change it.
(wink wink nudge nudge)


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## MySoapyHeart (Aug 1, 2016)

topofmurrayhill said:


> I didn't see the new colors right away either. I get them now.



I still don`t see them on my computer, but if I go on my phone or tablet I can see them very clearly.

Wow. I can`t even...


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## Rusti (Aug 1, 2016)

Oh. The dark gray background wasn't showing on my Mac at home, but I see it at work. It doesn't bother me much, but I could see how it irritates others.


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## Dorado (Aug 1, 2016)

Black and orange - perhaps the new owner has Dutch roots .............:sick:


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## tussah (Aug 1, 2016)

I like that they added more oils to the list!


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## Chefmom (Aug 1, 2016)

To help "push" the ads back, for those still bothered by ads...just press and hold the CTRL button and hit the +++ button and it will increase the page size...kind of zooming it in, and you have just the main part of the soapcalc with the ads pushed off the browser page.  

Someone, somewhere posted about that and it helped me VERY much because in my advanced years I'm finding a need for larger fonts...


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## MySoapyHeart (Aug 2, 2016)

Ah, yes, there it _is, _in all its glory, the colors finally showed up on my PC too. Yay  

Btw, I wonder how SapCalc will look like for those that are *colorblind*, and more specifically those with _Protanomaly, _they won`t be able to see the helpfull links or anything highlighted in orange because they can`t see any shades that is in the red family. I don`t know, perhaps it turns brown?
But the background is already dark brown/grey so...
Perhaps there aren`t any colorblind soapers out there?

A lot of new oils added too, that is great! Although, Salmon oil, that would make an interesting soap. Suitable for fishermen perhaps_. Yes I do see the fault in my reasoning... : P

_ Added oils doesn`t make me love the grey-brown/orange combo any better, though. 
I am _really _trying, but...  : P


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## DeeAnna (Aug 2, 2016)

There's been a recent trend in website design toward using lower-contrast color schemes and fairly dark color schemes -- much like what's going on at soapcalc right now. Low-contrast looks trendy and different, and I'm sure that's what makes this type of color scheme appealing to designers. But my gosh it's hard on the eyes. I don't want to think what these sites look like on a mobile device or small tablet -- I have a hard enough time when using a large monitor. The point of providing text on a website is for it to be read and digested ... not to put the viewer through an exercise in frustration. Here's an interesting site about this issue: http://contrastrebellion.com/ and another: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/low-contrast/


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## Susie (Aug 2, 2016)

I am going to vote a huge YES on the SMF lye calculator!  I switched to Soapee.com as soon as they got it up and running.  The option to save my recipes is a huge help.  I hate that someone decided to hack them and took away the ability to share recipes.


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## DeeAnna (Aug 2, 2016)

Oy. Your news about soapee is really disappointing -- I didn't know that it had been hacked. The shared recipes that others chose to make public were/are a really nice feature of soapee. I thought that was a nice touch -- my perception is the sharing helped to form a sense of community and helped support beginners.


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## Arimara (Aug 2, 2016)

topofmurrayhill said:


> I didn't see the new colors right away either. I get them now.



Are you still in NYC? I saw the Halloween colors others have mentioned.


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## cmzaha (Aug 2, 2016)

I usually use soapcalc just because it is the one I started with, but think I go to soapee, which I do use for dual lye soaps, for all my soaps. The colors on soapcalc are awful. I also vote YES to SMF calculator


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## Susie (Aug 2, 2016)

I just went to Soapcalc.  Those colors and ads are horrible!


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## Arimara (Aug 2, 2016)

I haven't noticed the ads. My ad blocker is really awesome. I read through the things I missed and now I'm somewhat sure it might be a cookie setting for some of you not seeing the new background. I'm gonna go now.


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## Steve85569 (Aug 2, 2016)

That's why I'm not seeing the problems you all are!
Color blind - at least according to Jan.  I see the same way I always have as do all the men in my family...



