# Newbie help: ingredients percentage, please?



## loopyloop (Feb 25, 2013)

Hi!
I am totally new to soap making so I'm gonna have a go. 
My big question is, how much should I add the following (percentage - wise to my base):

Vitamin E
Mango butter
Essential oils (I know they sould be 1-2% of base, but is that each or in total - say I use 3 oils, would the mixture be 6% of base or 2%).

For info, base is about 450grams.
Many, Many thanks.


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## AlchemyandAshes (Feb 25, 2013)

How much Essential Oils to use depends on WHICH EOs you're using. This forum advocates a 3% TOTAL EO safe usage rate, however, some EOs can be tolerated up to 5% (like Lavender), and some can not be tolerated over 0.5% (like Clove). You need to research each EO that you plan on using to determine the safety and contraindications.
www.roberttisserand.com
www.aromaweb.com
www.essentialoils.org

Vitamin E is not necessary in soap, but many add it to their oils prior to soaping them to help prevent oxidation. I believe 1% is adequate if you're using Tocopherols. If you just want to add it as an "extra" to your soap, just tinker around with a lye calculator like SoapCalc to determine how much you need to bring the qualities you're looking for.

I use Mango Butter up to 10%, but you can go higher...though once again, if you're unsure, you can always run your proposed recipe through SoapCalc and adjust the amounts until your happy with the calculated quality results. 
www.soapcalc.net


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## loopyloop (Feb 25, 2013)

Oh, I see... the oils are:
Jojoba
Lemongrass
Sweet Orange
Bergamont

Will have a go with soapcalc but looks complicated (i.e don#t know what all those things mean).


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## AlchemyandAshes (Feb 25, 2013)

Yeah, SoapCalc can be a bit intimidating at first, but you'll get the hang of it. Or try Brambleberry's or Majestic Mountain Sage and see if they are of any help. Just make sure you are using a lye calculator for all your recipes, no matter where you got the recipe from. You can avoid a lye heavy disaster that way 
Jojoba is not an essential oil...it's actually a wax, but with the consistency of an oil. You could use it in soap up to 5%. It's great for dry skin, though expensive.
Bergamot and Orange are pretty mild and safe EOs...they may cause photo-sensitivity in very sensitive skin, though there is a bergaptene-free version of Bergamot that does not cause photo-sensitivity. I personally have never found either to be irritating in the least, and use both on a regular basis.
Lemongrass is also a safe EO for most people, though it can be a dermal irritant to some (not very common, but it happens). Its very strong scent makes it easy to keep it under 3% of your base oils. 
Try using your blend of the three at 3% at a 1:1:1 ratio (equal parts of each EO). If you find the Lemongrass takes over the scent, or that the Bergamot or Orange fade out, try different proportions next time. Then you can begin testing higher percentages (up to 5%) in your soap.


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## loopyloop (Feb 25, 2013)

Ooh thank you, that is very helpful indeed! So, you're saying I should use 1% of each EO, totalling 3% all in. When mixing them, will I be able to tell which takes over, or would I have to wait till the soap is done?
Will use Jojoba at 5%, then, and Mango at 10%.
Thanks so much again.


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## AlchemyandAshes (Feb 25, 2013)

Correct with the EOs: 1% ea totaling 3%
You'll get a better idea of scent after saponification and unmolding, and even better idea after a 4-6 week cure. Orange and Bergamot are notorious for fading, but the Lemongrass will help "anchor" the scent.


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## melstan775 (Feb 25, 2013)

loopy are you using any base oils to make your soap? I only see that you have listed your EOS and additives. Just curious to what you're envisioning.


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## new12soap (Feb 25, 2013)

I'm sorry, I understood the OP to say they want to add things to MP base. I have only ever added scent and color to MP.

Can you go as high as 10% mango butter OR 5% jojoba added to an MP base?


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## Moonshea Botanicals (Feb 25, 2013)

ok, I am not ready to make my recipe I got from a friend yet. But I ran it through the SoapCalc just to double check. And not surprising I am confused. According to SoapCalc if I don't get an error message it's a good recipe, I did not. But the ounces of lye in my recipe & on SoapCalc differ greatly. Or I am just not understanding it correctly.
My recipe: 4.9 oz. lye into 11.3 oz of water
SoapCalc: 34 oz lye into the default 38% of water

my oils/butters are: 
6.8 oz. palm oil
10.2 oz. coconut oil
1.7 oz cocoa butter
10.2 oz. olive oil
1.7 oz. castor oil
3.4 oz. sunflower oil
Fragrances 
.4 oz. orange essential oil
.4 oz. patchouli essential oil
.8 oz. lavender essential oil


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## loopyloop (Feb 25, 2013)

melstan775 said:


> loopy are you using any base oils to make your soap? I only see that you have listed your EOS and additives. Just curious to what you're envisioning.


