Recipe Questions...Does this look like a good recipe??

sandyvern · Sep 14, 2008

I just used a couple of different soap calculators to try and figure out a recipe that I basically have doubled so that it will fit my mold.

It is the Half-and-Half Vanilla Deluxe recipe from Everything Soapmaking book....which I have already made a batch that smells so yummy!!

Just ended up with skinny bars cause didn't really fit my mold well.

My question is....on the calculators it gives me a water amount...but this particular recipe just uses half-and-half....is there any adjustment between the amount for water vs. milk?

The original recipe is:
10 oz Olive
6 oz Coconut
6 oz half-and-half frozen
2.25 lye
vanilla FO
1 TBSP castor oil

This recipe when I plugged it into the same calc would have had a 9% discount....does that sound right? Also I just plugged in the olive oil and coconut cause wasn't sure what to do with castor oil.

A few other questions are:
1. The castor oil is added at trace...so do I include it in calculations?
2. Also the castor oil is measured in TBSP....should I figure out the weight instead?

Anyway what I came up with using a soap calc for the first time was:
20 oz Olive
12 oz Coconut
4.51 oz Lye
11.56 oz Water (and hoping that would me milk amount as well)
FO
2 TBSP castor oil

So this again would have that 9% discount (just trying to keep it the same as original since that one actually came out nice

)

Just hoping some of you experts could check this out for me before I experiment later tonight or tomorrow morning!

Thanks in advance!!!
Sandy

dagmar88 · Sep 17, 2008

Hi Sandy,

i'm going to have to do a bit of mathematics, as i use kilo's

The original recipe is: (with 9% superfat)
10 oz Olive 567 gram 20 oz
6 oz Coconut 340 gram 12 oz
6 oz half-and-half frozen 335.8 gram 11,85oz
2.25 lye 124.2 gram 4,38 oz
vanilla FO
1 TBSP castor oil

so, your doubled recipe is okay, there is just a small difference.
for me personally, the amount of coconut oil is to high. idon't use over 20%; it makes wonderful lather, but is also hard on the skin. i would use this basic recipe:
30% palm (not palm kernal) that's just the base of hard oils
20% coconut make's great lather, but hard on the skin
40% olive soft on the skin, needs a long time to cure
10% castor makes nice lather, conditioning.

when you use your recipe, you could as you say replace the water for (frozen) milk, but some people think it stinks really bad when added to ly. you could also use water and afterwards use milkpowder.
Some people use 10% superfat; you have 9%; so calculating those 2 tablespoons of castor on that amount of fat isn't really necessary. If you would want to, 1 tablespoon of oil is 4 gam, x 0,0352739619=0,14 oz
succes with making your batch!
dagmar

sandyvern · Sep 17, 2008

Thanks Dagmar!

I have just used some of my first batch that I had made of same recipe and oooohhh so nice!!! I think I am in love

But maybe I will tweak it a little with your adjustments for oil percentages.

I am actually a little scared because I didn't have a nasty smell when I made my first batch when I mixed the lye and half-and-half....I have read so many things about making milk soaps and the possible out comes...but mine seemed to go ok...and I have already used some and it was so nice. Although I did freeze the half-and-half and so maybe that is the best way to do it...and I actually ended up having to heat up the lye-milk mixtured because when I was done it was about 78 degrees.

Anyway...I think I am gonna make another batch today...hopefully one that fits my mold better than the first one (and with your little tweaks)....I found a soap calc that resizes the recipe to fit the mold. Course I love how the first one came out so I don't really care if they are an odd size

Thanks for help!
Sandy

dagmar88 · Sep 17, 2008

Hi Sandy,

sounds like you've done great! i forgot to say, you don't have to add the castor after the trace, just put in in with the rest of your oils :wink:

dagmar