Struggling with soap calc!! HELP

[lisazoo14]

I usually just follow recipes at face value but I am trying to learn more! But this tool has me even more confused and frustrated.

I feel stuck right from the beginning with the user entry fields - as in if I am using this calculator to figure out what I need how am I supposed to know the values to put in? i.e. step 3. Water. I don't know what to put in there. It already has 38 for the % of water so I left that as is.
After adding the oils step 5 > 6 from the recipe I am following then click calculate 7 I get a pop up saying "Please enter a value for Oil Number 1, Castor Oil, or remove it from the recipe." I don't know what this is - hence USING A CALCULATOR
I have read the "detailed instructions but there are no instructions, it just says to enter. If I know how to figure out the amount what is this calculator calculating?

 

[justsomeguy]

Search YouTube for "how to use a lye calculator".

 

[artemis]

There are also tutorials here in the forum, just a search away! For example:

Thread 'How To Use Soap Calc Tutorial' https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/how-to-use-soap-calc-tutorial.49627/

 

[Ekuzo]

If you do CP, change the radio button from "water as % of oils" to "lye concentration" and set it to something like 33-35%, for starters. You can play with that number later, when you are more comfortable working with your own recipes.

The calculator determines how much NaOH/KOH you should use, that's why it's also called lye calculator. It can help you with the amounts of oils a bit, (like calculating % out of weight and vice versa) but you need to have a basic idea what you want to do. For example, type the % of each of the oils and it will calculate 1. the weight you need of each oil and 2. depending on the oils and the size of the batch - how much hydroxide you need.

Or you can do the opposite - type in the oils as weight in grams/oz/whatever and the calculator will give you the % for each one. And again, calculate the lye for you. You need to have an idea what you want, and after that the calculator becomes a powerful tool.

Also, what the others said - there are plenty of tutorials to check out if you are having trouble. I have to mention that soapcalc is actually a simple one, as there are more advanced on the web. You can make it, it's easy

 

[A-Polly]

In addition to the great advice above, I think it might be useful to watch some of the YouTube by Holly's Soapmaking, because at the end of each of her recent ones, she demonstrates putting the recipe she's made into soapcalc. Something about seeing the process without any detailed explanation seems like it would have been really helpful back when I was starting to learn. Here's one of Holly's recent ones, and there are 2 recipes shown at the end (one with lard and a separate vegan version):

And don't worry — some day the curtains will part and the calculator light will shine in!

 

[Nona'sFarm]

One other plus for most calculators is that by varying the oils and percentages you can see what kind of attributes your soap will have like hardness, conditioning (gentleness), etc. from the oils you are using, once the saponification process is complete. If you put citric acid in your soap, some will account for that in the lye calculation.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I recommend this tutorial video by Elly's Everyday. She uses SoapCalc.