# Pinkish soap?



## FragranceGuy (Feb 20, 2021)

Hey there fellow soap enthusiasts! I made my fist batch of cold process soap yesterday. I made a couple of beginner mistakes. OK, more than a couple  BUT it appears I’ve successfully created soap! Here’s my list of mistakes (that I know of) ...




Rather than making a tried and true recipe, I created my own  (ego much? )
I told myself that my first batch of soap should simple, cheap and unscented. I’m obsessed with fragrances and colognes. I wear cologne when I’m alone  While I was waiting for my oils and my lye solution to cool I decided to whip up an essential oil mixture based around sandalwood and lavender (3%). It smelled AMAZING so I decided I would add it, against my previous plans to keep things simple.
I overused my stick blender. Rather than pulsing and stirring, I did a lot of blending  When I achieved a thin trace I added my FO, continued to blend and the next thing I knew I was working with pudding! Classic beginner mistakes.
The Pros: I was very diligent about the qualities I was looking for in my recipe and I measured accurately. My fragrance smells SO good, my girlfriend LOVES the scent and so do I! I tested the soap and it lathers well and doesn’t irritate my skin only 24 hours after pouring into the mold (5% lye discount) I achieved gel phase with temperatures hovering around 134 F. I successfully made soap my first try, and I’m grateful.

The Cons: I didn’t stick with my plan. I came to thick trace very quickly after I added my essential oils. The trace was so thick that I couldn’t expel all the bubbles. And my soap has a slight pink/violet color?? I wouldn’t consider the color a “con” because it’s quite beautiful, like something someone would try to do, but I didn’t try, and the curiosity is begging me. I did some preliminary research and it appears that fragrance and water impurities can sometimes cause this. I’ll post my recipe to help. My lye solution was perfectly clear. Ultimately, I’m curious what caused my soap to become a beautiful pink so I can replicate it! It’s difficult to see in photographs, but when you see it in person it’s obvious. I didn’t notice the pink/purple color until the loaf reached gel phase. I’m suspecting it has something to do with my essential oils because I DID use distilled water. I wonder if my essential oils have oxidized? Any expertise will be much appreciated! Thanks!!


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## hlee (Feb 20, 2021)

Congrats on your  soap success . I am not really sure about the pink color but someone else will probably have some ideas. 
Don't  feel bad about not sticking to the plan either. Sometimes you just can't.  
Sometimes you just don' t  want to  anymore and sometimes you completely forget you even had a plan at all. Have fun!


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## FragranceGuy (Feb 20, 2021)

Thank you hlee for being so welcoming and encouraging! I’m glad I found this forum!! I’m trying to post photos, but the forum keeps telling me I need to approve cookies to post photos. I’m trying to figure out how to do that, maybe it’s because I’m new..

Here’s photos...

Don’t get me wrong, the soap isn’t strongly pink, but it looks MUCH more pink than the photos..


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## hlee (Feb 20, 2021)

FragranceGuy said:


> Don’t get me wrong, the soap isn’t strongly pink, but it looks MUCH more pink than the photos..


It looks great!


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## dibbles (Feb 20, 2021)

I can see that it is pink against the white background. There has been some discussion about this related to coconut oil. Here's one: Accidentally pink soap

Congratulations on your first batch - it looks great!


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## FragranceGuy (Feb 20, 2021)

Thanks hlee and dibbles! Apparently I’ve found the right forum, you guys have been so helpful! I’ve noticed that the pink color is fading as the soap cures which makes me think that it might be related to moisturizer content. I’m going to let the soap cure for a while, a month or more before I over analyze. Leave it to me to overanalyze 

Thank you guys! It means a lot to me that you care about a newbie..

Already the soap is turning a nutty, ivory color. Like a beautiful butter!!

Looking pretty enough for me...