MySoapyHeart said:


> Ah, yes, there it _is, _in all its glory, the colors finally showed up on my PC too. Yay
> 
> Btw, I wonder how SapCalc will look like for those that are *colorblind*, and more specifically those with _Protanomaly, _they won`t be able to see the helpfull links or anything highlighted in orange because they can`t see any shades that is in the red family. I don`t know, perhaps it turns brown?
> But the background is already dark brown/grey so...
> ...


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## Susie (Aug 2, 2016)

Steve85569 said:


> That's why I'm not seeing the problems you all are!
> Color blind - at least according to Jan.  I see the same way I always have as do all the men in my family...



Yup, runs in families on the male side.  Count your blessings in this one instance, though.


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## IrishLass (Aug 2, 2016)

The main area where you look up oils and enter in your formula shows up as light-medium turquoise for me on my home PC screen (which to me is actually quite nice), but the surrounding outer background frame is an ugly, dark greyish-brown, with orange, pukey-yellow, and lime-green links. Not only does it make it hard on the eyes, but blech and ptooey!! It reminds me of some of the really bad, wacky-tacky color schemes that dominated in the '70's. They need to be put in a locked vault somewhere and the key thrown away. 

The blinky ads have been there for awhile for me- at least over a year or more to my recollection, because I've actually clicked on some of them over the past year or 2- such as the Elements Bath & Body ad, but they were definitely much less noticeable/annoying against the backdrop of the old color scheme for sure. 

Following the tip by techiemeka who posted earlier, I enlarged my viewing screen to 250%, and the ads can no longer be seen.


IrishLass


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## KristaY (Aug 2, 2016)

But luckily they didn't make any changes to the "view or print recipe" page so I'm thankful for that. I spend a short amount of time on the first page entering in the oils and percentages then a longer amount of time typing in the specific recipe details. Now with my page size enlarged (thanks for the tip Chefmom!) I don't get those horrible ads in my periphery. But I still vote for an SMF calculator.


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## reflection (Aug 2, 2016)

as a soap newbie i definitely vote for a SMF soap calculator. soapcalc is not intuitive to use unfortunately and the actual design well...let's just say it leaves a lot to be desired. i am sorry to hear the owner is having health problems though and it's a great thing to make available for free. 



IrishLass said:


> The main area where you look up oils and enter in your formula shows up as light-medium turquoise for me on my home PC screen (which to me is actually quite nice), but the surrounding outer background frame is an ugly, dark greyish-brown, with orange, pukey-yellow, and lime-green links. Not only does it make it hard on the eyes, but blech and ptooey!! It reminds me of some of the really bad, wacky-tacky color schemes that dominated in the '70's. They need to be put in a locked vault somewhere and the key thrown away.


you mean like this


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## galaxyMLP (Aug 2, 2016)

Wow, that color scheme! Had to look it up today just to see.

It hurts to look at it for too long. The orange links on grey, red plus signs on turquoise. I hope this is just temporary! 

I too am sad to hear the owner of soap calc isn't doing too well. 

I would love an SMF calculator just because it would be great to have a native calculator to point newbies to and also not have to leave the website to answer calculator related questions.


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## Steve85569 (Aug 2, 2016)

O.M.G!!!!

It finally broke through!!!
That is soooo ugly it defies explaination. WHY, WHY, WHY would you do that?!?!?
The programmer should be dragged behind a mule for that!.

We gotta get a resident lye calculator!
I'll chip in right now. 
I'm serious!!


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## nframe (Aug 3, 2016)

Arthur Dent said:


> Or, you can right click directly on the ad then click on "block element".



It works!  Thank you so much for a really useful tip.  It's wonderful.


