Another question for all you smart people here...

[Healinya]

http://www.soapcalc.com/soapqualities.asp

Would you say that this is pretty right-on accurate and good to go by for future reference? And also, condition range is 45-80. I'm prone to learning by mistakes, but I want to make a bar with a level 80 or more conditioning - I wanna see for myself what the high end of that scale will really do to my skin - or is that a bad idea? Also, it says creamy lather and bubbly lather will cancel each other out, so I assume whichever number is higher will win in the end. But why bother with both numbers then? Either pick creamy or bubbly, right? And my last question after reading this.. If I made a soap with very low cleansing, and high cream/low bubble lather, and very high conditioning - would I have a nice soap for shaving? (hope I made sense in all that - it was kind of a run-on sentence

 

[IrishLass]

http://www.soapcalc.com/soapqualities.asp

Would you say that this is pretty right-on accurate and good to go by for future reference?

While I really like their fatty acid chart, my soaping experience has led me to take the range numbers with a grain of salt. SoapCalc itself rightly says that their range numbers are 'relative indicators', and I feel pretty safe in saying that most, if not all serious soapers out there can attest to the truth of that statement. I basically use the range numbers as a general 'sounding board' to work off of, tweaking my recipe to have more of this number or less of that number depending on what my finished soap feels like to me.

And also, condition range is 45-80. I'm prone to learning by mistakes, but I want to make a bar with a level 80 or more conditioning - I wanna see for myself what the high end of that scale will really do to my skin - or is that a bad idea?

Heavens no! Not a bad idea at all! Experiment, experiment, experiment, I always say! You never know what you will end up liking unless you try. The highest I've gone condition-wise is 83 (a 100% Castile bar), and the lowest was 45. Through experimenting, I found that my personal 'happy place', as far as conditioning goes, always ends up falling somewhere between 53 and 83 on paper. I've noticed that if it goes too much below 53, my skin starts complaining. That's just me, though. Everyone will have different 'happy places' based on their own likes and dislikes.

Also, it says creamy lather and bubbly lather will cancel each other out, so I assume whichever number is higher will win in the end. But why bother with both numbers then? Either pick creamy or bubbly, right?

This is another one of those areas that only experimentation can answer for each individual. Through trial and error, I found myself really liking my soaps that have an ever so slightly higher bubbly number than creamy number on paper. You'll just have to experiment with this to see what you personally like. Go ahead and make a soap recipe, whilst keeping a record of all the range numbers for that particular recipe, and then compare your soap in the end to the numbers. Depending on how your soap measures up to the numbers, tweak your recipe around to exhibit more (or less) of the qualities you want.

And my last question after reading this.. If I made a soap with very low cleansing, and high cream/low bubble lather, and very high conditioning - would I have a nice soap for shaving?

Most definitely, YES.

(hope I made sense in all that - it was kind of a run-on sentence

You made perfect sense.

HTH!
IrishLass

 

[beachgurl]

I agree with Irish .. very well stated when she said "relative indicator." I made a soap a few months ago, ... the program said it was going to be a little substandard on bubbles (around 22 instead of my normal 26). I made the soap, and because of the synergistic effects of oils (that's something else that's great to learn which oils complement each other and "work together" if you will).

I had a wonderfully bubbly, creamy, and moisturizing lather. Part of soapmaking, I think .. is to learn the little ins and outs of the oils/butters. For example .. I try to find a balance between palm kernel and coconut because while both are cleansing and provide a nice bubbly lather, palm kernel is slightly more moisturizing than coconut, however, a lot of palm kernel isn't appropriate if you want to do an ornate swirl ... traces too quickly.

Just keep experimenting ... take good notes .. and it will all fall into place. Don't take the numbers so literally, like Irish said, use them as a relative guide not as the absolute.

 

[Healinya]

Very informative, thanks. This is the same fun I had as a kid, finding household items to mix together and see what they did.. much more prductive now lol. Until now, I had been using recipes I found online and in books. But I think I wanna start making my own. I spent 15 minutes on soap calc playing with numbers, I think I will try this first.

(12oz total)
2 oz. sweet almond
2 oz. coconut
2 oz. avacado
2 oz. cocoa butter
1 oz. apricot
1 oz. castor
1 oz. rice bran

1.5 oz lye
4.18 oz water

Hard - 34 : Cleasing - 12 : Condition - 61 : Bubbly - 20 : Creamy - 30

It's for shaving. I'll cut it into 8 pieces and make a few volunteers try it But my small (32 oz. oil capacity) TOG mold will only be 1/3 full. Should it still gel? I know it's likely not the best formula - but I'll never know *why* I don't like something if I don't try it, right?