# Lye Heavy Soap



## Peachy Clean Soap (Oct 27, 2020)

This Is What Lye Heavy Soap Looks Like' Its Dry In appearance & In The Feel Of The Soap' It's Crumbly When You Try To Cut It.  I Rechecked My Recipe & Realized I Made A Mistake In My Oil Being Short.


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## AliOop (Oct 27, 2020)

Very pretty molds - so sorry the soaps won't work out.


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## tommysgirl (Oct 27, 2020)

So sorry!! I just made a lye heavy soap too. Still haven't pinned down my error tho. Bummed that I've "wasted" the material  Guess I'll be learning to make laundry soap


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## Peachy Clean Soap (Oct 28, 2020)

AliOop said:


> Very pretty molds - so sorry the soaps won't work out.


Thank you, I found this mold @ Wallmart after Valentines Day on clearance' 


AliOop said:


> Very pretty molds - so sorry the soaps won't work out.





tommysgirl said:


> So sorry!! I just made a lye heavy soap too. Still haven't pinned down my error tho. Bummed that I've "wasted" the material  Guess I'll be learning to make laundry soap


I Think" my problem was I set my super fat level @ 3% Which doesn't leave a lot of room for a mistake if recipe is off' I should of left it at standard 5%, 2nd mistake when I measured out my oil for colors I adjusted 3 teaspoons  for 3 ounce in weight, Lastly I must of miscounted another oil or left one out completely. ugh .  Its so sad when soap material is wasted' its costly & it all adds up!.  Im not sure how to use soap mishaps as laundry soap? maybe grate the soap dunno? hopefully someone can chime in & give us the 411 .


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## TheGecko (Oct 28, 2020)

How big was your batch to begin with?  If it is large enough, you might be able to stick it on the top shelf and check it in a few months.


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## tommysgirl (Oct 28, 2020)

Peachy Clean Soap said:
			
		

> I Think" my problem was I set my super fat level @ 3% Which doesn't leave a lot of room for a mistake if recipe is off' I should of left it at standard 5%, 2nd mistake when I measured out my oil for colors I adjusted 3 teaspoons  for 3 ounce in weight, Lastly I must of miscounted another oil or left one out completely. ugh .  Its so sad when soap material is wasted' its costly & it all adds up!.  Im not sure how to use soap mishaps as laundry soap? maybe grate the soap dunno? hopefully someone can chime in & give us the 411 .


I've been using 3% SF too. You are right, not a lot of room there. I feel like I left an oil out altogether as well, but I'm not positive (I could swear I poured them all). I did a lot of searching here lastnight for laundry soap. I think it was @AliOop who posted the one I will try (please correct me if I'm wrong about that @AliOop). It is 2 parts grated soap to one part washing soda or Borax (not both) and one part Oxyclean. Use 2 to 3 Tbsp per load according to size and soil. I'm going to try making it this week


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## Peachy Clean Soap (Oct 28, 2020)

tommysgirl said:


> I've been using 3% SF too. You are right, not a lot of room there. I feel like I left an oil out altogether as well, but I'm not positive (I could swear I poured them all). I did a lot of searching here lastnight for laundry soap. I think it was @AliOop who posted the one I will try (please correct me if I'm wrong about that @AliOop). It is 2 parts grated soap to one part washing soda or Borax (not both) and one part Oxyclean. Use 2 to 3 Tbsp per load according to size and soil. I'm going to try making it this week


Thank you for your reply & info. Im going try this.


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## TheGecko (Oct 28, 2020)

tommysgirl said:


> I've been using 3% SF too. You are right, not a lot of room there.



The purpose of 'super fat' is to make your soap more 'moisturizing' with unsaponified oils.  It's NOT supposed to be used a safety net.  I know several people here who do NOT use a 'super fat'...they have properly calibrated scales and are precise in their measurements.


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## Peachy Clean Soap (Oct 28, 2020)

TheGecko said:


> How big was your batch to begin with?  If it is large enough, you might be able to stick it on the top shelf and check it in a few months.


Thats a good Idea' to see if this soap cures to a usable bar in a few months. Oh this is kinda random one of my 1st few loafs of soap i'd made first starting out couple yrs ago was so Lye Heavy Id tossed it it the trash except one bar' that bar is hard as a hockey puck & dry as can be. .


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## tommysgirl (Oct 28, 2020)

TheGecko said:


> The purpose of 'super fat' is to make your soap more 'moisturizing' with unsaponified oils.  It's NOT supposed to be used a safety net.  I know several people here who do NOT use a 'super fat'...they have properly calibrated scales and are precise in their measurements.


You are right, and I shouldn't think of it that way - and in truth I don't, in all honestly, see it as a safety net for which I can account for error. I guess, being new to soaping I am still learning the correct way of expressing things. So I truly appreciate your pointing that out because I don't want anyone to get a wrong idea from something I posted. I had stopped using 5% SF because I had read that many folks are happy with 3% and wanted to give it a try. Also my husband said that he thought the tub felt slippery after using a soap I made and I wanted to see if the SF possibly had anything to do with that. I use a KD-7000 scale that I am pretty happy with, but the one thing that kind of bothers me is this - my recipes give me measurements in tenths and hundredths of grams and my scale weighs in whole grams. So I usually round up for oils down for lye. I always feel like I'm making a mistake, even though I'm not. I'm not an avid note taker, which is something I need to work on. I feel like I could have found my error with this batch if I took notes on my measurements along the way.


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## Peachy Clean Soap (Oct 28, 2020)

TheGecko said:


> The purpose of 'super fat' is to make your soap more 'moisturizing' with unsaponified oils.  It's NOT supposed to be used a safety net.  I know several people here who do NOT use a 'super fat'...they have properly calibrated scales and are precise in their measurements.


Right' Ive gotta be really careful w/ my measuring & weighing out fats & oils. I have a new scale & its calibrated correctly' Its my error.


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## TheGecko (Oct 28, 2020)

tommysgirl said:


> I use a KD-7000 scale that I am pretty happy with, but the one thing that kind of bothers me is this - my recipes give me measurements in tenths and hundredths of grams and my scale weighs in whole grams.  So I usually round up for oils down for lye.



I'd get a new scale.  I have One that I bought on Amazon for $14.00, it measures in the hundredth of an ounce.



> I always feel like I'm making a mistake, even though I'm not. I'm not an avid note taker, which is something I need to work on. I feel like I could have found my error with this batch if I took notes on my measurements along the way.



If you are being forced to 'round down', then you are making a mistake because your lye/water is based on the numbers you put in your soap calculator.  The first time I went to make my GMS, I rounded my weights to whole numbers, but I did it in SoapCalc, so my lye/water was based on those numbers.  Of course, adding whole oil/butter numbers doesn't make my lye/water numbers come out whole and if I were to round those numbers, I'm changing my Lye Concentration and could potentially end up with a negative 'superfat' or have more lye than I need, or I could end up with MORE superfat than I want.


