theladyfarmer
Member
I accidentally measured out 2 extra grams of lye. What do I do?
Accidentally added 2 extra grams of lye
- Thread starter theladyfarmer
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Grab a spoon and remove a smidge at a time until I you get the correct measurement on the scale. Or are you figuring this out after you've already added the water or made the soap?
What is the superfat in your recipe, and how big is your batch? If your batch is 500 grams or more, your superfat is at least 4%, and you've already mixed your batch, 2 extra grams of lye won't hurt anything. That would still leave between 1% and 2% superfat and your soap will be fine.
Edited for clarity.
Edited for clarity.
Last edited:
I agree. depending on your recipe, 2 gr may be not that much and probably won't affect the end result that badly. If you are in doubt, you can calculate if it's within the safety margin.
Here's an example: if your SF is 5%, that means you have 5% lye discount, which means the lye amount in your recipe is 95% of what's needed to saponify all oils. Divide the lye grams by 95 and multiply by 5 - that will give you the lye discount presented as grams. If it's more than the 2 grams you added extra, no need to worry.
Even if it's the same or less, this may not be as much of a problem as long as the lye was properly dissolved. People say that even lye heavy soap eventually gets mild after a proper cure. Plus you can never be sure if the SAP values you work with are correct and corresponding to the specific batches of oils you work with (actually, they will never be correct, but for most of us will be close enough and workable, within a particular error margin). Also, don't forget that the purity of your lye will usually be lower that what you expect, so you get additional room for error. Probably your soap will still be usable either way, but you can zap test it after it's fully saponified, just to be sure - it will give you a peace of mind.
Here's an example: if your SF is 5%, that means you have 5% lye discount, which means the lye amount in your recipe is 95% of what's needed to saponify all oils. Divide the lye grams by 95 and multiply by 5 - that will give you the lye discount presented as grams. If it's more than the 2 grams you added extra, no need to worry.
Even if it's the same or less, this may not be as much of a problem as long as the lye was properly dissolved. People say that even lye heavy soap eventually gets mild after a proper cure. Plus you can never be sure if the SAP values you work with are correct and corresponding to the specific batches of oils you work with (actually, they will never be correct, but for most of us will be close enough and workable, within a particular error margin). Also, don't forget that the purity of your lye will usually be lower that what you expect, so you get additional room for error. Probably your soap will still be usable either way, but you can zap test it after it's fully saponified, just to be sure - it will give you a peace of mind.
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