How much lye?

[EmBlakey]

I have made HP soap for a while but am now trying CP and liquid soap. I found the recipe below for a liquid soap and it makes Beautiful hand soap! I have been using it for quite a while and everyone who tries it adores it The problem is this...I put the ingredients into soapcalc and there is way more lye in it than the calculator suggests. I want to change some or most of the olive oil for canola just to make it cheaper (can I do that? Olive oil is ridiculously expensive where I live) but I don't really know how to do it considering the lye ratio is a lot higher in the original recipe...

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

As you didn't include any information, I'll shoot in the dark a little............................

Is the lye type correct? Is the SF the same? Where did you get the original lye amount from?

 

[Susie]

Most older recipes for liquid soap were intentionally lye heavy. That was the practice back before they had the computers and internet we enjoy today. They were using SAP tables that may or may not have been correct for the oils they were using, and KOH of unknown purity. So they made lye heavy soap to be sure that all the oil got saponified and they could have perfectly clear soap, then later neutralized it to a safe pH. NOT a pH 7, just low enough to be safe for use.

Now, however, we have marvelous online lye calculators that take into account KOH purity and have better averages for SAP values of oils. Run the recipe through the lye calculator at a 1-3% superfat, and you can skip all that neutralization process.

You should run every recipe, regardless of where you got it, through a lye calculators for yourself. Typos happen, and this is your safety we are talking about.

 

[EmBlakey]

Thanks for the replies...I see I didn't include the recipe! oops Here it is:

• 16.5 ounces olive oil
• 7 ounces coconut oil
• 5.5 ounces potassium hydroxide
• 16.5 ounces distilled or filtered water
• 40 ounces distilled or filtered water
• 3 ounces borax
• 6 ounces distilled or filtered water
• essential oils

the 3 times I have tried it the soap has been lovely, but DARK brown. I waited until it went transluscent but that day never came. The first time I cooked it for 4 days, second and third times I did it for 2 days. Never even got close to being transluscent. It also makes very dark soap that turns the water milky. I can use loads of it and it doesn't hurt my hands...and it cleans well. But I would love to have it clear and it seems something isn't quite right!

 

[Susie]

Mods/Admins-Could one of you be so kind as to move this to the Liquid Soap Forum, please?

I am going to just be blunt here, so please forgive me. If you keep doing the same thing over and over, why are you expecting different results? That is one of those old recipes/methods that are no longer necessary now that we have good lye calculators. Please go to the Liquid Soap and Cream Soap Forum and start here:

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=46114

Then please excuse me for touting a thread I started, but others have excellent contributions you need to read also here:

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=49852&highlight=cold+process+liquid+soap

Liquid Soap just does not have to be that complicated to make. It really does not.

 

[DeeAnna]

I second what Susie said. Both threads she suggests are very good, and I highly recommend them.

You are cooking way, way too long -- small wonder your soap is so dark! Two to four DAYS is overkill -- even 2-4 HOURS is far more than needed. If you can make HP in a couple of hours, you can make LS in about the same time. Just use the right method as Susie and Irish Lass explain in their tutorials (see Susie's links).

Canola is not a sub for olive, because the fatty acid content is quite different. That said, you sure can make a liquid soap with coconut and canola -- you should try a small batch and see how you like it. But, again, like Susie said, don't just swap the canola in for the olive and jump into making this soap. Always use a soap recipe calculator first to verify the KOH amount is correct for the new recipe.

Filtered water and distilled water are NOT interchangeable. Just a guess here -- it is very likely the cloudiness you are seeing is because you're using filtered water. If so, I strongly suggest you switch to using ALL distilled water. Then, when you have some confidence you're making the soap correctly, do a clarity test with distilled water and a second clarity test with filtered water -- see if there's a difference. More: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=52456

 

[EmBlakey]

Oh my, so much to learn!! :O Ok, distilled water it is...I did use a soap calculator I just wondered why this required so much more The reason I did this 3 times is because the pictures of it were beautiful but mine didn't come out like that. I assumed I did something wrong so repeated it then I changed the recipe when it didn't work second time. She said it takes about 4 hours to cook this but rather than look at time, look at consistency. Mine went through all the stages she described but never reached the final one....and I just followed her instructions to carry on cooking til it got there Hah umm ok...I am majorly failing at making clothes and dish washing liquid but am determined to somehow get there!

 

[Susie]

I can't help you with making clothes, but making dish washing soap...we can help there. Just do us a favor and throw out everything you learned about making liquid soap, and let's just start from scratch, OK?

 

[EmBlakey]

I obviously meant clothes soap and dish soap
I am trying a new recipe from here now...thanks