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## reflection (Aug 3, 2016)

Arthur Dent said:


> Or, you can right click directly on the ad then click on "block element".



for macs use control and then click on the ad and scroll to block ad. yea! thanks AD


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## Arthur Dent (Aug 3, 2016)

I'm glad I was able to help.
And many thanks to Chefmom for reminding us how to enlarge the page, I must have done that long ago and they broke that too when they messed it all up.
Maybe this was all a clever plot by the folks at SoapCalc to see how many users they have?  (Of course that only works if we complain to them about it)


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## MySoapyHeart (Aug 3, 2016)

reflection said:


> you mean like this



The photo isn`t showing up, perhaps you either changed your mind and deleted the photo, or moved it so the link is invalid?
The kitty is cute and all, but you can edit your original post and change the link, or delete it : )


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## BrewerGeorge (Aug 9, 2016)

The variations in how people are seeing the color scheme probably have to do with whether and how recently your browser has cached the page.

Those who use Chrome can modify their Custom.css file to (usually) force background and font colors independent of what the website designers intended.  Google it if you want to try this route, but here's something to get you started.

There are also extensions for Chrome (and likely for Firefox - though I haven't checked) that will make this easier, and allow selective application among websites - which modifying Custom.css will not.


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## gsc (Aug 9, 2016)

I installed Adblock too but ads keep flashing.


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## Arimara (Aug 9, 2016)

Depending on your browsers, maybe you guys should try Adguard and see how you do. I stopped using Adblock a while ago and I have no complaints.


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## Arthur Dent (Aug 9, 2016)

gsc said:


> I installed Adblock too but ads keep flashing.



With Adblock Plus you have to add the elements individually.  I gave instructions on doing this three pages back.


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## Rusti (Aug 9, 2016)

BrewerGeorge said:


> The variations in how people are seeing the color scheme probably have to do with whether and how recently your browser has cached the page.
> 
> Those who use Chrome can modify their Custom.css file to (usually) force background and font colors independent of what the website designers intended.  Google it if you want to try this route, but here's something to get you started.
> 
> There are also extensions for Chrome (and likely for Firefox - though I haven't checked) that will make this easier, and allow selective application among websites - which modifying Custom.css will not.



Stylish, I believe, is one of those add-ons. When I have time, maybe this evening, I need a break from truck shopping, I'll see about writing a style to change the background color at least.


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## RobertBarnett (Aug 10, 2016)

So sure we getting our own calculator?

Robert


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## reinbeau (Aug 17, 2016)

I would be thrilled to get our own calculator!!  ETA  one of the things I love about SoapCalc is the printout with grams and ounces,  I like having all that in one page. I hope whatever you come up with will be similar. I have SM3  but I still like to experiment with recipes in SoapCalc. I grok it better


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## Rusti (Aug 17, 2016)

OK guys, in the meantime, I've written a Stylish style that will change the background on SoapCalc to white. Install the Stylish addon to Chrome or Firefox and search for new styles (userstyles.org) with 'soapcalc' and install the style that comes up. It ought to be the only one. 

It'll make SoapCalc look like this:


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## Arimara (Aug 17, 2016)

Rusti said:


> OK guys, in the meantime, I've written a Stylish style that will change the background on SoapCalc to white. Install the Stylish addon to Chrome or Firefox and search for new styles (userstyles.org) with 'soapcalc' and install the style that comes up. It ought to be the only one.
> 
> It'll make SoapCalc look like this:



White can be pretty harsh too. My eyes can't always handle white with out some discomfort setting it. Thanks though.


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## Rusti (Aug 17, 2016)

Well, it's pretty easy to change, did you like the yellow that was there to start with? Or were you thinking just a softer gray?

ETA: Changed it so that it's lower contrast.


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## reinbeau (Aug 17, 2016)

Rusti said:


> OK guys, in the meantime, I've written a Stylish style that will change the background on SoapCalc to white. Install the Stylish addon to Chrome or Firefox and search for new styles (userstyles.org) with 'soapcalc' and install the style that comes up. It ought to be the only one.
> 
> It'll make SoapCalc look like this:


Never mind and thank you - figured it out.


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## lenarenee (Aug 17, 2016)

Any one have an idea how to email the former owner of Soapcalc?  I'd like to thank them for providing a free calculator that is responsible for making every batch of soap I've ever made successful .