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## KimW (Oct 28, 2020)

Oh bummer.  Those were some pretty little soaps.

For laundry soap from lye heavy soap, I'd suggest you salt out your soap first to remove the excess lye.  There's no need to expose your washer and clothes to caustic lye. 

Since you mentioned links, here are a couple for you:
Article1 - DeeAnna's Instructions

Article2 - Older article, but good info on the process


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## AliOop (Oct 28, 2020)

@Peachy Clean Soap off the top of my head, I’m pretty sure my laundry soap is 1 part grated soap to 2 parts EACH of borax and washing soda. I sometimes add enzymes (like oxyclean unscented) if I remember to buy them.

I do wash in hot water and don’t have really hard water, which is part of why it works well for me. If you don’t wash in hot water, you probably want to dissolve the laundry soap mix in a cup of hot water, and then put it in your washer. I use 2T per large load.


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## Peachy Clean Soap (Oct 28, 2020)

Peachy Clean Soap said:


> Right' Ive gotta be really careful w/ my measuring & weighing out.





TheGecko said:


> I'd get a new scale.  I have One that I bought on Amazon for $14.00, it measures in the hundredth of an ounce.
> 
> 
> 
> If you are being forced to 'round down', then you are making a mistake because your lye/water is based on the numbers you put in your soap calculator.  The first time I went to make my GMS, I rounded my weights to whole numbers, but I did it in SoapCalc, so my lye/water was based on those numbers.  Of course, adding whole oil/butter numbers doesn't make my lye/water numbers come out whole and if I were to round those numbers, I'm changing my Lye Concentration and could potentially end up with a negative 'superfat' or have more lye than I need, or I could end up with MORE superfat than I want.


Can you gave the name of your scale you bought on Amazon' i'm interested in your scale' though ive just bought one' mine doesn't measure to Hundredth of an ounce. ugh could be my issue, sadly to say.    Thank you


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## tommysgirl (Oct 28, 2020)

AliOop said:


> @Peachy Clean Soap off the top of my head, I’m pretty sure my laundry soap is 1 part grated soap to 2 parts EACH of borax and washing soda. I sometimes add enzymes (like oxyclean unscented) if I remember to buy them.
> 
> I do wash in hot water and don’t have really hard water, which is part of why it works well for me. If you don’t wash in hot water, you probably want to dissolve the laundry soap mix in a cup of hot water, and then put it in your washer. I use 2T per large load.


Thank you for the correction 



KimW said:


> Oh bummer.  Those were some pretty little soaps.
> 
> For laundry soap from lye heavy soap, I'd suggest you salt out your soap first to remove the excess lye.  There's no need to expose your washer and clothes to caustic lye.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the link! I'm going to check it out


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## Peachy Clean Soap (Oct 28, 2020)

KimW said:


> Oh bummer.  Those were some pretty little soaps.
> 
> For laundry soap from lye heavy soap, I'd suggest you salt out your soap first to remove the excess lye.  There's no need to expose your washer and clothes to caustic lye.
> 
> ...


Thank you for your link' im gonna check it out 


AliOop said:


> @Peachy Clean Soap off the top of my head, I’m pretty sure my laundry soap is 1 part grated soap to 2 parts EACH of borax and washing soda. I sometimes add enzymes (like oxyclean unscented) if I remember to buy them.
> 
> I do wash in hot water and don’t have really hard water, which is part of why it works well for me. If you don’t wash in hot water, you probably want to dissolve the laundry soap mix in a cup of hot water, and then put it in your washer. I use 2T per large load.


Thx again my Friend' my water is super hard. I could use Hot water help w/ dissolving soap.


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## violets2217 (Oct 28, 2020)

tommysgirl said:


> I've been using 3% SF too. You are right, not a lot of room there. I feel like I left an oil out altogether as well, but I'm not positive (I could swear I poured them all). I did a lot of searching here lastnight for laundry soap. I think it was @AliOop who posted the one I will try (please correct me if I'm wrong about that @AliOop). It is 2 parts grated soap to one part washing soda or Borax (not both) and one part Oxyclean. Use 2 to 3 Tbsp per load according to size and soil. I'm going to try making it this week


I make laundry soap with 100% coconut oil 0% sf... but I do 1 cup finely grated soap, 2 cups borax, 2 cups washing soda.
I just recently started adding oxi clean and the fragrance boosters not sure of the ratio cause I add full boxes and make a sh*t ton!


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## Bladesmith (Oct 28, 2020)

I bought this scale a year and a half or so ago and it has been fantastic. It has more precision than the 7000. I use it in grams and it reads tenths of a gram. You give up some max capacity by going down to 2600g max but my batches are 1350g of oils (3lbs) which is as big as I ever plan on going. Just thought I’d mention it. If you’re not doing huge batches, you may not need the extra capacity and can trade that in for some more precision.


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## cmzaha (Oct 28, 2020)

I have used a KD8000 every since I started soaping with no issues and I superfat anywhere from 1-3% with no problems. Unlike most I round down my oils because I do not want to add to my superfat. One reason for my low superfat is my plumbing hates high superfatted soap so the only time I high superfat is when I make salt bars. Another reason is I like to bathe with soap not oils.


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## Peachy Clean Soap (Oct 28, 2020)

Bladesmith said:


> I bought this scale a year and a half or so ago and it has been fantastic. It has more precision than the 7000. I use it in grams and it reads tenths of a gram. You give up some max capacity by going down to 2600g max but my batches are 1350g of oils (3lbs) which is as big as I ever plan on going. Just thought I’d mention it. If you’re not doing huge batches, you may not need the extra capacity and can trade that in for some more precision.
> View attachment 50981


Awesome appreciate your info & pict.  It all starts w/ precise weights. Im thinking of weighing in grams as well'  thinking its more accurate then weighing lbs ?.  Soap batches are small' 3 Lbs has been my max.


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## DeeAnna (Oct 28, 2020)

I agree with the advice that it's important to work methodically, have decent equipment, measure carefully, and keep good notes. But I can't entirely agree with some of the other advice being given in this thread --

A soap maker can _reduce _error by good technique and good equipment, but this does not _eliminate _error. A small superfat is indeed used as a safety net for the cold and hot process methods. It ensures there is a slight excess of fat in the finished soap, not an excess of alkali (NaOH or KOH), because there are two big sources of error that technique and equipment don't prevent --

Most handcrafted soap makers (including me) do NOT measure the saponification values for the actual fats going into our soap. Instead we assume the averaged sap values in our soap recipe calcs are good enough.
​Most of us also accept our recipe calcs' assumptions about alkali purity. Most calcs assume NaOH is 100% pure, which is inaccurate. If a person types in 3%  for the superfat setting and their calc assumes 100% NaOH purity, the real superfat in the soap is probably closer to 5-10%. This is quite a bit of error.