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## Peachy Clean Soap (Feb 21, 2021)

Congrats on your first bar of soap' I love the slight hue tinge of pink' which can morph yet again  To a lighter shade of cream.  What caused the color change I'd venture to say the FO caused the color change? unless you used red palm oil.?  Well done


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## CatahoulaBubble (Feb 21, 2021)

I've been making soap for around 20 years now and I still stick blend too much sometimes. I'm a serial stick blender. I'm trying to get better at it but too many times I'm just like "one more pulse" and BOOM it's pudding.


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## FragranceGuy (Feb 21, 2021)

I can’t express how happy I am that I didn’t completely fail! I spent at least 2 months studying soaponification and it still wasn’t enough. BUT, I’m learning, forever a student..



CatahoulaBubble said:


> I've been making soap for around 20 years now and I still stick blend too much sometimes. I'm a serial stick blender. I'm trying to get better at it but too many times I'm just like "one more pulse" and BOOM it's pudding.


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## FragranceGuy (Feb 21, 2021)

Thank you!!


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## VikingChick (Feb 21, 2021)

There’s nothing like that thrill of making your first batch of soap. It’s like, oh my gosh, it actually worked!! Good job.


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## KimW (Feb 21, 2021)

Whoop, Whoop!  Nicely done.


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## Zing (Feb 21, 2021)

Your enthusiasm is coming through the interwebs!  Congrats!  And let's re-frame "mistakes" into "what did I learn?"  I've been soaping for awhile and am still actively learning about colorants, scents, trace, etc.  Just this week I used a "yellow" which immediately turned "orange" -- like REALLY orange and did a freak out and kept adding colorants to make it yellow.  Later I found out that after gelling the yellow truly is a yellow.  Live and learn.  
I've been soaping 3 years plus and just in recent months have felt more confident about blending to emulsion and thin trace.  My blender is mostly a fancy spoon with occasional bursts.  
There is a distinction between essential oils and fragrance oils.  Which one did you use?
So great to have you here!  Keep us posted!  There's no turning back now....


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## FragranceGuy (Feb 21, 2021)

I’m so grateful I discovered this forum! You all have been so welcoming and I know I’ll have lots of questions throughout my journey and I’ll get lots of different answers. What could be better in a hobby than having hundreds of mentors willing to help!! I think forums might be the best medium for learning. I get suspicious when everyone agrees on a process and forums are a great example that there is no “one” way to do something, we all have opinions and we’re all wrong some of the time. I’m happy to have found a community that is wise, welcoming and encouraging. You guys help me for the sake of helping a stranger and maybe someday I’ll be able to help someone else with what I learn here. THIS is a good place for soap makers!

Zing,
I wasn’t clear about my oils and I think I used FO inappropriately in my above post. I used essential oils. 2 parts sandalwood to 1 part lavender by weight at 3% total oil weight. The oils are about two years old purchased from bulk apothecary. Zing, I’ve definitely got the bug! My interest began when I got an electric razor and I thought “Is this razor over exfoliating my face? Do I need to take precautions to protect my skin?” Next thing I knew I have a skin care routine, I’m collecting soaps and straight up nerding out  Then one day I decided to look up soap making. In my early twenties I spent years making fireworks. Why? Because I could and I love fireworks   Chemistry and math were the only classes that I consistently made straight A’s and I KNEW soap making was going to grab my attention. Add to that my obsession with fragrances and a need to understand what’s happening around me. I’ve definitely found a life long hobby and I can’t wait to succeed and fail and succeed and fail. The rhythm of life  How did your batch of yellow turn out? Did your efforts to correct your color work??


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## Zing (Feb 21, 2021)

Okay, hands down one of the best posts ever --_ "In my early twenties I spent years making fireworks. Why? Because I could and I love fireworks"_ -- WTH?!  One of my undergrad majors was chemistry and it just all made sense and things fell into place.  A looong time ago, good friends gave me handmade soap and it was on my bucket list for a long time.  Once I started, I never looked back because of the miraculous effect on my skin.  I was resigned that I was just a rashy person until I started using my own products.  I too nerd out on this stuff -- it engages both sides of my brain.

