Yes that is the right product.
I also wonder if a 50% solution might be better, or if 25% is the max that will dissolve. Anyone know?
As a side question, do any of you adjust your water when using VS? If one is using equal amounts of FO and VS, that seems like a substantial change to the amount of liquid in the recipe - which is another reason that I’d rather use a more concentrated solution if possible.
I used a 50/50 solution when I was dechlorinating aquarium filters that I cleaned with chlorine. If you warm up the water you can dissolve it quickly. I'm pretty sure I made a 75% solution but I can't remember. As soon as I find mine I will let you know.
As far as how much VCS to use it kind of depends on the amount of vanillin in your FO's. Most people use a 1:1 ratio. If it is under 5% I will use less depending on what the seller says about how much the FO discolors the soap .
For example I have a maraschino cherry that is 4% vanillin and the description says dark tan, the safe usage rate is 6% FO which equals 4.8ozs in the batch I will use 1 ounce of VCS, that is the minimum amount I use. Some people use 50% VCS of the total amount of FO.
Between 6% - 10% vanillin will depend on how dark the seller says it will get.
I hope that I didn't confuse you because this is my method. I have asked several sellers how much to use and they always say 1:1 or 50% of total FO.
I forgot to mention that if you are using any kind of banana FO and even if it doesn't have vanillin in it. I highly recommend using VCS because I learned the hard way what banana can do.
I do not adjust my water because I believe that the VCS I use is more than 50% sodium thiosulfate but regardless the water amount will not affect your soap.
I had to edit my post a couple of times, so double check it.
I also wonder if a 50% solution might be better, or if 25% is the max that will dissolve. Anyone know?
As a side question, do any of you adjust your water when using VS? If one is using equal amounts of FO and VS, that seems like a substantial change to the amount of liquid in the recipe - which is another reason that I’d rather use a more concentrated solution if possible.
I made a 1:1 solution and with warm water it dissolved completely and quickly. I am going to try a 1.5:1 and see what happens.
My final results were very surprising to me. I was able to dissolve a solution of 3 ounces of sodium thiosulfate to 1 ounce of distilled R/O water. I heated the water up to around 90°F and it dissolved within seconds with a little stirring.
However even at 3:1 ratio it does not possess the same horrible smell as the VCS I got from aztec candle.
I have an FO coming that has no vanillin, but it is a banana FO that I know causes discoloration, turning the soap a very dark brown. I'm going to pour 4 ounces of batter and add the FO with the sodium thiosulfate in a individual bar and then compare to a second bar with only the banana FO.
I ended up creating a 1.5:1 solution and now I have to figure out how much of this solution I should use. Probably a 1:1 mixture.