These assumptions about alkali purity and sap values introduce far more error than using a scale that reads to whole grams or using the "round up for fats, round down for alkali" rule of thumb.

***

A scale reading to 0.1 gram or 0.01 gram is not required for soap making unless you're making very small batches. If a person has a scale that reads to the nearest whole gram AND is making decent sized batches using at least 16 oz or 500 grams of fats, a scale reading to whole grams is sufficiently accurate. If a person wants to use a scale with more precision, that's perfectly okay, but it's not a requirement.

The rule of thumb to round UP the weights of fats and round DOWN the weight of lye to the nearest whole gram is another safety measure that many people use. Honestly, there's very little if any harm in it. If you do the math on the error introduced by this method of rounding, you'll see for yourself that the error introduced by this rule of thumb is very reasonable when making a decent-sized batch of soap.

***

Like Carolyn, I routinely make soap with a lower superfat (typically 2-3%). I also correct for the purity of my alkali in my recipes. This correction further reduces the margin of safety -- in other words my 3% superfat is a "realer" 3% superfat than most people's. Even so, my soap isn't ever randomly and mysteriously lye heavy. If it's lye heavy, I've made a mistake.

If you are using an online calc and you've gotten a lye-heavy soap, it's not from using a 3% superfat or using a scale that reads to whole grams or using the "round up for fats, round down for lye" method.

It's far more likely that you've made a measurement mistake or omitted a fat, or something fairly significant like that. In that case, even a 10% superfat setting might not prevent the soap from being lye heavy.

***

Regarding weighing soap ingredients in pounds rather than grams or ounces -- If your scale can only display units of decimal pounds, it's probably not sufficiently accurate enough unless you're making quite large batches -- well over 10 pounds, let's say.

If your scale displays weights in mixed units of pounds and ounces, I would truly hate to use the scale. It's far too easy to make arithmetic errors when using mixed units.

If your scale reads in grams and ounces, pick whichever unit of weight that makes the most sense to you. Due to my chemistry training and work background, I use only grams for soap making.

I also think the weights in a soap recipe can be easier for humans to mentally process better if the weights are mostly whole numbers (6 grams) rather than decimal numbers (0.21 ounces). This is also another reason why it makes more sense to use grams.


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## Basil (Oct 28, 2020)

DeeAnna said:


> I agree with the advice that it's important to work methodically, have decent equipment, measure carefully, and keep good notes.
> 
> A scale reading to 0.1 gram or 0.01 gram is not required for soap making unless you're making very small batches. If a person has a scale that reads to the nearest whole gram AND is making decent sized batches using at least 16 oz or 500 grams of fats, a scale reading to whole grams is sufficiently accurate. If a person wants to use a scale with more precision, that's perfectly okay, but it's not a requirement.
> 
> ...


You mentioned several things I’ve been thinking a lot about . My scale, super fat ratio, and grams.. but with another ingredient.
I’ve started cutting the super fat ratio down to 3-4% because of our plumbing and that I read with goats milk, the extra fat makes up for it as well. I haven’t figured out how to calculate that, but it’s seems fine working with the lower super fat and  I think I might be able to try 2%? I’ve made @Zany_in_CO no slime Castile with goat milk and it’s lovely. It made me wonder about using less super fat with other soaps. I use less than 20 coconut oil.  Any suggestions whether I’m thinking ok or not would be appreciated. I also started measuring in grams rather than ounces and my scale measures to the gram but not less than. So when I try a smaller batch and have essential oil blends that are less than a gram I’m stumped as to what to do. I use the ecal to figure the amounts. Sorry for the lengthy rattling.  Any advice you can give me is very appreciated


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## AliOop (Oct 28, 2020)

violets2217 said:


> I make laundry soap with 100% coconut oil 0% sf... but I do 1 cup finely grated soap, 2 cups borax, 2 cups washing soda.
> I just recently started adding oxi clean and the fragrance boosters not sure of the ratio cause I add full boxes and make a sh*t ton!


Yup, exactly my recipe.   I also like to make big batches, bc it is a messy process, so I'd rather do a whole bunch at once and then not think about it for another year. This laundry soap works great for us, but I understand that not everyone wants to wash in hot water, or they may have hard water, which definitely makes the homemade stuff less effective.

@Basil  My scale doesn't do partial ounces, nor would I want to mess with that if it did. One gram is less than half an ounce, so measurements are far more precise using whole grams rather than whole ounces. And as @DeeAnna noted, errors are more likely when working with mixed units and decimal points.

If the recipe calls for partial grams, I do round down the lye and round up the oils. After all, some oil is always wasted on the soaping utensils despite my most earnest scraping efforts, as evidenced by the oily towels after wiping everything down at the end. Based on advice from many others here, I've lowered my initial SF from 7-8% down to 5%, and lately have been trying 3%. So far, I'm not seeing any difference in the soap feel, but am seeing less scum on the shower door. We don't have lots anyway, but any reduction in scum is good, IMO.

Most important is to figure out what works for your way of soaping, your recipes, etc., so that you end up with a consistently safe and usable soap. That may be rounding up, rounding down, ounces, or grams. Just be consistent in whatever you do (and take good notes). Then you have a lot less variables to weigh in order to figure out the problem if things do go wrong.


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## Peachy Clean Soap (Oct 28, 2020)

DeeAnna said:


> I agree with the advice that it's important to work methodically, have decent equipment, measure carefully, and keep good notes. But I can't entirely agree with some of the other advice being given in this thread --
> 
> A soap maker can _reduce _error by good technique and good equipment, but this does not _eliminate _error. A small superfat is indeed used as a safety net for the cold and hot process methods. It ensures there is a slight excess of fat in the finished soap, not an excess of alkali (NaOH or KOH), because there are two big sources of error that technique and equipment don't prevent --
> 
> ...



Wow' love your information & complete total understanding of soaping your knowledge is second to none' I so appreciate you taking the time to go into depth of explaining the differences & why above.  Im going to save this info for future references'. 

I've learned much & have much to learn on my journey of soaping. 
 Namaste  .


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## tommysgirl (Oct 28, 2020)

Peachy Clean Soap said:


> Wow' love your information & complete total understanding of soaping your knowledge is second to none' I so appreciate you taking the time to go into depth of explaining the differences & why above.  Im going to save this info for future references'.
> 
> I've learned much & have much to learn on my journey of soaping.
> Namaste  .



What she said!!  Thank you!


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## DeeAnna (Oct 28, 2020)

Basil said:


> ...I read with goats milk, the extra fat makes up for it as well....