The yellow is a story.  After I posted that my yellow was orange, another poster here said to just wait.  And lo and behold it did morph back to yellow.  Course I had already added a lot of other stuff to it and should have left well enough alone.  But that's why I like this forum -- someone always chimes in with experience and advice.  Here's a photo of the yellow.  You have to look close but there is actually 2 different yellows.  SMF February 2021 Challenge Entry Thread - Circling Taiwan Swirl

Good to have ya here, take care,


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## FragranceGuy (Feb 21, 2021)

Hey, fireworks are art too! And strontium makes a beautiful color, and some colors only exist in our imagination, at least I couldn’t make them, but I’m certain that any color that can be imagined DOES exist!  if the minds eye can see it, it’s out there.. 

I’m so glad that you’ve helped your skin issues with your soap! The images you shared are freakin’ GORGEOUS! Beautiful!!!


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## FragranceGuy (Feb 21, 2021)

Rosemary, bergamot and cedarwood


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## hlee (Feb 21, 2021)

FragranceGuy said:


> Hey, fireworks are art too! And strontium makes a beautiful color, and some colors only exist in our imagination, at least I couldn’t make them, but I’m certain that any color that can be imagined DOES exist!  if the minds eye can see it, it’s out there..
> 
> I’m so glad that you’ve helped your skin issues with your soap! The images you shared are freakin’ GORGEOUS! Beautiful!!!


If only you could add fragrance to fireworks!


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## dibbles (Feb 21, 2021)

My husband LOVES fireworks  A couple of years ago we took a little road trip to see the public fireworks display at the PGI convention in Iowa. I think the best we ever saw, though, was on July 4, 2000 in Washington DC. It’s an incredible form of artistry, but so fleeting.


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## Babyshoes (Feb 22, 2021)

hlee said:


> If only you could add fragrance to fireworks!



Now that would be a profitable invention!


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## FragranceGuy (Feb 22, 2021)

You guys are cracking me up!!  I guess you would see the fireworks before you smelled them


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## Zany_in_CO (Feb 22, 2021)

and Congratulations on making your first batch of soap! Well done!
I like the way your mind works! The so-called "mistakes" sound familiar. Been there, done that! LOL

Since you are new here, you may find the following link helpful:
*https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/hello-very-new-here.79701/#post-832582*


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## Zany_in_CO (Feb 22, 2021)

I have been soaping since 2004. To spare you the future agony of having to sort piles of notes that look like this:




I took the liberty of formulating your recipe (using the default settings) *here*
It now looks like this (See attached):

Just looking at the INS Value of 131 tells me your soap may require longer than the normal 4-6 weeks to cure. An INS of 160 is considered so-called "Perfect Soap". You can adjust the INS up by playing around to raise it. Simply adding another 2% coconut oil or switching out the Crisco for lard may do the trick. Use your mouse to hover over each number to learn that feature and what it is for. PS: You may want to have a snack handy and plan on taking breaks every 20 minutes or so. "Some people" who shall remain nameless, can get lost for hours playing around on the site.


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## FragranceGuy (Feb 22, 2021)

Thank you Zany for taking the time work with my recipe! I didn’t know that INS influenced the rate at which soap cures. When I was making that recipe I was mostly thinking about saturated:unsaturated ratio. I started playing with lard on the calculator as you suggested and it also seems to produce a saturated:unsaturated ratio that’s very similar to what I was aiming for. What other numbers are most important to you when developing a recipe?


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## Zany_in_CO (Feb 22, 2021)

FragranceGuy said:


> Thank you Zany for taking the time work with my recipe! ... What other numbers are most important to you when developing a recipe?


You're welcome!
Nobody has ever asked me that before but here goes...
My DIL recently asked me if I could dupe her father’s favorite soap because they stopped making it. Ingredients: Coconut, Palm and Olive — the “Basic Trinity of Oils”, so-callled because they form the basis for a well balanced soap.

