Any advice?
- Thread starter sliginion
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Good! That is good news!
Get a decent digital scale, kitchen, not postal scale. You don't have to spend a lot, but be sure it weighs in 0.1 oz and grams at the very least. Postal scales take a "once and done" sort of weight, where kitchen scales weigh as you add more product to them.
Get a decent digital scale, kitchen, not postal scale. You don't have to spend a lot, but be sure it weighs in 0.1 oz and grams at the very least. Postal scales take a "once and done" sort of weight, where kitchen scales weigh as you add more product to them.
Seriously? I'm speechless. Are you even reading any of the advice you are given? IrishLass posted a lengthy response full of excellent advise and this is what your next response is? I've read this thread. No one mentioned a 4:1 ratio for the lye. Everyone has stated you should plug your oils/fats into a calculator and let the calculator determine the amounts of dry lye and liquid you need to use. You've also been advised not to use milk until you've got a few successful batches under your belt. The lye mixture is not your biggest problem. :sad:
That's exactly the caustic you need to make bar soap, so that's great!
Sometimes it's difficult to understand where someone is coming from when they post online. I'm glad you've explained yourself and stuck with us!
A good scale doesn't have to be expensive ($20 ones from Walmart are plenty good for soap!)
You might want to start with a simple lard and coconut soap 80/20 with 5% superfat.
You can start using the "full water" amount that is set at the default in the soap calculator or you can choose to use lye concentration. Many of us use a 2:1 liquid (water for your first batch is a good idea): caustic. This would be done in weight measurements. Even the water is weighed when making soap!
Sometimes it's difficult to understand where someone is coming from when they post online. I'm glad you've explained yourself and stuck with us!
A good scale doesn't have to be expensive ($20 ones from Walmart are plenty good for soap!)
You might want to start with a simple lard and coconut soap 80/20 with 5% superfat.
You can start using the "full water" amount that is set at the default in the soap calculator or you can choose to use lye concentration. Many of us use a 2:1 liquid (water for your first batch is a good idea): caustic. This would be done in weight measurements. Even the water is weighed when making soap!
And I wont use wood ash lye water anymore. Ill learn the right way
Ok im not good with words or explaining myself
The goats milk batch was made before I joined this forum im jus now learning the mistakes I made on that batch. And im not making another batch until I get all my ducks in a row. Im not ignoring good advice
Ok im not good with words or explaining myself
The goats milk batch was made before I joined this forum im jus now learning the mistakes I made on that batch. And im not making another batch until I get all my ducks in a row. Im not ignoring good advice
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Your words not at issue. It is that you keep ignoring questions, and arguing with what we tell you.
Have you tried to run a recipe or two that have been shared with you in a soap calculator? You can play with it to get a feel for how it works. It gives you all the info you need to make a successful batch or two without wasting product or money.
Also, if you read the last 10 or so pages of the beginners forum you will glean a lot of information as well
You are asking for help so that will unfortunately require you to answer questions so that we can help.
Also, if you read the last 10 or so pages of the beginners forum you will glean a lot of information as well
You are asking for help so that will unfortunately require you to answer questions so that we can help.
What don't you understand. We can likely help you out there
Kamahido
Paladin of Soap
Perhaps this would be of help to your. There is a great beginner's tutorial from Soap Queen. It is several parts long but it will give you a good start on soap making...
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yR6ttCSrLJI[/ame]
If something doesn't make sense on the soap calculator, leave the default value as is.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yR6ttCSrLJI[/ame]
If something doesn't make sense on the soap calculator, leave the default value as is.
Okay, let's start right here, then....
Just to make sure we are on the same page in regards to your question about the 4:1 ratio, do you mean you want to make a lye solution made up of 4 parts water to one part lye for your batch made with 16 oz. lard?
IrishLass
I think he may be overthinking the lye/water ratio.
I've only been making soap for a couple months. I have to admit that the lye calculators are a bit intimidating at first. Also, there are some that are more complicated than others, but they each have their strengths and weaknesses. You just have to spend a fair amount of time with several of them to see what they all offer and before long they make sense.
For beginners, I think the one on Brambleberry.com is a good one because it walks you through step by step, and it eliminates the options for various water/lye concentrations, ratios, etc. You just put in the oils you want to use and it spits out how much water and lye to use.