It's not just the fat in goat milk (or other dairy) that consumes lye. Kevin Dunn and his students looked into the change in superfat when goat milk was used as a full replacement for water. They found using milk increased the superfat by an additional 4 to 6%. (Meaning if the water-only soap had 5% superfat, the milk-based soap had 9% to 11% superfat.)

Less than half of this increase is due to the lye reacting with the butterfat in the milk. The rest of the superfat increase is due to the lye also reacting with the sugar (lactose) in the milk.

To compensate for the effect of milk, Dunn suggested setting the superfat to zero when calculating a recipe that uses milk as the water-based liquid. The milk will add 4-6% to the superfat which is about right for what most people do.

We discussed this in more detail -- A few questions after a lot of reading

_"...It made me wonder about using less super fat with other soaps. I use less than 20 coconut oil.  Any suggestions whether I’m thinking ok or not would be appreciated. _

In my opinion, a high superfat is useful to tame a strongly cleansing or harsh soap -- a soap high in myristic and lauric acids. That's why a 20% superfat is often used when making a "mariners" soap or a salt/brine soap that's mostly coconut oil.

For blends of fats that are moderate to low in myristic and lauric acids, it's been my observation that more superfat does not always mean the soap gets milder and milder. It's my guess that people often don't test the recipe with less superfat to see if it is mild enough to suit. They might be surprised if they did.

Another benefit of less superfat is the soap will lather better than the same soap with higher superfat, all other things being equal.

So, yeah, I think you're on the right track, although bear in mind my opinion is heresy with some soap makers. 

_"...essential oil blends that are less than a gram I’m stumped as to what to do...."_

In this case, you do need the ability to weigh with 0.1 to 0.01 gram accuracy. That doesn't mean you have to spend lots of money, however. There are inexpensive light-duty "jeweler's scales" that can weigh up to, oh, about 300 grams or so. Used with care, an inexpensive high-precision scale is useful for accurately weighing small amounts of EOs, etc.


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## Basil (Oct 28, 2020)

AliOop said:


> @Basil  My scale doesn't do partial ounces, nor would I want to mess with that if it did. One gram is less than half an ounce, so measurements are far more precise using whole grams rather than whole ounces. And as @DeeAnna noted, errors are more likely when working with mixed units and decimal points.
> 
> Most important is to figure out what works for your way of soaping, your recipes, etc., so that you end up with a consistently safe and usable soap. That may be rounding up, rounding down, ounces, or grams. Just be consistent in whatever you do (and take good notes). Then you have a lot less variables to weigh in order to figure out the problem if things do go wrong.


Thank you Alioop. My note taking was bad, got better and still needs work. I'm going through my old notes now as my "soapy thing" and trying to sort them out. I appreciate your help.


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## AliOop (Oct 28, 2020)

Basil said:


> Thank you Alioop. My note taking was bad, got better and still needs work. I'm going through my old notes now as my "soapy thing" and trying to sort them out. I appreciate your help.


My notes aren't the best, either. I've taken to leaving the recipe open in SMFriend, so that I can type a few quick words in the note section right before I pour the lye into the oils, and again after I've covered the soap. Otherwise, I can't find a writing utensil. at the moment, I think I'll be able to remember, but then don't even think about it again for months. Then it's like, what did I do on that batch again?


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## Basil (Oct 28, 2020)

DeeAnna said:


> To compensate for the effect of milk, Dunn suggested setting the superfat to zero when calculating a recipe that uses milk as the water-based liquid. The milk will add 4-6% to the superfat which is about right for what most people do.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I'm really terrible at this reply thing..I need to read up more how to condense replies.. among other things!  I bought Kevin Dunn's book last year and as chemistry is not my strong point, I put it on my soap book shelf  It's very ironic I find another interest that taxes my brain more than my creativity but I intend to understand this. I'm going to slowly work my recipe down to 0% SF and see what happens. I'll also check amazon out for a jeweler's scale. I don't like guessing with the essential oils. I started out with 'teaspoons' and then I keep reading  As for "heresy with some soap makers" you ALL puzzle me and impress me at the same time LOL. Take that as a compliment you experienced soapers!


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## Basil (Oct 28, 2020)

AliOop said:


> My notes aren't the best, either. I've taken to leaving the recipe open in SMFriend, so that I can type a few quick words in the note section


that's a good idea. I'll give it a whirl. Anything to make it easier!


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## Peachy Clean Soap (Oct 28, 2020)

AliOop said:


> Yup, exactly my recipe.   I also like to make big batches, bc it is a messy process, so I'd rather do a whole bunch at once and then not think about it for another year. This laundry soap works great for us, but I understand that not everyone wants to wash in hot water, or they may have hard water, which definitely makes the homemade stuff less effective.
> 
> @Basil  My scale doesn't do partial ounces, nor would I want to mess with that if it did. One gram is less than half an ounce, so measurements are far more precise using whole grams rather than whole ounces. And as @DeeAnna noted, errors are more likely when working with mixed units and decimal points.
> 
> ...


Wonderful advise. .


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## cmzaha (Oct 28, 2020)

My little jeweler's scale which I paid $14 for is indispensable for making lotions. I have had it for at least 6 years and it is still going strong.


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## DeeAnna (Oct 28, 2020)

Basil said:


> ...I'm going to slowly work my recipe down to 0% SF and see what happens....



When I've made CP soap at zero to 1% superfat (and remember I also correct for purity), this soap can be faintly zappy at the time of unmolding. A mild zap is still an immediate "static shock" kind of sensation, but the sensation is dialed down to a whisper rather than a roar. The zap fades (edit: in the soap) after a day or two. (edit: The zap sensation fades on the tongue within seconds.)

I'm interpreting this as confirmation that my calculations are reasonably accurate -- the soap is on the edge of not-zappy and zappy, which is right where it should be if my zero superfat is really a zero superfat. I also have decided that 1% superfat is on the edge of not quite enough insurance for my preferences, but 2% superfat puts the soap firmly in the not-zappy category.


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## cmzaha (Oct 28, 2020)

Many times mine will be a tad zappy for a day or so after unmolding taking into account that I unmold in 8-10 hrs @ 1% superfat but has never stayed zappy any longer.


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## Peachy Clean Soap (Oct 28, 2020)

cmzaha said:


> I have used a KD8000 every since I started soaping with no issues and I superfat anywhere from 1-3% with no problems. Unlike most I round down my oils because I do not want to add to my superfat. One reason for my low superfat is my plumbing hates high superfatted soap so the only time I high superfat is when I make salt bars. Another reason is I like to bathe with soap not oils.


 Good points made especially "Like to bathe in soap not oils" Thought provoking. Im going to reduce SF to 3% make necessary adjustments needed.