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## randycoxclemson (Aug 31, 2016)

*Anyone else noticing erratic results in Soapcalc*

Maybe this is somewhere up thread (or in another thread), but has anyone else noticed strange results from Soapcalc?

Just yesterday, I entered an old recipe (Coconut 25%, Castor 20, Olive P 20, Canola 10, Avocado 10, Palm 10, Jojoba 5--it's a shampoo bar).  A few months ago, I got results for properties/fatty acids of 31-17-60-35-33-65-136/12-5-12-3-18-33-8-1 and yesterday I got 46-25-48-25-21-66-154/17-7-17-4-0-29-16-3.  

I played with it awhile, changing the order I entered the oils and even going back to my 1.5 lb batch from before and then scaling up to 4 pounds and finally got the numbers from before.  Makes no sense.

Likewise, I've noticed that if I create a recipe and get reasonable numbers, but then add a tiny amount of candelilla wax the numbers go wonky (a couple of zeroes will show up).  If I do the same recipe with candelilla entered first, I get normal results.

Anyone else with these issues?


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## IrishLass (Sep 1, 2016)

randycoxclemson said:


> Maybe this is somewhere up thread (or in another thread), but has anyone else noticed strange results from Soapcalc?
> 
> Just yesterday, I entered an old recipe (Coconut 25%, Castor 20, Olive P 20, Canola 10, Avocado 10, Palm 10, Jojoba 5--it's a shampoo bar). A few months ago, I got results for properties/fatty acids of 31-17-60-35-33-65-136/12-5-12-3-18-33-8-1 and yesterday I got 46-25-48-25-21-66-154/17-7-17-4-0-29-16-3.
> 
> ...


 
Welcome Randycoxclemens! :wave:

Funny you should mention that, because yesterday I noticed some extremely weird things going on with SoapCalc when I typed in my regular shave soap recipe. My recipe contains 20% castor and the total fatty acid readout for my batch was showing 0% for ricinoleic! 

Also, my formula contains 70% hard fats/butters- a good portion of which is straight stearic acid- and the fatty acid profile showed a total of only 18% stearic! Hmmm.....

And my linoleic acid content was way off the charts as well. Normally it's 3%, but it was telling me my batch contained 30%. Talk about screwy! 

Out of curiosity, I clicked on "Stearic Acid" just to see what it would show as its individual fatty acid profile. Oh my goodness- it showed stearic acid as having only 3% stearic acid and 70% linoleic! What the.....??? 

Next, I hit the SoapCalc's own reset button and retyped my ingredients in (twice), and both times it came back with the same results. Grrr!

Then I hit my own refresh button to update the page, retyped in my ingredients, and everything went back to normal. Whew! 

At the time, I figured it was probably just my own computer, but now that you've reported the same kinds of wonky problems, I'm guessing that the weirdness was caused by the new owners temporarily fiddling with some of the settings.


IrishLass


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## BrewerGeorge (Sep 1, 2016)

If they're making changes, there may be caching issues.  Type Ctrl-F5 to force the browser to reload the page from the internet instead of using its potential cache, and see if there are still problems.


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## MySoapyHeart (Sep 4, 2016)

*SoapCalc went back to yellow again!*

So SoapCalc managment seem to have listened (in) to what we said, or perhaps feedback from us, and now it is all back to the original color again.

Phew.
And yay : )


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## Petraji (Feb 27, 2020)

What a pity - I have used soap calc almost exclusively.  So sorry to hear about the owner's health problems.
Thank you all for your helpful suggestions.


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## shunt2011 (Feb 27, 2020)

Petraji said:


> What a pity - I have used soap calc almost exclusively.  So sorry to hear about the owner's health problems.
> Thank you all for your helpful suggestions.



This post is from 2016.


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## DeeAnna (Feb 27, 2020)

One big benefit of this 2016 discussion is SMF now has its very own soap recipe calculator. 