Coconut Oil for lather & hardness - INS 258
Palm for bulk and emollience  - INS 145
Olive for conditioning - INS 105
TOTAL INS Values = 508. Divided by 3 = 169

To get INS 160, I started with an equal amount of each and then adjusted the % of each oil and arrived at




Which looked like this:




All good numbers. NOTE: Iodine indicates hardness. I like it around 50
And gave me these values:




They are all within the recommended Range. At this point I can play around with the values to add more Olive for more Conditioning; more Coconut for more Hardness and Lather; and adjust the palm to accommodate the adjustments. But I know from experience that the values suit me just fine where they are.

I hope that answers your question. One other thing I'd like to say. I'm just a soaper and I don't have a head for science. Many of our members do and they tend to use the fatty acid values to design their soaps which I do not. If you hang around here often enough you will learn more by paying attention when the discussion includes the science side of soapmaking and by reading *@DeeAnna's* Soapy Stuff linked above. 

ETA: *Basic Trinity of Oils ~ Starter Formula*


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## FragranceGuy (Feb 23, 2021)

That  is SO helpful! I’ve be playing around with different oils on the calc and I can already see how hours can disappear into thin air  I was wondering why I couldn’t reel in my iodine levels and INS when I was working that first recipe. I’m thinking now, after toying with the calc, that it might be the soybean oil in the crisco. I’m also noticing that the closer I get to an INS of 160 and an iodine level of  50, the less conditioning value I have. Still above 44, but I’m not experienced enough to know what works for me. If I increase the superfat from 5 to 8% will that help with the conditioning “feel” of the soap? Superfatting doesn’t seem to change the actual conditioning values in the calc, I’m guessing that’s because the calc is measuring saponification process rather than the subjective feel of a bar. Thanks again for all the guidance


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## TheGecko (Feb 23, 2021)

Zing said:


> The yellow is a story.  After I posted that my yellow was orange, another poster here said to just wait.  And lo and behold it did morph back to yellow.  Course I had already added a lot of other stuff to it and should have left well enough alone.  But that's why I like this forum -- someone always chimes in with experience and advice.



I love lemon soap. So in the early days I splurged on some Lemon EO and RE’s Lemon Sherbet Mica. It turned orange. I panicked. I add more mica...it get even more orange. I poured it, added a little swirl and put it to bed. I was really sad, didn’t know what I did wrong, but it wasn’t like I was selling it. Okay...I cried a little.

Later that evening when hubby got home, I took him into the garage to show him why I was so sad.  My tears of sorrow turned to tears of joy and disbelief...it was yellow!!!


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## Zany_in_CO (Feb 24, 2021)

*@FragranceGuy *You need to add Olive Oil (or something similar) to up the conditioning and lower the cleansing. Working with just 2 legs of the Basic Trinity of Oils won't get you to where you want to be, i.e., cleansing AND conditioning. Play with that combo to see what I mean.


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## FragranceGuy (Feb 25, 2021)

@Zany_in_CO Thanks! I was using lard in place of palm and then experimenting with replacing olive oil with either rice bran oil or soybean oil. I’m trying to use inexpensive oils while I’m learning  Olive oil seems to better maintain conditioning while balancing INS and iodine (go figure ) So I think I might just cough up the extra cash.


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## Zany_in_CO (Feb 25, 2021)

@FragranceGuy You're welcome!  

Haha. Lard is a favorite of mine! Luv, luv, luv my lard soaps! As a matter of fact, there are quite a few of us "Lardinators" on SMF! If you're in the mood for a giggle, use the magnifying glass in the upper right corner of the top menu on this page to Search for them.

Sadly, neither RBO nor Soy Oil have the overall beneficial qualities of Olive Oil. It has the unique ability to bring other oils into saponification. *Costco Pure Olive Oil* is the best price at $25 for 2 Liters. Unlike RBO and Soy Oil, it has a long shelf life (1 year) and doesn't tend to attract DOS (Dreaded Orange Spots) like the others do. Just be sure *not* to buy EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil). Not only is it more expensive, but more likely to be adulterated. Google "fake olive oil" to learn more.

