Superfatting Questions for CP

[KiwiMoose]

Thanks to @DWinMadison planting the seed, I now have thoughts about superfatting, given my recent batch where I ran out of lye (so made the batch anyway with about 7g less than the recipe required).

I'm trying to reverse-figure out how much superfatting that would equal using a soap calculator - I reckon maybe about 8%. I hope the soap is OK and not to 'greasy'. My standard superfat has always been the default of 5%

Anyhoo, I wondered what the preferred superfatting is for those very experienced soapers who have a tried and true handful of recipes. I'm not talking high coconut salt bars, or olive oil castiles/bastiles or anything else off the beaten track, I'm talking your everyday bar of soap.

My lye (and it seems to be a limited market for lye here, because most companies will not deliver, so I'm stuck with buying it 'off the shelf') is only 98% NaoH, so I'm guessing there's some superfatting right there, given that the calculator assumes (?) 100% purity. If I change my superfat down to just 2 or 3% do you think that will be OK? What difference will it make to the feel of the soap?

Asking for a friend.

 

[Obsidian]

I personally like 5% but there are a couple members who do 2% or 3%

I have played around with SF a lot, especially when I just started soaping. 8-10 was the normal for awhile. I even tried a 20% once, that bar was soft and oily. Your 8% will be fine.

 

[DWinMadison]

Thanks to @DWinMadison planting the seed, I now have thoughts about superfatting, given my recent batch where I ran out of lye (so made the batch anyway with about 7g less than the recipe required).

I'm trying to reverse-figure out how much superfatting that would equal using a soap calculator - I reckon maybe about 8%. I hope the soap is OK and not to 'greasy'. My standard superfat has always been the default of 5%

Anyhoo, I wondered what the preferred superfatting is for those very experienced soapers who have a tried and true handful of recipes. I'm not talking high coconut salt bars, or olive oil castiles/bastiles or anything else off the beaten track, I'm talking your everyday bar of soap.

My lye (and it seems to be a limited market for lye here, because most companies will not deliver, so I'm stuck with buying it 'off the shelf') is only 98% NaoH, so I'm guessing there's some superfatting right there, given that the calculator assumes (?) 100% purity. If I change my superfat down to just 2 or 3% do you think that will be OK? What difference will it make to the feel of the soap?

Asking for a friend.

I calculate at 5% but by the time I diffuse colorants in sweet almond I’m sure it ends up at 6-7% with no problems. I think at 8% you’re good.

 

[atiz]

I usually calculate with 2-3% SF and then probably end up with a little more (due to lye purity + measuring the oils). I just don't like too much oil going down the drain.
@KiwiMoose , you could figure out how much extra SF you have by playing around with the lye calculator -- try to put in 8% SF in your recipe, and see how much lye that gives you, etc., until you get to the lye amount you actually ended up using.

 

[Obsidian]

I calculate at 5% but by the time I diffuse colorants in sweet almond I’m sure it ends up at 6-7% with no problems. I think at 8% you’re good.

Silly boy, use oil from your recipe. You need very little to mix colorants.

 

[Steven]

Thanks to @DWinMadison planting the seed, I now have thoughts about superfatting, given my recent batch where I ran out of lye (so made the batch anyway with about 7g less than the recipe required).

I'm trying to reverse-figure out how much superfatting that would equal using a soap calculator - I reckon maybe about 8%. I hope the soap is OK and not to 'greasy'. My standard superfat has always been the default of 5%

Anyhoo, I wondered what the preferred superfatting is for those very experienced soapers who have a tried and true handful of recipes. I'm not talking high coconut salt bars, or olive oil castiles/bastiles or anything else off the beaten track, I'm talking your everyday bar of soap.

My lye (and it seems to be a limited market for lye here, because most companies will not deliver, so I'm stuck with buying it 'off the shelf') is only 98% NaoH, so I'm guessing there's some superfatting right there, given that the calculator assumes (?) 100% purity. If I change my superfat down to just 2 or 3% do you think that will be OK? What difference will it make to the feel of the soap?

Asking for a friend.