 
Hi, it's only a MP base, consisting of:
Glycerin, Aqua, Sodium Palmate, Sorbitol, Sodium Cocoate, Palm Fatty Acid, Coconut Fatty Acid, Pentasodium Pentetate, Tetrasodium Etridonate

That's all I know.


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## VanessaP (Feb 25, 2013)

Moonshea Botanicals said:


> ok, I am not ready to make my recipe I got from a friend yet. But I ran it through the SoapCalc just to double check. And not surprising I am confused. According to SoapCalc if I don't get an error message it's a good recipe, I did not. But the ounces of lye in my recipe & on SoapCalc differ greatly. Or I am just not understanding it correctly.
> My recipe: 4.9 oz. lye into 11.3 oz of water
> SoapCalc: 34 oz lye into the default 38% of water
> 
> ...





I'm not sure where you're seeing 34 other than you have 34 total ounces of oil by weight, and when you look at the View/Print Recipe page, that is above the water concentration - the only lye amount you go by is in the purple section of the page, UNDER the water amount. SoapCalc is showing me 4.871 oz of lye and 12.92 oz of water when I put those oil amounts into the calculator. The amount of lye to use in the formula is never shown when you hit Calculate Recipe. You have to view the formula to see the lye amount.


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## AlchemyandAshes (Feb 25, 2013)

loopyloop said:


> Hi, it's only a MP base, consisting of:
> Glycerin, Aqua, Sodium Palmate, Sorbitol, Sodium Cocoate, Palm Fatty Acid, Coconut Fatty Acid, Pentasodium Pentetate, Tetrasodium Etridonate
> 
> That's all I know.



That changes everything I just suggested. :Kitten Love:
My percentages were for CP. If you're using Melt & Pour, there's no need for lye calculations. Also, your base will not accommodate 10% Mango Butter or 5% Jojoba Oil. It will definitely precipitate out and leave you an oily gooey mess. It may accomodate an extra 5% extra oils/butters. Also, I wouldn't go anywhere above 3% Essential Oils in MP sine they won't have to be exposed to lye, which can morph and weaken them.
Try adding 1 Tbs of Mango Butter and 1 tsp of Jojoba Oil per pound of Melt & Pour Base. I normally work in weights and not dry measurements, but that should be a good place to start.

I should have asked which method you were using before I gave all that info...but now you know in case you want to try Cold Process Soap Making!

ETA: Duh...this was posted in the MP forum. I don't know what my problem is today


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## Moonshea Botanicals (Feb 25, 2013)

VanessaP said:


> I'm not sure where you're seeing 34 other than you have 34 total ounces of oil by weight, and when you look at the View/Print Recipe page, that is above the water concentration - the only lye amount you go by is in the purple section of the page, UNDER the water amount. SoapCalc is showing me 4.871 oz of lye and 12.92 oz of water when I put those oil amounts into the calculator. The amount of lye to use in the formula is never shown when you hit Calculate Recipe. You have to view the formula to see the lye amount.



ok ty. I knew there was something I was missing. Now that I look at the view/print page it says *Lye: 4.871* I feel better.


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## AlchemyandAshes (Feb 25, 2013)

new12soap said:


> I'm sorry, I understood the OP to say they want to add things to MP base. I have only ever added scent and color to MP.
> 
> Can you go as high as 10% mango butter OR 5% jojoba added to an MP base?



Yeah, I wasn't paying attention to which forum this was posted in. 
I wouldn't add more than 5% extra oil/butter.


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## loopyloop (Feb 25, 2013)

Ah, that's ok... still, thanks for correcting; will go ahead with your latter suggestion.


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## melstan775 (Feb 26, 2013)

loopyloop said:


> Hi, it's only a MP base, consisting of:
> Glycerin, Aqua, Sodium Palmate, Sorbitol, Sodium Cocoate, Palm Fatty Acid, Coconut Fatty Acid, Pentasodium Pentetate, Tetrasodium Etridonate
> 
> That's all I know.



Oh ok.  I didn't get it was an MP base at first. Sometimes I miss important details like that. The oils in this one are palm oil (Sodium Palmate) and coconut oil(Sodium Cocoate) just in case you wanted to know. Where did oyu get this base from, btw? I get mine from Wholesale Supplies Plus.


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## loopyloop (Feb 26, 2013)

It's a place calle Bee Beautiful Uk, where I am. Sure there are better M&P bases out there....


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