OO in the USA is graded for taste, not soapmaking, and EVOO has the least acidity which makes it better for eating. Pomace OO has the most acidity, therefore it's cheaper and better for soaping, but its hard to find. I buy Pomace OO at *Soapers Choice* in the Chicago area. Look for "Pure Olive Oil" (a mix of refined and virgin) on your grocer's shelves.


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## AliOop (Feb 26, 2021)

Restaurant supply stores can be another good source for pomace olive oil, lard, and palm. My local Smart Foods (formerly Cash and Carry) has all of those for good prices. Their EVOO and “regular” OO are both more expensive than Costco’s OO, but if you aren’t soaping yet in big quantities, buying the Costco liter bottles still makes the most sense so that it doesn’t go rancid before you use it up. I personally don’t use OO enough to make it worth buying in the larger quantities.

With shipping costs, no one beats Big Lots for coconut oil that I can pick up locally at ~11 cents/oz.


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## FragranceGuy (Feb 26, 2021)

@Zany_in_CO @AliOop 
Excellent information!! Thanks!!!


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## Nibiru2020 (Feb 27, 2021)

I find it quite interesting and curious in the fact that hardly anyone on this forum site ever mentions the EXCELLENT soap calculator at the top of this browser webpage on the right-hand tab.
I find it the easiest to use, IMHO for me at least and the bottom right bar graph is a very handy representation of how the recipes will turn out.

Here is a SnagIt shot of my latest recipe I did this morning... and it has come out great!  Best CP soap I've done in years.  I also included the PDF of the recipe... but it's not graphical as the SnagIt capture is.


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## Zany_in_CO (Feb 27, 2021)

Nibiru2020 said:


> I find it quite interesting and curious in the fact that hardly anyone on this forum site ever mentions the EXCELLENT soap calculator at the top of this browser webpage on the right-hand tab.


_Au contraire ma chère!_ LOL The majority of members use the Soapmaking Friend calculator. It was recently developed right here on SMF and many members contributed input and test drives for tweaking. Although I agree that it's an excellent soap calculator,  I'm an old lady who has been soaping since 2004. I use the other one, *SoapCalc*, because I'm used to it, it shows up in tutorials that pre-date Soapmaking Friend and it is easiest for me. You will also note that every time soap calculator is mentioned, it is automatically linked to that calculator. 

BTW, although some members may disagree, I think that's a really nice recipe you've got there. Well done! 

*ETA*: My apologies to the *OP* (Original Poster) for the *Hijack* (a discussion totally unrelated to the Title supject - aka _"don't be rude."_). Newbies, please take note. If it's an interesting topic it's best to start a separate thread so others may weigh in.


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## FragranceGuy (Feb 27, 2021)

I’ve been using soapee bc it’s very phone friendly and I like the format. I imagine not all soap calculators are created equally. Does anyone have any gripes or reasons why I shouldn’t use soapee?

@Nibiru2020 Is your name a reference to the ancient cuneiform texts from Sumer or are you a Star Trek fan?


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## Nibiru2020 (Feb 27, 2021)

Zany_in_CO said:


> _Au contraire ma chère!_ LOL The majority of members use the Soapmaking Friend calculator. It was recently developed right here on SMF and many members contributed input and test drives for tweaking. Although I agree that it's an excellent soap calculator,  I'm an old lady who has been soaping since 2004. I use the other one, *SoapCalc*, because I'm used to it, it shows up in tutorials that pre-date Soapmaking Friend and it is easiest for me. You will also note that every time soap calculator is mentioned, it is automatically linked to that calculator.
> 
> BTW, although some members may disagree, I think that's a really nice recipe you've got there. Well done!


