Adding 1 oz of oil to HP

[ginaj]

What is the benefit of adding 1 oz of oil after the soap has cooked, right before you place in the mold? I read somewhere that you don't have to calculate this oil into the recipe and to use this 1 oz to blend the fragrance and color then to stir that into the soap. Will this additional oil benefit by adding more conditioning to the soap? Will it make the end result oily?

 

[Maria]

It would depend on how big the batch was. An ounce would be about right for a 5 pound batch. I use a mixture of jojoba and shea butter in most recipes. With the other additives like fragrance, oatmeal, milk, honey, pumice, tea or coloring you need to use a little bit of something that will emulsify the oils into a mixture like castor oil or a squirt of glycerine. Make sure your slurry is well mixed before dumping into the cooked soap batter.
No the soap is not oily at all. Having the slurry ready to go makes HP much easier. Keep in mind the more liquid you add either has to be off set by using less water for the lye or you need to add something like oat flour or oatmeal to thicken it some. I use parsley powder to thicken my green tea soap.

 

[gekko62]

Im curious about this. Do most HPers calc their sf upfront,or calc at 0% then add the chosen sf oil/butter after cook? Ive only done 1 hp batch,but thinking that extra oil at the end might make for a smoother pour?? :?

 

[Hazel]

Im curious about this. Do most HPers calc their sf upfront,or calc at 0% then add the chosen sf oil/butter after cook? Ive only done 1 hp batch,but thinking that extra oil at the end might make for a smoother pour?? :?

I'd like to know, too.

 

[Overthemoon]

I don't leave my sf for the end. I calculate it and put it in with the rest of my oils at the beginning for the process. If I need to add a little extra oil at the end to stir in a powder, I don't bother weighing it, I just use what I need, which is never even an ounce.

 

[Hazel]

Okay, I'm confused. If you add it in the beginning, do you calculate at a higher sf percentage?

I'm trying to learn and I get confused when people discuss superfatting at certain percentages. Since I just started with CP, I use the default percentages. I'm interested in trying HP but I want to understand what I'm doing before I try it.

I've been reading a couple of books on soap making and so far, neither book has a clear explanation of what exactly to do.

Or maybe it's just me. Maybe I just don't understand.

 

[Overthemoon]

When you are using a soapcalc, it has a default sf. Adding that extra percentage of oils, at the beginning, or end makes no difference. Hp is no exception.

Although admittedly I do always do higher sf's. I like 8-10% for normal recipes and 20% for pure coconut.

If you add extra oil at the end, it mixes right in, the soap sucks it right in.

 

[Hazel]

Thanks for the answer.

I have been using soapcalc and the default is 5%. So, if I did a sf at 10%, this would make the soap more conditioning?

 

[Overthemoon]

I find that it takes out some of the harshness of the soap, so conditioning is probably a good word for it. I use higher sf's to prevent the high levels of cleansing I like from being too harsh.

 

[Maria]

In CP, it doesn't matter whether the oils are added all at once or at trace because the soap finishes saponification while curing. It does make a difference with HP if you are adding additional oil after the soap has finished saponifying. It changes the superfat % unless you have already factored the amount in. The oz of extra oil changes my superfat from an 8 to a nine for a 5lb batch.
If someone is making small batches for personal use, the extra oil would be much smaller amounts, maybe a teaspoon or even less. There is a noticeable benefit if the amount added after saponification is complete is a quality butter or oil.

 

[Hazel]

Sorry if I still sound confused.

So, if I factor in that I'm going to add a teaspoon of mango butter during trace, I should include this amount in soapcalc so it will give me the correct amount of lye to complete saponification?

Or should I just put in the amounts of oils, get a lye amount and add the mango butter as extra?

Does this make sense?

 

[Maria]

I would not count the teaspoon of butter. Whether or not it is enough will depend on how big your batch is and what superfat you use. I doubt it will ruin the batch and by experimenting you can come up with the exact amount you like best.

 

[Overthemoon]

It doesn't make a difference if you add it at the beginning or end. I've done both, there is zero difference between the soaps. I can't explain the chemistry, this is just my personal experience. I think that some saponification is still on going as the soap cools and as a result the oil added at the end would still be effected by the process.

 

[Hazel]

Thank you both for your patience. I appreciate it. Thanks for these explanations because they made me understand what superfatting is and how it works. Or at least, how it's supposed to work. Now I feel comfortable about adding a little extra oil or butter.