Switching from 38% water to 30% - what difference?

[Angie Gail]

I've been making HP soaps with 38% water but I'm thinking of going down to 30% for a shorter curing/drying time. What would this change as far as how it cooks? Would it be more likely to volcano? Would it cook faster?
Thanks!

 

[TheGecko]

I'm guessing that you don't know that there is more to curing that just water evaporation. There are chemical processes that are taking place that increase the quality of your soap and that takes time. Depending on the time of the year, I adjust my Lye Concentration and curing time. During the Spring/Summer, I use a 33% Lye Solution and cure a minimum of six weeks, eight weeks is preferable. During the Fall/Winter, because I live in the Pacific Northwest where we get a long of rain and I cure in my garage, I use a 35% Lye Concentration and cure a minimum of eight weeks, ten weeks is preferable. For me, selling quality soap is more important that selling soap. And because I sell quality soap, I have repeat customers.

 

[Angie Gail]

I do know what curing involves but I also know less water means it will evaporate over a shorter period of time. I was mostly curious about how that would change the cooking process.

 

[AliOop]

I do know what curing involves but I also know less water means it will evaporate over a shorter period of time. I was mostly curious about how that would change the cooking process.

Less water makes my HP batter much less fluid during the cook. It is somewhat recipe-dependent, so you will need to figure out the sweet spot for yours. I’d suggest trying a small batch and having extra warm water on hand so you can add it post-cook if needed to aid fluidity.

You can also add a warmed SF oil, yogurt, milks, fragrances, or micas dissolved in hot sugar water at that time. All of those tend to loosen the cooked batter so it is easier to swirl and to mold. Just make sure that everything added post-cook is warmed up. Even utensils and mixing containers should be warmed if you want fluid batter.

As noted by @TheGecko, we don’t want to confuse people by conflating water evaporation with cure. So thank you for clarifying that you didn’t mean to say that.

 

[Angie Gail]

Thank you both for your responses. I do like to keep the soap as fluid as possible (I add goat's milk and sodium lactate at the very end) so I might try going down to 33% instead of 30%. I will definitely try a small batch first as I don't want to waste ingredients.

 

[DeeAnna]

@Angie Gail -- I'm pretty sure you're talking about "water as % of oils." I'm also pretty sure other folks are talking about water in terms of lye concentration. Be aware they are not the same thing.

You're going to get more consistent results with your soap making if you use lye concentration or water:lye ratio and get away from using "water as % of oils."

Water as % of oils, due to the mathematics involved, calculates a higher amount of water for recipes where less water would be better, and calling for less water where more would be better. Lye concentration or water:lye ratio do not do this -- you get exactly what you ask for with these settings.

 

[TheGecko]

I do know what curing involves but I also know less water means it will evaporate over a shorter period of time. I was mostly curious about how that would change the cooking process.

My apologies.

 

[Angie Gail]

My apologies.

No worries. I should have been more clear

 

[MorpheusPA]

Agreed with DeeAnna (as usual). Lye concentration can take a bit to adjust to, but once you do? Everything just becomes so much easier. I wrote my own basic calculator that only includes what I need and didn't even bother with water as percent of oils. It's no longer a useful calculation for me and it varies too much as you change your recipe.

If you must use it or just don't want to change, that's totally cool, though. AliOop's advice certainly stands perfectly well, and you can always sneak in a little at the end to adjust things. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt, got raw soap on the T-shirt, washed the T-shirt....