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## Basil (Oct 28, 2020)

DeeAnna said:


> I'm interpreting this as confirmation that my calculations are reasonably accurate -- the soap is on the edge of not-zappy and zappy, which is right where it should be if my zero superfat is really a zero superfat.


I appreciate that. I don’t know if I’ll ever try anything but goat milk, but who knows? Whenever I say never it’s sure to happen. But I’m going to start with the one pound molds and try the same recipe with 3% and drop down each time until I get to 0. I really want to find the one that works the best for what I’m looking for. I’ve been ‘ gunho’ with all kinds of oils etc, but I’d like to narrow things down and start honing in. My husband just watches me ——surrounded by soap


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## TheGecko (Oct 28, 2020)

Peachy Clean Soap said:


> Can you gave the name of your scale you bought on Amazon' i'm interested in your scale' though ive just bought one' mine doesn't measure to Hundredth of an ounce. ugh could be my issue, sadly to say.    Thank you





			https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NX47YP4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


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## Peachy Clean Soap (Oct 28, 2020)

TheGecko said:


> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NX47YP4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Thank you for your link.


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## earlene (Oct 29, 2020)

TheGecko said:


> I'd get a new scale.  I have One that I bought on Amazon for $14.00, it measures in the hundredth of an ounce.
> 
> If you are being forced to 'round down', then you are making a mistake because your lye/water is based on the numbers you put in your soap calculator.  The first time I went to make my GMS, I rounded my weights to whole numbers, but I did it in SoapCalc, so my lye/water was based on those numbers.  Of course, adding whole oil/butter numbers doesn't make my lye/water numbers come out whole and if I were to round those numbers, I'm changing my Lye Concentration and could potentially end up with a negative 'superfat' or have more lye than I need, or I could end up with MORE superfat than I want.


The KD 7000 is a fine scale for soapmaking.  It measures to 1 gram accuracy and to 0.05 oz accuracy.  For very small batches, a jewelers scale is a good choice.  But for a soap batches of even only 350 grams of oil, I am quite confident with the measurements I get with my scale using a 3% SF.  I've even had fine results with 0% SF batches using this scale and don't end up with lye heavy soap.

I do sometimes use my jeweler's scale for measuring fragrances, but for the most part, I only use that scale when I need to measure very small amounts of ingredients, not for measuring the basic oils.

I disagree with you on the rounding down being an issue.  Remember in the first place that soap calculators are not as precise as one may expect.  The SAP numbers come from a range, so they start out inexact from the beginning. That's for the SAP values.  ALSO lye purity is usually set by default at 100% in many lye calculators, but no one has 100% pure lye once it's been open to the air; moisture is drawn to the lye, which decreases it's purity.

If you don't change your lye purity setting in your lye calculator (I am pretty sure most soapmakers do NOT), then it's already built into the calculator that your SF will be even higher than whatever you set it at, be it the default 5% or even 0%, which I have done a few times with no problems whatsoever.  One can test the lye purity and DeeAnna is the only soapmaker I am aware of who does this on a regular basis for all of her soaps.  But she also has more accurate information for her oils SAP numbers if I remember correctly, so her calculations are far more accurate for her soap than for the average soapmaker.

Only once have I made a lye heavy soap and that was on purpose following an experiment here on SMF for Andalusian Castile soap.

The other thing I would recommend is to only use grams and not ounces for weighing soap ingredients.  Grams provides a more accurate weight than ounces.


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## TheGecko (Oct 29, 2020)

earlene said:


> I disagree with you on the rounding down being an issue.



I perhaps should have qualified my statement a little more by adding that it is going to depend on the number of ingredients and amounts thereof.  I use 6 ingredients; if I round down what SoapCalc says for a 64oz batch, I lose 3 oz of oils/butters, but depending on my percentages, I could lose almost 6 oz.  For my particular combination of oils at 33% Lye Concentration, my water is 18.52, my Lye is 9.12 (2% SuperFat).  

For the last two years the importance of accurate measurements has been drilled into my head, along with using a single soap calculator.  Now you are basically saying that because SAP numbers are a 'range' and no one has pure lye, close is good enough.  I'm sorry, but I can't agree with that...not with something that is going to be used on my face, my lady bits and my grandchildren.


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## DeeAnna (Oct 29, 2020)

_"...For the last two years the importance of accurate measurements has been drilled into my head, along with using a single soap calculator. ..."_

I agree -- accurate measurements and consistency are important skills of a good soap maker. Sloppy technique only gets a person in trouble. What I have been trying to explain is about what _level _of accuracy is needed.

Frankly, you aren't going to make better or safer soap by accurately weighing fats and lye to 0.01 gram tolerance than another soap maker who accurately weighs the same ingredients to 1 gram tolerance.

The reality is a 1 gram tolerance is sufficiently accurate for the purpose of most soap making. You can certainly measure to a stricter tolerance, but understand this is not likely to result in a measurably better or safer soap. Your lady bits and your grandchildren will be safe either way.

On the other hand, an analytical chemist may have to accurately weigh chemicals to 0.001 gram tolerance or better because this higher accuracy does make a measurable difference in this kind of work. Been there, done that. But there is no point to applying the rigor required for analytical chemistry to the process of making soap.

Rounding is another fact of life, whether you're an analytical chemist or a kitchen chemist. Pretty much all numbers are rounded values, so rounding is a fact of everyday life. Rounding in a consistent way isn't about sloppiness, it's another aspect of working in a methodical and accurate way.

Here's an example -- The value of pi is an infinitely long number. Most of the time when I do calculations, I round pi to 3.14, because that's good enough for everyday work. But sometimes I round pi to 3.1416 when greater accuracy is important.

Recognizing when I should use 3.1416 versus 3.14 isn't about sloppiness. It's about choosing a level of accuracy that's appropriate for the situation. Soap making is no different.

_"...if I round down what SoapCalc says for a 64oz batch, I lose 3 oz of oils/butters ..."_

I am quite certain you're using a scale that reads in ounces to several decimal places, so why have you gotten the idea you would round to _whole ounces_? Weights should always be rounded to the _last significant digit for the scale you're using_.

The KD7000 or KD8000 scale weighs to whole grams and to a hundredth of an ounce. If you are using one of these scales, you'd round up or down to the nearest whole gram or nearest hundredth of an ounce depending on what units you're using.

_"...Now you are basically saying that because SAP numbers are a 'range' and no one has pure lye, close is good enough. ..."_

Working accurately and methodically is _always _important. It's also important to match the degree of accuracy to the requirements of the task. I have found that having a better understanding about the numbers used in soapmaking has given me a better insight into what is really important and what is less so, and I wanted to share that with others. But if this last attempt of mine to explain is still falling short, I concede defeat -- we will have to agree to disagree.