The Soapmaking Friend calc has many features not seen on most of the other calcs out there. It is well worth checking out. See https://www.soapmakingfriend.com/


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## Carly B (Feb 28, 2020)

The soapcal site has been down for two days (at least I can't access it).  I used Soapmaking Friend calc yesterday and I like it.  There's a small learning curve, 
but as @DeeAnna said, it's got some really nice, useful features.


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## dianaabuela1 (Feb 28, 2020)

Carly B said:


> The soapcal site has been down for two days (at least I can't access it).  I used Soapmaking Friend calc yesterday and I like it.  There's a small learning curve,
> but as @DeeAnna said, it's got some really nice, useful features.


Did you know if they are going to be back or not?


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## Jstheidi (Feb 28, 2020)

Admin said:


> http://soapcalc.net/calc/SoapCalcWP.asp
> 
> This it?
> 
> I could have our developer create this in a few days. You all use it that much? Maybe we should create one here.


I use soapcalc daily! Until a few days ago and now it’s not opening at all! YIKES! I need to find another one that I understand how to use like I did this one.


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## MadScientist (Feb 28, 2020)

Jstheidi said:


> I use soapcalc daily! Until a few days ago and now it’s not opening at all! YIKES! I need to find another one that I understand how to use like I did this one.



Like you, I was using SoapCalc daily. As DeeAnna mentions further up the thread, SMF has their own calculator and it is very user friendly. It's not the same interface, but all the information plus additives are there.

Quoted for your convenience:


DeeAnna said:


> The Soapmaking Friend calc has many features not seen on most of the other calcs out there. It is well worth checking out. See https://www.soapmakingfriend.com/


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## Jersey Girl (Feb 28, 2020)

DeeAnna said:


> One big benefit of this 2016 discussion is SMF now has its very own soap recipe calculator.
> 
> The Soapmaking Friend calc has many features not seen on most of the other calcs out there. It is well worth checking out. See https://www.soapmakingfriend.com/



I love Soap Making Friend. It’s very user friendly and the one I’ve been using the most.


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## GML (Feb 28, 2020)

I used SMF earlier today; very easy to use and I like the fact that it auto-fills the oils when you start typing because sometimes scrolling and clicking is too hard.


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## AliOop (Feb 28, 2020)

I use SoapCalc occasionally but am using SMF more often because I love using vinegar and appreciate how it calculates that lye difference for me. 

That being said, can anyone fill me in as to why soap calculators all put the suggested cleansing range as 12-22? I'd like to suggest that SMF break the trend and set it to be something like 0-30. 

It also would be nice if each of the categories in Recipe Properties had a little icon that could be clicked to open an explanation of that factor. For instance, the cleansing icon would open to say that even soap with a 0 cleansing number will clean; that body soaps usually are 15 or less; and that only household cleaning soaps (laundry, dishes) are on the very high end. Those of us with experience wouldn't need to click those icons, but those who are new would have an instant reference about what each category means, and why they may or may not care about it when formulating their soap. 

For instance, I make a super gentle soap for my husband's sensitive skin. The longevity and hardness numbers are low, but I don't care because the recipe works so well with his skin (plus, I get to make more soap when it gets used up fast).


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## dianaabuela1 (Feb 28, 2020)

Hi, can I ask you how you substitute the water for vinegar? Did you mix the villager with the lye?


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## dianaabuela1 (Feb 28, 2020)

DeeAnna said:


> From http://soapcalc.net/ --------
> 
> "...Botanie Soap Inc is the proud new owner of SoapCalc! Botanie has over 15 years of soapmaking experience bringing a knowledge base to SoapCalc not previously available....
> 
> "You will start to notice things changing on within the website as Botanie Soap works to improve SoapCalc. Starting with a new logo and overall look. The lye calculator will remain with the same functionality and will only change in the sense to add new oils to improve its offerings and meet the needs of our users...."


When is it going to be available?


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## GML (Feb 28, 2020)

That post is from 2016.


