Stearic acid - % purity question

[RogueRose]

I was looking at some sites and they usually list plain stearic acid but one site lists it as 38% and the item looks the same - very small white beads. it is supposedly 38% C:18:0. IDK what the rest of the product is and how this works for putting the info in the soap calcs. I think this may be why my recipes with stearic aren't working the way I though they would.

What do you look for when you buy stearic and is it usually the same from supplier to supplier? Any insight into this?

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

You should ask them what it is mixed with - that will allow you to enter it correctly in the lye calcs. A lot of people get something that seems to be a mix of stearic and palmic acids and it works okay, so it might just be a case of getting it worked out.

Have you looked at the shaving thread? There are a fair few pages towards the end where stearic purity was discussed in some detail, too

 

[Cindy2428]

I can't speak to the purity, but Soaper's Choice carries triple pressed veg stearic - 8# bottle for $14.00. I have found their quality excellent for soap making. I don't know where you are from, but they are based in Illinois.

 

[dosco]

I think this may be why my recipes with stearic aren't working the way I though they would.

Could you perhaps expound on this?

-Dave