How does this recipe look?

[Obsidian]

Hello all. I'm a newbie soaper, planning my first batch tomorrow. I found a kindle book on GM soap and one of the recipes is easy and cheap so it will be my to try.
I've been doing some research though and I keep seeing superfat% and I'm not quite sure what this is and what is most preferred.
Can someone look my recipe over and tell me what you think? Should I use that much lye or reduce it some? I plan on trying not to gel so the molds will go into the freezer once poured. Using mini loaf silicon mold and some individual bar molds.


Coconut oil- 16 fl oz
Vegetable shortening- 3 lb can
olive oil- 1 cup

Lye- 1 1/4 cup
goat milk- 3 1/2 cup

Super fat oil, calls for 2 tbsp olive oil but I am using almond instead.

scent, 4 tbsp lavender EO but I will be using peppermint EO instead, how much do you recommend?

moved from CP to recipe feedback.

 

[Tmgm1215]

You need a scale! Run it through a lye cal. Also. Looks like way too much shortening and way too little oo and not sure about lye and milk since they are in cups. When you make soap you need to go by the actual weight of everything! Good luck!

 

[Obsidian]

It was listed in the book as a measurement recipe to be easy for newbies, all the other recipes are by weight. I figure even if it doesn't turn out, it will at least be a learning experience.

 

[Relle]

It was listed in the book as a measurement recipe to be easy for newbies, all the other recipes are by weight. I figure even if it doesn't turn out, it will at least be a learning experience.

Obsidian as a newbie soapmaker you wanted advise, Tmgm gave you some good advise and you seem to want to ignore it. They have listed it by weight and measurement which you don't do. Most people here will gladly give you information to help you out, but if you choose to not change things for your own benefit why ask. BTW - your EO's should be 3% of your total oils by weight if you can work it out, because I can't with cups etc.

 

[AngelMomma]

My SIL makes a similar recipe. A package of this, a few cups of that etc. It dried my skin out like CRAZY! There is no way to figure an accurate SF if you don't use a digital scale. Trust me it will make all the difference in the world and you won't have to waste all those oils and just throw it out.

http://www.soapcalc.net/calc/SoapCalcWP.asp

This is a great soap calculator. It really makes it so much easier to ensure you will have a soap you will love.

 

[Kersten]

I would be pretty nervous to use a soap where the lye was not weighed...you would be suprised at the difference (and not in a good way) a mismeasured amount of lye will make, and that is really easy to do when measuring by volume instead of weight. For instance, does the book specify if the lye is to be the flakes or the crystals? That can really make a difference if you go by volume. What i would do is go get a scale at Walmart (they are pretty inexpensive) or borrow one and then go to the soapcal site mentioned above and plug your numbers. I think you will be much happier with your final product, and you'll get experience using the calculator, which you'll grow to love if you keep soaping But to answer your question on the superfat, it seems that most people use anywhere between 5-8%. Does the book tell you what they based their recipe on?

 

[Kay]

Like everyone one else here, I agree, get a scale! Aside from that...superfatting is when you put in more oils than the lye can react to. It's a safety measure, so you don't end up with a lye heavy soap, and it also adds a great moisturizing/conditioning factor to the soap. Most people superfat somewhere in the 3-8% category, but it really depends on what oils you use etc.

 

[pamielynn]

Even when you see a recipe in a book, it is always a good idea to run it through a calculator to make sure there are no errors in the formula. I especially advise this if you have a recipe with mixed measurements like this one. This is about a 6lb batch - so even though you are using inexpensive ingredients, if it fails, those costs add up. I'd go a little smaller for your first few batches.

Also - superfatting or "lye discount" is a pretty important tenet of soapmaking - it would benefit you greatly to read up on the basics before beginning your soap adventures. It will save you a lot of headaches and disappointments. Visit soapcalc.net and poke around - they have a wealth of information, not just the lye calculator.

 

[Obsidian]

Ok, I'll weigh everything. Think I'm going to adjust the amounts of oils a bit, want more OO, less crisco.

I am confused by the need to weigh stuff though. Used to make soap with gramma, never weighed anything and soap turned out just fine.

Olive oil 11 oz
coconut oil 13.15 oz
crisco 34.75 oz
almond .70 oz (for superfatting)
Lye 8.34 oz
milk 20 oz

 

[Marilyna]

You've probably noticed by now, but shortening doesn't come in 3 lb cans anymore. At least around here, they're all 42 oz, so 2 lb 10 oz. Just to point out. Good luck with your first batch. Also would recommend doing a smaller batch. That's a lot of soap to have around!

