# using apple cider vinegar for lye water



## dovesong (Aug 13, 2017)

I am comparatively new to soap making and I want to eventually sell my creations.  Obviously, I want to make the best soap I can make.  I have come across recipes that have used ACV in place of the lye water.  Some remarks have been, "I use ACV in all of my soap recipes."  I couldn't find a way to contact the soaper, so my question to her would be "Why do you only use ACV for your lye water?  Are the benefits of doing so that much greater? Does the recipe need to be adjusted for using ACV over filtered water or can you do an even swap?


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## DeeAnna (Aug 13, 2017)

This comes up a lot. Here's an article I wrote to summarize my advice: https://classicbells.com/soap/aceticAcid.html


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## cmzaha (Aug 13, 2017)

You need to take time to test recipes with and without ACV and decide if you like soaps made with it, how it lasts compared to the same recipe without ACV. For my recipes I do not find much difference using ACV because my recipes are already produce hard soaps, which is the reason for using acv not to bring down PH

Since you mentioned selling...Before trying to sell it takes time and lots of testing. You should not just use someone's posted recipe and start selling, since not all soap is created equal. I mention "trying" to sell because it is quite a challenge to sell soap and actually make money.


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## penelopejane (Aug 13, 2017)

There are couple of threads where people have tried vinegar in soap. The difference in harness from 25% vinegar to full vinegar replacement isn't that great but the feel of the soap is huge. See if you like it in your soap recipe. At higher rates you can smell the vinegar in the soap.


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## Melysg25 (Dec 31, 2020)

DeeAnna said:


> This comes up a lot. Here's an article I wrote to summarize my advice: Acetic acid (Vinegar) | Soapy Stuff


This article explains it all! Very helpful. Thank you for explaining the science behind it. 
I do have a question though: do you know how I can calculate how much superfat will increase when using vinegar in my soap?  
I read in the article, you mention: 
1oz vinegar (5%vinegar) neutralizes 1g NaOH.
I was going to subtract the amount of NaOH in grams according to how many oz of vinegar I use. 
Then take that gram number  and subtract it from my intended recipe to see the actual amount of lye I would have left, without changing anything.
But I was curious how would I determine the increase in superfat ? Help. Lol.


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