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## AliOop (Feb 28, 2020)

dianaabuela1 said:


> Hi, can I ask you how you substitute the water for vinegar? Did you mix the villager with the lye?


I like using vinegar instead of distilled water because it's cheap, I always have it around, it acts as a mild chelator, and (in my very subjective opinion) it makes the lather a bit gentler. I mix the lye into it just like I would the water, except more slowly to avoid a strong exothermic reaction. Remember, you never put the liquid into the lye; you always put the lye into the liquid!

The amount of lye also needs to be recalculated specifically for vinegar instead of water. The SMF calculator will do that for you if you check the appropriate boxes.

There are some other great threads in this forum about using vinegar as the water replacement in your lye solution. Here is a link to one of those vinegar threads; you can find others by putting "vinegar" in the search bar at the top of the page.

https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/vinegar-as-lye-water.57268/


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## EllenSD (Feb 28, 2020)

I will look at smf but would really like to know what’s up with soapcalc.


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## DeeAnna (Feb 28, 2020)

EllenSD said:


> I will look at smf but would really like to know what’s up with soapcalc.



Perhaps you should contact the owners directly -- Botanie Soap -- if you want answers direct from the source.

I don't use online calcs except when I'm helping other people who are learning how to use the calcs, so I don't have a dog in this fight.


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## Amy78130 (Feb 28, 2020)

DeeAnna said:


> One big benefit of this 2016 discussion is SMF now has its very own soap recipe calculator.
> 
> The Soapmaking Friend calc has many features not seen on most of the other calcs out there. It is well worth checking out. See https://www.soapmakingfriend.com/


This is my favorite calc!! All of the hard work and taking everyone's suggestions into consideration has really helped make it my #1!!!


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## linne1gi (Feb 29, 2020)

DeeAnna said:


> One big benefit of this 2016 discussion is SMF now has its very own soap recipe calculator.
> 
> The Soapmaking Friend calc has many features not seen on most of the other calcs out there. It is well worth checking out. See https://www.soapmakingfriend.com/


I like that SoapCalc gets all the information on one page.  I printed out a recipe yesterday on SMF and it was 3 pages.  Yes the calculator is fine - just....I don't really need 3 pages!


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## Suzette (Feb 29, 2020)

Hi all,
I’m seeing that there are soap calc apps in the App Store. I have spotty WiFi in my soap making cave (basement) and was hoping someone might have some recommendations for an app to try. Thanks very much!


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## DMCC (Mar 1, 2020)

Jstheidi said:


> I use soapcalc daily! Until a few days ago and now it’s not opening at all! YIKES! I need to find another one that I understand how to use like I did this one.



WSP (Wholesale Supplies Plus) has always had the same calculator as SoapCalc on their site.  I used it yesterday and the results are the the same. I’ve stuck with SoapCalc since I started soaping 13 years ago, so that’s my go to.


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## AliOop (Mar 1, 2020)

linne1gi said:


> I like that SoapCalc gets all the information on one page.  I printed out a recipe yesterday on SMF and it was 3 pages.  Yes the calculator is fine - just....I don't really need 3 pages!


Isn’t there a box to check so you don’t get all the pages? Not in a place to check that right now but thought I remembered that option.


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## raymondlgraham (Mar 1, 2020)

Since SoapCalc is under new management, how do you access it now since the old web address isn't working?


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## GML (Mar 1, 2020)

raymondlgraham said:


> Since SoapCalc is under new management, how do you access it now since the old web address isn't working?



Soapcalc is not under new management. This thread was started in 2016, and since the administrators don't want to lock older threads, the threads are restarted and some posters don't bother to read the dates of when the last post was made. 

Also, from post #107:



DeeAnna said:


> Perhaps you should contact the owners directly -- Botanie Soap -- if you want answers direct from the source.


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## Jstheidi (Mar 4, 2020)

SoapCalc is back up and running. I just checked the web site and was able to view the calculator again.

http://soapcalc.net/calc/SoapCalcWP.asp


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