Oh my gosh who knew making soap would be like a science experiment haha. What is a general guide line for SF percentage? Should the SF be changed if you use lard ?
Superfat _sooperfat??
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This is entirely personal preference. I have a non-lard based soap that I love at 7% super fat. For my lard soap I love it at 3-4%.
I say start at 5% for non-lard based and 2-3% for lard. If you want it to feel less drying without modifying the recipe you can increase the superfat.
Just know that the higher the superfat the more it can inhibit lather and creates a shorter lifespan for your soap.
I say start at 5% for non-lard based and 2-3% for lard. If you want it to feel less drying without modifying the recipe you can increase the superfat.
Just know that the higher the superfat the more it can inhibit lather and creates a shorter lifespan for your soap.
Yes, agreed with @bookworm42, SF is a personal preference. I'm still working on developing an ideal base recipe for us with 40% tallow and 20% lard. I've heard that high tallow/lard recipes tend to leave a lot of soap scum if they have a high SF, especially when the water is hard. Most experienced soapers recommend using a 2-3% SF with those oils when they're used as a majority of the recipe, to combat scum. We didn't like how the soap felt with citric acid added in (also supposed to reduce scum and counter the effects of hard water), so I'm experimenting with adjusting the SF. I'm currently doing mine at 4%, but will likely reduce that to 2% as I go forward. My new recipe hasn't cured all the way yet, so my tests are still preliminary. I don't know what it'll do as far as soap scum, but I'm liking how they lather and feel so far.
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