Thoughts on soap calc ranges

[ToniD]

Hi,

I am a new soap maker and have been checking my recipes on SoapCalc. Some of the recipes I have come across have a characteristic that is outside the recommended range on SoapCalc. Currently I am considering a shampoo bar that I found online (66% sunflower, 14% castor and 20% CO).
Soap Calc gives a hardness of "20". The contributor of the recipe says she usually cuts the same day--which does not sound like a soft bar.

So, I am looking for guidance. How critical is it to stay within the recommended ranges for characteristics such as hardness, cleansing, conditioning, etc.?

Thanks!

 

[carebear]

the ranges, especially for hardness, are to be taken with a bucket of salt, but 66% sunflower will be prone to rancidity.

 

[ToniD]

Thanks! your answer begs a follow up question. Can you recommend a site or book that would have info on what oils can be used in what %s?

Ie don't exceed sunflower by X% or it may cause rancidity.

 

[MorpheusPA]

Thanks! your answer begs a follow up question. Can you recommend a site or book that would have info on what oils can be used in what %s?

Ie don't exceed sunflower by X% or it may cause rancidity.

I really like this general guide: http://www.thescalenews.com/combinedsin ... esults.pdf

They don't get into percentages, but generally if you don't exceed 10% on a DOS=yes oil you'll be fine. I do disagree with one or two things...grapeseed oil gets DOS and I don't care what they say about it.

 

[carebear]

nope, no books with that information.

I can tell you that it's typically best to start out with half liquid oils and half solid and then to mess about - try things - see what you like and what you dont' and what is a complete and utter failure.

soapcalc would scream about my 75% coconut/25% cocoa butter soap, and it thinks 100% olive oil is apparently not soap at all (trust me, it DOES cleanse and DOES get rock rock rock hard - in time).

there are no rules.
OK, there are rules of thumb for when you are starting out, but the only ones I still follow are to keep soybean and canola oils pretty low (say 10%) if I use them at all, and if I use safflower or sunflower I go for the high oleic versions otherwise they should be kept low too - all this regarding DOS/rancidity.

oh, and you MUST superfat or have a lye discount. I'd never go below 3% except for a laundry soap. (most typically I soap with a 6-15% lye discount)

rules? more exceptions than rules!

 

[ginaj]

I also am a little confused with soapcalc's site! I used soapcalc and the sage lye calc and they came out wit a difference of 1.5 oz of lye for the same recipe! Which do I use??? soapcalc had the higher lye amount with an additional 3 oz of water. Wouldn't that just make it take longer to cure?

 

[carebear]

it's rare they have more than a fraction if a difference in LYE. can you post your recipe here please?

 

[ginaj]

Sorry, I'm new to the soapcalc site and trying to plug in everything in each box can make someone go crazy when you keep resetting the page. soapcalc was calculating 41 oz of oils while MMS was calculating 32 oz which is what I wanted. I did it again on soapcalc and they were the same.

 

[ToniD]

Thanks for the oil properties guide and for the info/help with soap calc. I have been treating those numbers with great awe and reverence :roll: and I guess I can take them a bit more casually! Thanks for sharing your experience :!:

 

[ToniD]

I had to put 75%CO and 25%Cocoa Butter into soap calc to see what happened. Yes, it did scream.

 

[carebear]

I had to put 75%CO and 25%Cocoa Butter into soap calc to see what happened. Yes, it did scream.

 

[MorpheusPA]

I had to put 75%CO and 25%Cocoa Butter into soap calc to see what happened. Yes, it did scream.

Yep, it gets yelpy about my 70/30 CO/Palm.

Y'know, to a point, I agree. I wouldn't have wanted to make that as my first batch. You need to know what you're doing, and keep moving at all times. For a ninth batch, it went fine and I expected everything I got. I would have been in a constant panic on my first, and that's not a good way to do things, nor would it have encouraged me to keep going.

Uh, yeah, I started doing this a month ago and I'm on batch #9. Whassyer point? You talkin' to me?