_Je me tiens corrigé mon ami!_  Thanks for the compliment on my recipe.  
If desired, I could post some photos during saponification and after being cut into bars.
BTW, the pH this morning tested at a straight up 9.0 with litmus paper test.


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## SPowers (Feb 27, 2021)

I started out using soapcalc but didn't like that I couldn't really save the recipe - at least the way I wanted to.  SMF is the BEST calculator in my humble opinion on more than 1 level.... I love it!


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## Nibiru2020 (Feb 27, 2021)

FragranceGuy said:


> I’ve been using soapee bc it’s very phone friendly and I like the format. I imagine not all soap calculators are created equally. Does anyone have any gripes or reasons why I shouldn’t use soapee?
> 
> @Nibiru2020 Is your name a reference to the ancient cuneiform texts from Sumer or are you a Star Trek fan?


 I started reading Zecharia Sitchin's books back in the early 90's.  Quite an eye-opener and certainly makes sense to me.  Yes I'm also a big Star Trek fan but I have never heard of the reference to Nibiru in that series until the INTO DARKNESS movie. 

Some "wise men" state that Nibiru is all part of a conspiracy theory.  
Well... whatever, of course these are the sheeple that believe Oswald was a lone gunman too.


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## FragranceGuy (Feb 27, 2021)

@Nibiru2020  I’ve read the earth chronicles and a few other of Sitchin’s supplementary books and I find them quite interesting. I think people are too quick to laugh the subject off of the table. The “Sitchin is wrong” website does a poor job of providing evidence against his research and that seems to be the holy grail of anti Sitchin resources, soo... If you can’t prove he’s wrong then why say he’s wrong?  I think it’s a reflexive “he HAS to be wrong, so he is wrong”  I imagine if we want to talk further about this subject we should move it over to the general discussion thread


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## Zany_in_CO (Feb 27, 2021)

Nibiru2020 said:


> If desired, I could post some photos during saponification and after being cut into bars. BTW, the pH this morning tested at a straight up 9.0 with litmus paper test.


Please start a new thread in either the *RECIPE FEEDBACK* forum or, since you have pics, in the *PHOTO GALLERY*. Your choice, although I bet you get more comments in the feedback forum. Members love to weigh in -- if you don't get any positive strokes, don't take it personally.


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## FragranceGuy (Feb 27, 2021)

SPowers said:


> I started out using soapcalc but didn't like that I couldn't really save the recipe - at least the way I wanted to.  SMF is the BEST calculator in my humble opinion on more than 1 level.... I love it!



I’m curious as to why Soapmaking Friend doesn’t have a place to input a water discount as a percentage? Say I want to tweak a recipe, I can do the math myself, but it’s nice to just type in “10%” into a water discount value. I’m sure there’s a reason this wasn’t included, but it’ll take some getting used to for me.


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## AliOop (Feb 27, 2021)

Most of us don't use the term "water discount" because there is no established meaning to it, since there is no established water value for soap. Folks who use "water discounts" are often using the "water as percentage of oils" setting, which was designed for HP soap and can produce widely varying results as you scale your recipe up or down. In certain situations, it can also produce lye-heavy soap.

For those reasons, most of us use lye percentage, or water:lye ratio. Those are two different ways of saying basically the same thing. Whichever one you chose will give you results that can be duplicated no matter what the batch size.


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## FragranceGuy (Feb 27, 2021)

AliOop said:


> Most of us don't use the term "water discount" because there is no established meaning to it, since there is no established water value for soap. Folks who use "water discounts" are often using the "water as percentage of oils" setting, which was designed for HP soap and can produce widely varying results as you scale your recipe up or down. In certain situations, it can also produce lye-heavy soap.
> 
> For those reasons, most of us use lye percentage, or water:lye ratio. Those are two different ways of saying basically the same thing. Whichever one you chose will give you results that can be duplicated no matter what the batch size.