Kiwi, sounds like you've figured it out. FWIW, I recently did the same but in the opposite direction. Recipe called for 52g of NaOH and I put in 54g which is a decent amount in a tiny batch. I backed into it adjusting the superfat like you said and I believe I had to tweak my concentration/ratio as well. Back to the original scheduled program...

 

[DWinMadison]

Silly boy, use oil from your recipe. You need very little to mix colorants.

I know, but that Soap Queen lady always says to use sweet almond oil, which I never include in by base oils. It feels like cheating to disperse colorants with base oils. SPEAKING of which...Is there some definitive source for which colorants disperse in water vs glycerin vs oil? I waste more colorant trying to remember which is which!!!

 

[cmzaha]

I superfat from 1-3% depending on the recipe I am using, and have done so for years

 

[earlene]

I usually SF at 2 - 3 %, but have done a few at 1% when my lye seems to be less strong.

 

[Terri E]

7% on most all of my recipes other than a couple I do at 5%

 

[DWinMadison]

I usually SF at 2 - 3 %, but have done a few at 1% when my lye seems to be less strong.

I just refuse to say there’s anything about fat that’s “super.” I’m starting a movement of the people to call it “fat overage.”

 

[atiz]

I know, but that Soap Queen lady always says to use sweet almond oil, which I never include in by base oils. It feels like cheating to disperse colorants with base oils. SPEAKING of which...Is there some definitive source for which colorants disperse in water vs glycerin vs oil? I waste more colorant trying to remember which is which!!!

I'm not really an expert since I don't use mica, but clays disperse well in water. The one time I used lake dye I also mixed it with water and it worked (except for... ending up neon pink instead of soft purple ). I would do mica in oils. Natural colorants vary; some you can put in the lye water, others work well in oil infusions.
Soap Queen lady is also trying to sell you stuff, so... you don't necessarily *need* everything she says you need. Why sweet almond?

 

[DWinMadison]

7% on most all of my recipes other than a couple I do at 5%

Girl! One more percentage point and you’ll be making fried chicken!

 

[DWinMadison]

I'm not really an expert since I don't use mica, but clays disperse well in water. The one time I used lake dye I also mixed it with water and it worked (except for... ending up neon pink instead of soft purple ). I would do mica in oils. Natural colorants vary; some you can put in the lye water, others work well in oil infusions.
Soap Queen lady is also trying to sell you stuff, so... you don't necessarily *need* everything she says you need. Why sweet almond?

NO!!! Sister Anna Maria Whatever would never do that. She’s a soapy saint! #hatersgonnahate

 

[Terri E]

Girl! One more percentage point and you’ll be making fried chicken!

Hahahaha!

 

[DeeAnna]

My latest batches have been made at a 2% lye discount, not counting the one batch of salt soap I made a few months ago at 15% lye discount. And I also do a correction for alkali purity.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

...when I just started soaping. 8-10 was the normal for awhile ... Your 8% will be fine.

Me too! The 8-10% was common for Susan Miller Cavitch's (The Natural Soap Book; Soapmaker's Companion) soap recipes, popular at the time, that also contained (antioxidant) grapefruit seed extract. I agree with Obsidian, your 8% will be fine.

 

[Steve85569]

Started at 7-9% now I typically use a lye discount of 2-3%.
Salt bars will run 10 to 20% just because they are salt bars. I track the discount on the labels so when I use a bar that is properly aged I can tell what I like mo betta.

 

[KristaY]

Personally I dislike high SF bars, they feel too greasy to me. I much prefer 2-3%, with 3% being VERY max. I have a couple of recipes I use 1% and my skin tolerates it just dandy.

I've also found SF can depend on the gender using the soap. When I make masculine bars, I SF lower. When I make soap that normally appeals to females, I go up a bit. Male and female skin is so different, I adjust accordingly.

 

[KiwiMoose]

I'm a bit of a ditz when it comes to lye discount/superfatting - I always get confused.
If I put 5% superfat into the calculator AND use a lye concentration of 26% will that still be a 5% SF, or will the lye discount mean I have a higher SF than I have indicated I want?