Measuring soap weights?

[orangeblossom]

I'm confused and not sure if this is somewhere else, but I keep seeing different ways of referring to the weight of a soap recipe. I'm talking Cold Process here. Like it seems some people refer to just the weight in oils as the weight of the batch and others the weight of the oils water and lye. I feel confused and not sure if it matters.

 

[Soapmaker Man]

Weight of a recipe referrs to the total weight of oils/fats/butters used to make the recipe, not the total weight of all the ing. including water, lye, additives, fragrance or essential oils. A 2 pound "batch" would weigh around 48 ounces after you pour. The unmoulded soap log would weigh @48 ounces but would be referred to as a "2 pound recipe." I hope I did not confuse you!


Paul.... :wink:

 

[orangeblossom]

That's what I thought. But then I was reading Susan Miller Cavitch's book The Soapmaker's Companion and she says all her soaps in that book are 5 lb. batches, but most the fats/butters add up to just over 3 lbs. so I got confused.

Then online, I saw various references too.........thanks for clearing that up. Although I don't know why others are talking/writing about it so differently.

 

[soapbuddy]

I agree with Paul.

Irena