Oh Lordy! It's another lye masterbatching question!

[shunt2011]

Pretty soap! Love the swirls.

 

[penelopejane]

Do you feel the difference between a soap of the same recipe with or without the silk (Peptides or tussah)?

I’ve used it and can’t tell the difference but, unfortunately, I don’t think I’m very discerning.

 

[Kody]

If I am running low on my masterbatch lye soliton, can I add water to the lye solution and then add more lye? Or is that also a big no no?

 

[DeeAnna]

If you want to add more water and NaOH to use up the last of your masterbatch in a batch of soap, sure, that would work.

I personally start from scratch if making a masterbatch of lye solution to store. My reasoning is that impurities and errors can accumulate, so it's best to start fresh when making more masterbatch lye solution.

 

[amd]

Do you feel the difference between a soap of the same recipe with or without the silk (Peptides or tussah)?

I’ve used it and can’t tell the difference but, unfortunately, I don’t think I’m very discerning.

I notice more difference in the after skin feel. I soaped for 2 years without silk and just added it 2 years ago. The first bar I used with it was a "blind" grab, and I couldn't figure out what was different until I looked at the recipe. I'm a supporter of other soap makers too and I can tell more often than not if they use silk by how my skin feels after the shower. Unless the main oil is coconut (plus silk), then all bets are off because a high coconut soap makes my skin very unhappy regardless of what else is in it. (Side note: my personal stash box is more like 6 boxes, and probably 4 of the 6 are filled with other people's soaps... my husband calls it compulsive hoarding... I call it collecting... I'll be comparing other people's recipes for a very long time.)

I have been playing with my oil mixes to see if I can duplicate that skin feel without using silk, but so far I haven't found anything that doesn't attract DOS.

 

[penelopejane]

Thank you amd.
I will test and see if I can replicate your results.
I have quite a few soaps myself and at least one of all my different experiments - how can you compare otherwise?