I see, thank you. I’m still confused about one thing, when I change the liquid:lye ratio the lye percentage doesn’t change and vice versa. How can I have a 2:1 and a 40% lye concentration at the same time? I’m sorry if there’s something obvious I’m missing. Are there any good starting numbers for a noob developing recipes? Should I just use the default 2:1, 33%, 38%? Thanks


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## AliOop (Feb 27, 2021)

Sorry, you are asking the wrong person about math.  Someone more reliable than I will have to help you with that.

But I can say that the 33% is a good place to start, and that the choices of lye settings work sometimes work independently from one another in the SMF soap calculator, and sometimes do not. It's a little quirky and probably a bug that needs to be fixed. I do know that if I actually select lye concentation, and then change the numbers in the water:lye box (without actually selecting it), the lye concentration will adjust. But it doesn't work the other way. Definitely weird.


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## Nibiru2020 (Feb 27, 2021)

*Zany_in_CO*
I went ahead and photos and the recipe in the RECIPE FEEDBACK section of the forum. White Bar Soap


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## earlene (Mar 7, 2021)

It has been a long time since I made soap using Crisco, but it was with Crisco as an ingredient where it was the only time I ended up with unintentional pink soap.  At the time, I assumed it was because the container was made with a metal (the rim or the whole can, I don't recall specifically.)  However, that was the last container of shortening I recall using that had metal; they've always been in a plastic containers since then.  So I don't know if the metal container had anything to do with it or not.

There was another person who had suggested it could have been the BHT or other ingredient added as a preservative, and that they had also had unintentional pink soap with shortening and for some reason thought it was the BHT.

However, it only happened the one time, and I was never able to duplicate the event without added color.


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## FragranceGuy (Mar 7, 2021)

earlene said:


> It has been a long time since I made soap using Crisco, but it was with Crisco as an ingredient where it was the only time I ended up with unintentional pink soap.  At the time, I assumed it was because the container was made with a metal (the rim or the whole can, I don't recall specifically.)  However, that was the last container of shortening I recall using that had metal; they've always been in a plastic containers since then.  So I don't know if the metal container had anything to do with it or not.
> 
> There was another person who had suggested it could have been the BHT or other ingredient added as a preservative, and that they had also had unintentional pink soap with shortening and for some reason thought it was the BHT.
> 
> However, it only happened the one time, and I was never able to duplicate the event without added color.




Interesting  I believe the crisco may be lined with a metallic foil, probably aluminum. That makes me wonder, if aluminum is interacting with the crisco enough to react with the lye, then I probably shouldn’t be eating crisco  Then again I wipe aluminum under my armpits every day via deodorant, so I can’t really say much


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## dibbles (Mar 7, 2021)

FragranceGuy said:


> Then again I wipe aluminum under my armpits every day via deodorant, so I can’t really say much


Well, here's another rabbit hole for you to fall into   de-funk de pits


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## FragranceGuy (Mar 7, 2021)

@dibbles We don’t even know each other, but SOMEHOW you’ve already gathered that I love spending time in rabbit holes!  It’s true, you’ve got me pegged.


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## dibbles (Mar 7, 2021)

FragranceGuy said:


> @dibbles We don’t even know each other, but SOMEHOW you’ve already gathered that I love spending time in rabbit holes!  It’s true, you’ve got me pegged.


It takes one to know one


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## FragranceGuy (Mar 7, 2021)

dibbles said:


> It takes one to know one



I have no idea why I desire to understand things that can’t be understood, but I’ll be damned if I don’t try!  It’s a compulsive mystery to me. The only thing I can say is that my deep desire to understand is what makes me good at what I’m good at, and annoying in all the ways that I annoy my loved ones. I hope to someday be good at making soap  Good soap isn’t annoying, is it??


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## Zany_in_CO (Mar 8, 2021)

FragranceGuy said:


> Good soap isn’t annoying, is it??


Well, not annoying exactly, but yesterday I noticed it was time to replace my bath bar... I love all my "children". All 5 are my favorites.  It's difficult to choose who gets to go next. Eeny, meeny, miny, moe...