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## TheGecko (Oct 30, 2020)

DeeAnna said:


> But if this last attempt of mine to explain is still falling short, I concede defeat -- we will have to agree to disagree.



No need to concede as I wasn't responding to you, I was responding to @earlene.


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## Peachy Clean Soap (Oct 30, 2020)

earlene said:


> The KD 7000 is a fine scale for soapmaking.  It measures to 1 gram accuracy and to 0.05 oz accuracy.  For very small batches, a jewelers scale is a good choice.  But for a soap batches of even only 350 grams of oil, I am quite confident with the measurements I get with my scale using a 3% SF.  I've even had fine results with 0% SF batches using this scale and don't end up with lye heavy soap.
> 
> I do sometimes use my jeweler's scale for measuring fragrances, but for the most part, I only use that scale when I need to measure very small amounts of ingredients, not for measuring the basic oils.
> 
> ...


Thank you for your in depth info' I think my scale is similar to yours' I just checked its the KD-7000 as well, I  mentioned in thread above I'm going to weigh in grams moving forward too.  Oh about the "Lye" very true no lye is 100% pure & not all lye is equal' even when purchased at the same company.  I don't want to discredit any soap company's so wont say their name however Id ordered lye from a well know soap supply Co & not happy w/ their lye' it didn't dissolve to a clear liquid as Im used to' and upon cooling down had all kinds of particles in it @ over 100* f so wont be ordering lye from them again. As of late I ordered from a Comp I haven't tried before & such a big difference in their lye from the previous Comp, their lye dissolved clear w/ very little particles. 
Not all Lye is not created equal! thats no Lie!.  My Soap Being Lye Heavy ( My Bad  ).



DeeAnna said:


> _"...For the last two years the importance of accurate measurements has been drilled into my head, along with using a single soap calculator. ..."_
> 
> I agree -- accurate measurements and consistency are important skills of a good soap maker. Sloppy technique only gets a person in trouble. What I have been trying to explain is about what _level _of accuracy is needed.
> 
> ...


Couldn't agree more' & appreciate your knowledge & willing to share freely!  Understanding The Basics Of Soaping
 ( which isn't so basic ) is quite a challenge but must be understood fully for a strong foundation to continue to build & improve on when creating a well balanced perfect Bar Soap' if theirs such a thing. 



Peachy Clean Soap said:


> Couldn't agree more' & appreciate your knowledge & willing to share freely!  Understanding The Basics Of Soaping
> ( which isn't so basic ) is quite a challenge but must be understood fully for a strong foundation to continue to build & improve on when creating a well balanced perfect Bar Soap' if theirs such a thing.


Help Please. Ok my water amount is 242.98 g my scale has no decimal in grams. do I use kg weight sence it has a decimal ? I hope im not sounding like a complete idiot, or keep on gram weight and round up? water amnt required 242.98 of water:  converted up to 243.



Peachy Clean Soap said:


> Help Please. Ok my water amount is 242.98 g my scale has no decimal in grams. do I use kg weight sence it has a decimal ? I hope im not sounding like a complete idiot, or keep on gram weight and round up? water amnt required 242.98 of water:  converted up to 243.


Or probably round down sense I don't want to increase my water which Im guessing?:
242.98g of water rounded down would be 242g of water. 
Thank you in advance 



Peachy Clean Soap said:


> Or probably round down sense I don't want to increase my water which Im guessing?:
> 242.98g of water rounded down would be 242g of water.
> Thank you in advance


I just reread post above and I round up or down to the nearest hundredth,  I think I got it, sorry if im a pain in the ass.  .


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## DeeAnna (Oct 30, 2020)

If you have a scale that only weighs to whole grams and if you're using the "round up for fat and round down for lye" method, 242.89 grams would round DOWN to 242 grams for lye.

You would round UP to 243 grams for everything else -- fats, water, etc.

Don't use the kilograms (kg) setting. It's not like you _can't_ use it ... just that it's not going to be any better or more helpful.

Just stick to units of grams and you'll be fine.

(PS -- This isn't the proper method of rounding for normal math and statistical stuff. If anyone wants to know the correct way to round to make a math or stats teacher happy, I will be glad to explain.)


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## Primrose (Oct 30, 2020)

TheGecko said:


> The purpose of 'super fat' is to make your soap more 'moisturizing' with unsaponified oils.  It's NOT supposed to be used a safety net.  I know several people here who do NOT use a 'super fat'...they have properly calibrated scales and are precise in their measurements.



I actually disagree with this. Except for the odd recipe such as a 100% coconut oil soap ... A 'normal' recipe isnt moisturizing (no soap is) and if formulated correctly a soap with zero superfat can be entirely gentle and non stripping on the skin. In my mind the superfat level is absolutely a safety net especially for new soapers. Also in my mind it makes more sense to have a gentle recipe that doesn't overly strip the skins natural oils, compared to a soap that strips the skins natural oils and then attempts to return moisture to the skin with the addition of other butters/fats


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## Bladesmith (Oct 30, 2020)

You don’t have to have a scale with 0.1 gram precision but I prefer it. For one, it helps to satisfy my OCD. With that out of the way, it also gives you more information. I pour all my oils directly into a single pot that sits on my scale. It’s easier to make a mistake like that and knowing whether I need to add 1.4g or 0.1g to get to the weight I want to get to is nice to know. I usually overshoot or undershoot by a small amount and don’t really sweat it. And while it doesn’t matter too much if I’m a gram over here or a gram under there.... in the interest of consistency, I like to get it as close as I reasonably can. If you can have extra precision, not sure why you wouldn’t go for it unless it’s a cost thing or it won’t handle the weight of oils you use.

I’ve also used the same scale for measuring out EO blends and very small batches of other soap like shave soap. It is especially helpful for those situations.


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## Peachy Clean Soap (Oct 30, 2020)

DeeAnna said:


> If you have a scale that only weighs to whole grams and if you're using the "round up for fat and round down for lye" method, 242.89 grams would round DOWN to 242 grams for lye.
> 
> You would round UP to 243 grams for everything else -- fats, water, etc.
> 
> ...


Ok very good' thats what I did' I appreciate your help.  Im happy to report soap batter didn't accelerate & I added honey' reduced water amount for beer' only .40g and added color along w/ FO, had enough time to try a feather swirl' I dont know if it's my imagination or wishful thinking, but soap felt more manageable & was behaving nicely. I've covered & put it in the cabinet. Well see how it turns out in the morning & in 6 weeks Fingers crossed.  I'll post a picture after I cut it.   Thx again for your help. 



