Ok. Some questions....

[brynja]

Hi. I am rather new in the soapmaking "industry" and I have some questions if anyone is interested in helping me out.

Ok. Here I go.

1. The water. (Iceland) The water here is very pure and good but it is what is called "hard". Is it impossible to use in the soapmaking. Do I have to use the distilled water or tapped?

2. When I am adding oils after tracing and other ingredients, can I use water also?

3. I am rebatching and melting it down with some water. Afterwards I put in the scents and herbs. Can I use like almond or jojoba oils too or will it be to soft?

Hope someone can answer these questions. Best regards.

 

[agriffin]

Welcome!

Hi. I am rather new in the soapmaking "industry" and I have some questions if anyone is interested in helping me out.

Ok. Here I go.

1. The water. (Iceland) The water here is very pure and good but it is what is called "hard". Is it impossible to use in the soapmaking. Do I have to use the distilled water or tapped?

Not impossible but not recommended. If you can get distilled...use that. Hard water can leave impurities in your soap causes speckles or discoloration.

2. When I am adding oils after tracing and other ingredients, can I use water also?

Why would you use water at this point? I'm not sure I understand. Are you talking rebatch/hand mill soap?

3. I am rebatching and melting it down with some water. Afterwards I put in the scents and herbs. Can I use like almond or jojoba oils too or will it be to soft?

You can add some extra oil but you really need to know the superfat of your rebatch soap. You don't want to add to much extra. Do you know the superfat? And we could help you better on this one.

Hope someone can answer these questions. Best regards.

Hope that helps!

 

[brynja]

Thank you so much.

This helps me alot. Question 2 was more of curiosity.

Ok. This is what I am using in my base soap before I rebatch it.

coconut oil, sunflower oil and olive oil. Last time I made the base I added some rapseed oil just after tracing.

So, when I am rebatching and if I would add some extra oil to it, am I increasing the quality of the soap or is it already in it?

Thank you again.

 

[agriffin]

If you are already superfating your base soap you do not need to add more oil when rebatching.

The quality should already be there from you superfatting your base soap.

Now, I know some people that make soap just for rebatch will use a very low superfat like 3-5%. This leaves them some room so that they can add different oils when they rebatch. They'll use enough to make the total superfat 7-10% (or sometimes more!).

 

[brynja]

Thank you.

Where can I read about superfat?

What is the difference between adding extra oil after tracing. Does it do anything for the soap other then the base ingredients?

Sorry about the ignorant questions but the internet is like a forest and I try to read all I can. But there are just so much information.

Best regards

 

[judymoody]

Go to Kathy Miller's wonderful website - www.millersoap.com She is a wealth of information and a very nice lady. I started with her site and also used books by Susan Cavitch (they are a bit dated but still very useful). I've heard Alicia Grosso's book is very good too. Good luck!

 

[brynja]

Thank you for your help!