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## FragranceGuy (Mar 17, 2021)

My first batch of (pink) soap has been curing for almost 4 weeks. In that time I’ve learned SO MUCH from you all on this forum and have a completely different  perspective on developing recipes as I did when I created this binary crisco/CO recipe. The non-cured soap has performed excellent in the shower aside from longevity. What I believed to be glycerin rivers did in fact turn out to be true. As the soap has cured its taken a rustic look. The glycerin lost moisturizer at a faster rate and has taken on a texture, which is fine by me. However, today I noticed two of the bars had a couple oily spots on them. Almost like someone took a dropper and deposited a mixture of iron oxide and oil on the bars. Umm, it only took me half a second to realize I may be developing DOS  I’m not too surprised, I’m a newb, it’s my first batch, I used 72% crisco. I would have taken a picture, but my first thought was to cut off the offending spots as quickly as possible (I eat too much cheese). Ultimately, I won’t be upset if my first batch doesn’t turn out the way I’d like. I’ll chalk it up to learning and adjust. In the meantime, I’m curious what you all think is the main culprit...

1. I didn’t create a very balanced recipe.
2. I’m curing on parchment paper in the corner of a large, central room.
3. We keep our house at 65 degrees F in cold weather.
4. I haven’t rotated the bars for 2 weeks.
5. The potential spots developed on top of the bars and only on two bars that were cut from the bottom of the mold.
6. I used 2 year old lavender and sandalwood EOs.

Any thoughts? Thanks!!


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## FragranceGuy (Mar 17, 2021)

Here’s where they’re curing. Despite the depth perspective, they are spaced about 1in apart, 3/4in minimum..


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## AliOop (Mar 18, 2021)

I like the pink! Go ahead and cut off the DOS spots if you can. I have only gotten it a few times many years ago, and I cut off the spots, and... I'm still here! So I don't think it will harm you.  

Regarding the cause of the DOS, you have several candidates:

1. Yup, old EOs, esp lavender which can do DOSsy fast even when it's not old.

2. Yup, the metal-lined Crisco can, but maybe also some of the short-shelf-life oils in the particular blend of Crisco that you used (can't remember which one, and sorry, not going back through the thread to find out).

3. The curing spot: does it get a lot of daylight, even if it is indirect? That can do it, as well. Dark is best, as long as there is air flow.

4. The lack of rotation, room temp, and parchment paper are not likely to be related to the DOS. 

5. Did the bars touch any non-stainless mold, cutting implement, surface (like a cookie sheet) even for a short time? 

6. How about your lye liquid: was it made from tap water rather than distilled?


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## FragranceGuy (Mar 18, 2021)

AliOop said:


> I like the pink! Go ahead and cut off the DOS spots if you can. I have only gotten it a few times many years ago, and I cut off the spots, and... I'm still here! So I don't think it will harm you.
> 
> Regarding the cause of the DOS, you have several candidates:
> 
> ...



Thanks @AliOop  If it does develop DOS it’ll become my personal soap for the next good while 

1. My EO blend was about 1% lavender PPO and 2% sandalwood. For what it’s worth, this blend accelerated my trace VERY quickly.

2. I used crisco all vegetable shortening at nearly 75%. It’s makeup is soybean oil and palm oil respectively, plus additives. The only other oil I used was CO. Both were bought less than a week earlier, within date and opened minutes before soaping. The interior of the crisco container does appear to to be lined with a foil, probably aluminum.

3. The curing spot receives only refracted light from a window, blinds closed about 15 ft away on the same wall. So no direct light for sure.

4. Good to know!!

5. The only materials the soap has come into direct contact with to my knowledge, besides air, was a well cleaned almond milk carton mold, a plastic cutting board, a stainless steel kitchen knife, my hands and parchment paper.

6. I used distilled water.

Thank you for taking the time to help me learn!!!


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