Bladesmith said:


> You don’t have to have a scale with 0.1 gram precision but I prefer it. For one, it helps to satisfy my OCD. With that out of the way, it also gives you more information. I pour all my oils directly into a single pot that sits on my scale. It’s easier to make a mistake like that and knowing whether I need to add 1.4g or 0.1g to get to the weight I want to get to is nice to know. I usually overshoot or undershoot by a small amount and don’t really sweat it. And while it doesn’t matter too much if I’m a gram over here or a gram under there.... in the interest of consistency, I like to get it as close as I reasonably can. If you can have extra precision, not sure why you wouldn’t go for it unless it’s a cost thing or it won’t handle the weight of oils you use.
> 
> I’ve also used the same scale for measuring out EO blends and very small batches of other soap like shave soap. It is especially helpful for those situations.


I may have a just a little of OCD' lol I want my measurements to be perfect' however its nice to have some adjustment to the positive or negitive in our lye' fats & oils, Now that I understand it will become easier weighing in grams.   Ive been a HP soaper, I've just switched to CP, I think its so much harder to CP' in that its less forgiving the soaps gotta be balanced perfect.  HP I bring it through the different stages I want it to volcano in the pot a few times' at end add my extra SF & whatever else Ive planned on adding & pour in mold quickly & I'm good to go lol.  CP oh goodness I'm worried if its going to volcano' or ifs its gone through Jell completely' If its overheating & going to crack' so many variables. But Im able to use color w/ pretty designs unlike HP its hard to pull off.


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## earlene (Oct 31, 2020)

TheGecko said:


> No need to concede as I wasn't responding to you, I was responding to @earlene.



And I based my above statement on many of the things that I have learned from DeeAnna and others here on how lye calculators are designed as well as soap making in general, in addition to supporting information from various other soapmaking experts along the way. I appreciate DeeAnna's response because it clarifies almost everything I would have tried to say had she not said it so well herself.

I would like to point out though, that I did NOT say anything about rounding to the nearest ounce when a scale measures to the hundredth of an ounce, and certainly did not suggest injudicious rounding up or down. I don't really think you would do that, either, because I don't think you are that sloppy. In review of the statement of yours to which I was responding, and *tommysgirl*'s post to which you were responding before that, I can only conclude you read that I was advocating rounding down on all oils, but since that is not even what *tommysgirl* said she does anyway, I am not sure why that is what you thought I meant.  She said she uses _*grams*_ and rounds up on oils and down on lye.  In any case, I did not intend to address her specific method of rounding down and up, but the concept in general.  

Therefore, I wish to clarify with an example of my own to show you what it means to me and how it can be done responsibly.  My example is for an average (for me) batch size, but works just as well with a larger batch size.


When making soap using a formula that has partial grams to calculate, I do not lose more than a gram or two of total weight by judiciously rounding down & rounding up. (As I mentioned before, I recommend weighing in grams for better accuracy, but if you choose to weigh in ounces to the 1/100th of an ounce, it works that way just as well, but I use grams.)

Please look at this example of why I support judicious rounding up and down and why I say it works well with soap. When I round down or up for partial gram measures in my soap formula to the next full gram, it makes no noticeable difference in the larger scheme of things for a 500 gram total batch size soap.  See how it is done:

Here is a hypothetical soap formula for a 500 gram batch of a 3 oil soap, where the oils total 343 grams:
55% is palm oil  (188.65 grams)
30% is almond oil (102.9 grams)
15% is coconut oil (51.45 grams)
with 3% SF and [33.33% Lye] (using my masterbatch lye solution of 50:50 ratio of NaOH to H2O)
(Total Batch Size = 500.21 grams)

I will round up on both Palm Oil & Almond Oil to the nearest_ gram_ and round down on the Coconut Oil, in order to bring my total oil weight to exactly the same as it would be had I not had to round up or down (343 _grams_ of oils). I round up on my mb lye solution from 97.94 _grams_ to 98 _grams_, and round up from 48.98 _grams_ to 49 _grams_ for the additional liquid. I will round down my 3% FO from 10.29 _grams_, to 10 _grams_.

So what have I gained or lost in this rounding? I lost _0.21 grams_ total from the total batch size, which really is Virtually Nothing. Did I change the SF in any noticeable amount? No, by adding a mere _0.06 grams_ of lye solution, which is really only _0.03 grams of NaOH_, even in a 500 gram batch of soap the SF does not change enough to notice. Not even when I change the numbers in the calculator to look for the change. It takes a lot of manipulation in the calculator, but there isn't even a 1/10 change in the SuperFat, and some calculators don't even register that kind of change. And is the _0.29 grams_ of FO going to be missed? Not likely.

So I ask you, given these minuscule changes, how is this judicious rounding up and down problematic? It is not. The soap will be just the same as it was had I used my jewelers scale to measure to a hundredth of a gram. Why would I bother, when it is not at all necessary?  I can still use the soap on my lady bits; my granddaughter still likes it and uses it; and if I used soap on my face, I'd be fine with using it there, too.




tommysgirl said:


> You are right, and I shouldn't think of it that way - and in truth I don't, in all honestly, see it as a safety net for which I can account for error. I guess, being new to soaping I am still learning the correct way of expressing things. So I truly appreciate your pointing that out because I don't want anyone to get a wrong idea from something I posted. I had stopped using 5% SF because I had read that many folks are happy with 3% and wanted to give it a try. Also my husband said that he thought the tub felt slippery after using a soap I made and I wanted to see if the SF possibly had anything to do with that. I use a KD-7000 scale that I am pretty happy with, but the one thing that kind of bothers me is this - my recipes give me measurements in tenths and hundredths of grams and my scale weighs in whole grams. So I usually round up for oils down for lye. I always feel like I'm making a mistake, even though I'm not. I'm not an avid note taker, which is something I need to work on. I feel like I could have found my error with this batch if I took notes on my measurements along the way.



*Tommysgirl*, the KD-7000 is fine. If you look at my example above, please notice that by rounding up and rounding down in the way I describe you would not have any significant changes to your overall formula. Rounding to the nearest gram is a reasonable practice while making soap. Remember that one gram is 1/28th of an ounce. That is a very small amount, and rounding up or down from a partial gram to the nearest gram is not a significant amount.

As far as your error that lead to the lye-heavy soap and you say maybe you left out an oil and your lack of good notes, I suggest checking off each ingredient as you finish weighing it, then add it to the pot. Once you get into that habit, you'll know if you left out something. And with that habit, you can add another tiny note should you need one, like (" 100 g " for rounded up to from 99.8 g or something similar). That is if you write out or print out your formula for each batch, like I do & so do many others.


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## cmzaha (Oct 31, 2020)

A suggestion I always make is to tare you soaping containers and mark down the empty weight. If you think you left out an oil you can usually figure it out by weighing your container. This little trick has saved me many times when I have become distracted and noticed my bucket did not seem like it was filled quite right. Rechecking the weight would tell me if everything was in the soaping bucket or not.


