# 1kg of lye = how much kg of soap?



## alan_ogz83 (May 31, 2011)

Hi to all,

Can someone tell me how much kg of soap can i make out of a kg of sodium hydroxide?
Thanks!


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## Relle (May 31, 2011)

I think its best to work it out on soap calc and do it the other way around and put the amount of oils in and see what the calc comes up with for it. Then you can get an idea of how much you need, it all depends on the SF of your recipe as well. The soap calc sticky is at the top of the page.


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## Woodi (May 31, 2011)

I make 98 ounce batches of soap. (2.8 kgs). For this I use .4 kgs of lye.

So: if .4kgs makes 2.8 kgs of soap, do the math and you should have your answer.


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## alan_ogz83 (May 31, 2011)

Woodi said:
			
		

> I make 98 ounce batches of soap. (2.8 kgs). For this I use .4 kgs of lye.
> 
> So: if .4kgs makes 2.8 kgs of soap, do the math and you should have your answer.



Hi thanks for answering my queries!

One more thing is I'm worried that the sodium hydroxide is harmful to my family's health.
Do you actually put it in a specific place?
Thanks!


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## busymakinsoap! (May 31, 2011)

I think before you even begin to consider attempting to make soap you need to do some research and learn as much as you can about the safety precautions needed when working with lye.

I do not mean this in a rude way, but cold press soap is not something that you can just decide to try one day for the hell of it.

Lye is dangerous, it is caustic. If you use too much in your soap it could really hurt your family, it needs to be handled with extreme care.

I would suggest looking on youtube.  There are lots of tutorials on there.  Also Soap Queen TV on youtube will give you a 4 part demo on how to make CP soap.  She does a whole episode on lye.

As far as your lye measurements, never use a recipe you have found on the internet, you always need to check your lye quantities by running it through a lye calculator, here is one:

http://www.soapcalc.net/calc/soapcalcWP.asp

I would recommend that you learn to use this before you even attempt to make a batch.

Good luck


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## carebear (May 31, 2011)

alan_ogz83 said:
			
		

> Woodi said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Inagree. Know your ingredients. 
And yes, like any household chemical it is safe only when used as directed. Store out of the reach of children, etc.


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## judymoody (May 31, 2011)

Regarding your first question, every oil requires a different amount of lye for saponification.  So there's no way to answer your question unless you specify which oils you will be using and in what proportions.

And on your second question, yes, to reiterate, keep lye out of reach of children and pets.  Use safety goggles, gloves and protective clothing when handling it.  Do your research.  Do you have a plan to deal with spills?  Burns?  Or, perish the thought, if somebody ingested it by mistake?  Do you know what kind of container to mix it in?  How to dispose of lye properly should it be necessary?


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