I've only been making soap for a couple months. I have to admit that the lye calculators are a bit intimidating at first. Also, there are some that are more complicated than others, but they each have their strengths and weaknesses. You just have to spend a fair amount of time with several of them to see what they all offer and before long they make sense.
For beginners, I think the one on Brambleberry.com is a good one because it walks you through step by step, and it eliminates the options for various water/lye concentrations, ratios, etc. You just put in the oils you want to use and it spits out how much water and lye to use.
Dorymae
Well-Known Member
I don't understand what ratio you want to use. 4 parts what to 1 part what? To figure out the lye and water amounts you only need to know what your oils are.
You should never need 4 parts water to 1 part lye. Ever. That is why the calculator does not give you that option. Is there some specific reason you feel you must have that ratio?
I think you really need to forget about a 4:1 ratio. That isn't helping you. There is also some confusion as to the term 'lye crystals'. You need sodium hydroxide (the lye you purchased online), water and oils. That's it. So for example (I'm using soapcalc.net)
Section 1: type of lye. NaOH is selected by default - don't change it. Section 2: weight of oils. Pounds is selected by default - change it to ounces. You want to use 16 ounces of lard, so you won't need to change anything. If you were to be making a bigger batch, you would then change the 16 to the correct weight of the oils you are using. Section 3: water. I think to start with, leave the setting as is. Section 4: superfat. 5% is selected by default. Don't change it or the fragrance amount. Section 5: soap qualities, fats, oils. You want to make a 100% lard soap, so scroll down the oils list until you see lard (manteca) and double click that. Lard will appear in Section 6: recipe oil list (make sure it is the lard that is there - the first time I add an oil to the list, it jumps to a different oil for some reason). You can delete anything from the oils list with the red - (minus) symbol on the left side of this section. % will be selected by default, so enter 100. Then go to Section 7 and click on 'calculate recipe'. After that, click on 'view or print recipe'. A new window will open which will show you an overview of your recipe, and tell you how much water and lye you need. In this instance, you will need 6.08 ounces of water (plain, nothing added - preferably distilled water), and 2.15 ounces of lye.
Always add your lye to your water.
ETA: There is also at the very top of soapcalc a getting started section. I found it to be very helpful when I started.
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I'm also confused about wanting to use a 4:1 water to lye ratio. In order to properly dissolve lye (NaOH), you need at a minimum equal parts liquid and lye (50% lye concentration when using a soap calculator). The liquid can be water, goat milk, aloe vera juice, tea, coffee, beer, etc. Some of those liquids contain natural sugars which will cause the lye solution to discolor or possibly have a funky smell. That's why we suggest for beginners to use plain old water for the lye solution. I've never used that much water in a batch before and imagine it would take a LONG time to be able to unmold and cut.
The key to making a successful batch of soap is using the proper amount of lye needed to saponify the oil mixture. As others have mentioned, each oil/butter has a different SAP value which is why a soap calculator is so important. You want to use enough lye to turn the oils into soap plus add some extra oil that doesn't react with the lye. This is what we call 'superfatting' and I think most folks use the standard 5% superfat. Please note that I attempted to define a successful batch and not a 'good' batch because 'good' is so subjective . . . everyone's skin is different.
The key to making a successful batch of soap is using the proper amount of lye needed to saponify the oil mixture. As others have mentioned, each oil/butter has a different SAP value which is why a soap calculator is so important. You want to use enough lye to turn the oils into soap plus add some extra oil that doesn't react with the lye. This is what we call 'superfatting' and I think most folks use the standard 5% superfat. Please note that I attempted to define a successful batch and not a 'good' batch because 'good' is so subjective . . . everyone's skin is different.
4 parts water 1 part lye or 3:1 or 2:1 or 1:1 the calculator does give me that opinion (soapcalc) even using 99% sodium hydroxide. All im needing to know this far is when it tells me I need 2.15 oz lye and 6.08 oz destilled water that it means pour that amount of lye to that amount of water? It just seems like too much lye to me thats all. Just being cautious
Yes! That is exactly right for the amount of lard you are using. A different oil or combination of oils will need a different amount of lye. The water amount can change, but the lye amount will be the same. Add your lye to the water, let it cool to the temp you want to soap, and add it to the melted lard.