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## tommysgirl (Oct 31, 2020)

earlene said:


> *Tommysgirl*, the KD-7000 is fine. - Rounding to the nearest gram is a reasonable practice while making soap.
> 
> I suggest checking off each ingredient as you finish weighing it, then add it to the pot. Once you get into that habit, you'll know if you left out something. And with that habit, you can add another tiny note should you need one, like (" 100 g " for rounded up to from 99.8 g or something similar).


Thank you Earlene. I truly appreciate all the advice given here in this group. I still have a great deal to learn and I take it all into consideration. I developed the practice of rounding because I found it to be widely used in my research. Like I mentioned, I had been rounding up in oils and down in lye and by doing so assumed (I know - I can hear my 7th grade science teacher saying "*ass*-*u*-*me*" here) that any real change to the end product would be a slight increase in sf - since I was not increasing the lye amount at all - and therefore would be safe if passed the zap test. I feel that, for me personally, rounding to the *nearest* gram as per your example will give the most accuracy. Thank you for your detailed explanation, as I will be doing this going forward. As for the batch in question, I had begun checking off the ingredients as I added them, but dropped off somewhere in the middle. I was actually pretty confident with this batch that I had performed everything correctly, until it was time to cut it of course. As for the oil I feel I may have left out -I felt certain that I remembered measuring them all out, but since I had not checked them all off I can't be sure. So in truth it could have been a missed oil, or a miss-measurement. It was a larger batch than I usually make and I remember wondering if it was all going to fit into my soaping bowl. I think it was at that point that my thoughts got hijacked and I stopped checking things off. In either case better notes would have told the whole story and I just didn't have that on this batch  Lesson learned!! I have begun not only checking off everything as I add to my bowl, but also writing down next to the printed measurement (similar to what you mention above), the rounded measurement that I actually see on my scale. So not only do I know I added it, but I know exactly how much and that I did indeed round properly to the correct measurement of the particular oil being added and not to some random number that just happened to pop into my head at the moment. No more guess work there.



cmzaha said:


> A suggestion I always make is to tare you soaping containers and mark down the empty weight. If you think you left out an oil you can usually figure it out by weighing your container.


This is an excellent Idea, and I thank you very much for it! I have weighed my containers, but have not made a practice of double checking myself. With this batch I didn't think it was necessary because I 'thought' I had everything  This experience has taught me that this is also something I should be doing going forward for every batch.  At the very least until I have more experience under my belt.


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## TheGecko (Oct 31, 2020)

@earlene 

Apologies for misunderstanding and I greatly appreciate you take the time to clarify.

And to @DeeAnna.  I realized how abrupt my response was to you above and I apologize for that.


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## melinda48 (Oct 31, 2020)

tommysgirl said:


> Thank you Earlene. I truly appreciate all the advice given here in this group. I still have a great deal to learn and I take it all into consideration. I developed the practice of rounding because I found it to be widely used in my research. Like I mentioned, I had been rounding up in oils and down in lye and by doing so assumed (I know - I can hear my 7th grade science teacher saying "*ass*-*u*-*me*" here) that any real change to the end product would be a slight increase in sf - since I was not increasing the lye amount at all - and therefore would be safe if passed the zap test. I feel that, for me personally, rounding to the *nearest* gram as per your example will give the most accuracy. Thank you for your detailed explanation, as I will be doing this going forward. As for the batch in question, I had begun checking off the ingredients as I added them, but dropped off somewhere in the middle. I was actually pretty confident with this batch that I had performed everything correctly, until it was time to cut it of course. As for the oil I feel I may have left out -I felt certain that I remembered measuring them all out, but since I had not checked them all off I can't be sure. So in truth it could have been a missed oil, or a miss-measurement. It was a larger batch than I usually make and I remember wondering if it was all going to fit into my soaping bowl. I think it was at that point that my thoughts got hijacked and I stopped checking things off. In either case better notes would have told the whole story and I just didn't have that on this batch  Lesson learned!! I have begun not only checking off everything as I add to my bowl, but also writing down next to the printed measurement (similar to what you mention above), the rounded measurement that I actually see on my scale. So not only do I know I added it, but I know exactly how much and that I did indeed round properly to the correct measurement of the particular oil being added and not to some random number that just happened to pop into my head at the moment. No more guess work there.
> 
> 
> This is an excellent Idea, and I thank you very much for it! I have weighed my containers, but have not made a practice of double checking myself. With this batch I didn't think it was necessary because I 'thought' I had everything  This experience has taught me that this is also something I should be doing going forward for every batch.  At the very least until I have more experience under my belt.


I keep my soap recipes in plastic sheet protectors and use a grease pencil to mark off ingredients as I add them. Works every time! When I am done, I merely wipe the sheet off with a paper towel (or whatever works) and am ready to go. I began using this method when doing embroidery designs that involve a lot of colors. Has saved me many a time!


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## tommysgirl (Oct 31, 2020)

melinda48 said:


> I keep my soap recipes in plastic sheet protectors and use a grease pencil to mark off ingredients as I add them.


I love this idea! Thank you


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## melinda48 (Oct 31, 2020)

tommysgirl said:


> I love this idea! Thank you


You are most welcome! I thank my embroidery group leader formthis terrific suggestion! Keeps the paper clean too


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## DeeAnna (Oct 31, 2020)

I should probably use your idea, @melinda48 -- my worksheets are usually super messy with dribbles of fat and smears from my gloves when I'm done.


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## Peachy Clean Soap (Nov 1, 2020)

earlene said:


> And I based my above statement on many of the things that I have learned from DeeAnna and others here on how lye calculators are designed as well as soap making in general, in addition to supporting information from various other soapmaking experts along the way. I appreciate DeeAnna's response because it clarifies almost everything I would have tried to say had she not said it so well herself.
> 
> I would like to point out though, that I did NOT say anything about rounding to the nearest ounce when a scale measures to the hundredth of an ounce, and certainly did not suggest injudicious rounding up or down. I don't really think you would do that, either, because I don't think you are that sloppy. In review of the statement of yours to which I was responding, and *tommysgirl*'s post to which you were responding before that, I can only conclude you read that I was advocating rounding down on all oils, but since that is not even what *tommysgirl* said she does anyway, I am not sure why that is what you thought I meant.  She said she uses _*grams*_ and rounds up on oils and down on lye.  In any case, I did not intend to address her specific method of rounding down and up, but the concept in general.
> 
> ...


Thx for taking the time & explaining' so very helpful. .   Also I want to thank "Everyone Else" that committed w/ your expert advise its such a big help' not only for myself but for many others.  @DeeAnna , @ Tommysgirl ,  @cmzaha , @TheGecko,  @BladeSmith, @Primrose, @Melinda ...


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