Can you please tell me if I understand this recipe from the Soapmaking Friend Calculator?

[slippery]

I have a 48oz +- 8 silicon mold. I have olive oil set at 100%. Did I do this right so that I use the amount of lye and water listed with the oil? I'm sorry to ask for assurance, but, well, I was hoping for it anyway. I have 31.82 oz measured, then measure the other two, then cook it (HP, not CP). I don't know if this recipe changes for HP and CP. I know how to mix it up and all, simply wanted someone to say yes, or no your crazy, this won't work. Thanks.

 

[TheGecko]

HP or CP the basics of soap making remain the same. But you don't 'measure' your oil, lye and water, you weigh them. I would also increase your Lye Concentration to 33%-35%.

Another recommendation. Since you are new to soap making, I would NOT go with a Castile Soap (100% Olive). It not only takes for-e-ver to trace, it also takes a year to cure.

 

[Marsi]

Hi slippery
If you would like to make a simple olive soap, I would suggest increasing the lye concentration (to 33% minimum for CP, to avoid shrunken sides after the cure, or 28%-30% for HP - most HP processes lose a bit of water to evaporation).

Decrease the superfat to 2% (3% at most) for both CP and HP - higher superfat in Olive soaps risks them getting dos (Dreaded Orange Spots) during the long cure.

A little added salt (dissolved in your water first, before adding the lye crystals) is often used in pure olive oil based soaps.

Otherwise, you are reading the recipe correctly - assurance given!

PS. Weighing is a form of measuring (so "measuring" not wrong, just not as clear as "weighing")

 

[earlene]

Hi, @slippery. I have addressed part of this in your other thread, so I'll just refer you over there for the clarification I need to understand what is going on.

I also addressed the weight versus volume measuring in the other thread as well.

As for the recipe itself, yes it will work to make soap. I don't know if it fits into your mold because I don't know the size of your mold.

But I made 100% Olive Oil (Castile) soap when I was new and personally, I think it's a really good starting point. As long as you don't use pomace olive oil, it won't move too fast or overheat too fast. But in HP, you do still need to keep an eye on it because once any soap starts heating up and you keep adding heat, it can boil over.

It does take a little longer to trace than recipes with coconut oil added, but as a beginner, we tend to move more slowly and carefully and may not be able to keep up with a fast moving recipe, so this is good for a beginner, IMO.

True, it takes longer to cure, but that's okay too, IMO, because it gives you more time to practice making soap with different recipes while your Castile cures.

Although I do agree with reducing water for Castile soap, when I was new I used the default settings in the soapcalc and the soap was fine other than after the bars were cut, they did become a bit warped during the cure. If you follow the advice to reduce water by changing your lye concentration or the water to lye ratio, so there is less water, the bars won't warp quite as much or at all during the cure.

Oh, btw, even though Castile takes a long time to cure, it's still safe to use at 4 - 6 weeks, like most soaps. But it is slower to reach its peak performance than many other recipes, even when done via HP. So you can use it earlier than the 6 - 12 months mark; just don't expect it to be at it's best.