 

[dagmar88]

I am confused by the need to weigh stuff though. Used to make soap with gramma, never weighed anything and soap turned out just fine.

;-) You must have had a lucky grandmother.
It's one of the reasons handmade soap went out of style; you often ended up with either extremely superfatted soap or sore skin.

 

[Obsidian]

Thats quite odd, my crisco can says 3 lbs, just checked it again. Doesn't really matter though, I adjusted the recipe and won't be using it all.

Guess gramma had a good recipe, I'll have to see if she still has it. It may have been a bit drying but cleaned really well and was never irritating. It was just a basic lard and lye bar.

 

[DeeAnna]

Obsidian -- It probably feels like we're picking on you, but we're not. All of us have been in your shoes at one time. I for one can appreciate trying to respect my roots (my grandmother made soap too) and trying to keep costs down. But I also know that times change and sometimes they change for the better. Using an accurate scale to make soap is one of those positive changes that has happened in the last decade or so, and this has made soaping more reliable and safe.

The use of an accurate digital scale will allow you to make a soap that is reliable and cleans well without being harsh or drying. With volume measurements, there will always be more error than with weighed measurements, so the qualities of your soap can vary more. That can be troublesome if you want a reliable, mild product to use in the bath or at the sink.

Knowing my grandmother's training as a home economics teacher and her methodical, frugal approach to caring for her home, I'm sure she would have used an accurate modern scale for soaping if she had had one. Unfortunately she didn't and she did not use her soap for anything but laundry because she didn't have good enough control of her ingredients. But I bet if she could have made her recipe more consistent by using a scale, she would have enjoyed making soap for bath and hand use too.

Just my 2 cents. I hope you will post pictures of your first soap -- good luck!

 

[Marilyna]

Thats quite odd, my crisco can says 3 lbs, just checked it again. Doesn't really matter though, I adjusted the recipe and won't be using it all.

Guess gramma had a good recipe, I'll have to see if she still has it. It may have been a bit drying but cleaned really well and was never irritating. It was just a basic lard and lye bar.

Interesting. All the ones I buy are 42 oz, but I'm cheap and don't buy Crisco brand! Hope the soap is a great success!

 

[AngelMomma]

When I first started soaping, I used a recipe straight out of a book. Little did I know (because I didn't run the recipe through a calculator) the recipe was so close to the line, with no SF that if I had made the slightest mistake we would have been sorry. Whew! I am so glad I found SMF and I have learned so much from the generous wisdom that is given. Please don't feel like we are picking on you! We just have been in your shoes. I have also seen the large 3lb cans of Crisco. I really like using the Wal-Mart Great Value shortening that is just Tallow and Palm. I use it as part of some of my recipes and will make a nice hard bar.

Don't forget top post pictures (we LOVE pictures!!!!) and keep asking questions until you feel comfortable with what you are going to do.

 

[pamielynn]

Yep, we're not picking on you - just trying to help.

 

[Obsidian]

Thanks guys, I was starting to feel picked on and was just about to leave the forum but I'll hang around now I just finished my first batch of GM soap, its chilling in the freezer. I have to get a stick blender though, stirring by hand just took too long. Will post pics when I unmold.

 

[lizflowers42]

I've made quite a few batches of soap (no two have been the same...I can't help myself with using soapcalc-soooo many possibilities!), but I'm still very much a newbie. I was very afraid to go near lye-it took me several years to finally bite the bullet and do CP soap. Luckily I had been watching several forums before joining this one (and everyone is very helpful here!) I am going to agree with everyone and say get a scale. You can get good one for $20 that is pounds/grams. Mine only goes 2 decimals-3 would be preferable, but I can't seem to find one. So what I do is round down my lye, and round up my oil.

I think I got the same freebie book for Kindle as well. I cringed a bit seeing the recipe measured in cups/tablespoons. Different oils have different weights, which can make a difference as well.

 

[Obsidian]

If you look back on page one, you will see my revised recipe with weights. I already have a scale so I went with that instead of the measured recipe.
How long should I leave my molds in the freezer to prevent gelling?

 

[Kay]

I am confused by the need to weigh stuff though. Used to make soap with gramma, never weighed anything and soap turned out just fine

The main reason for weighing instead of using cup measurements is because; say you are using a semi hard oil, something like coconut oil. When you measure it via cup method, if it's hard at the time, you will have a lot of air bubbles. If it's soft, you won't. There is a varying degree of how much you can put in a cup measurement depending on whether it's soft or hard. Hence, it's a lot easier to go by weight. Weight is MUCH more accurate.