Water Question

[LolaFalana]

I keep hearing people mention this and wven had it asked of me and I have NO IDEA what is means.

What does using full water mean? I thought once you run your recipe through the calc you use the water it says to... :what:

I feel like I've been doing this soap making thing all wrong. I'm so lost

 

[Seawolfe]

If you have not changed the water ratio on SoapCalc, you are using "full water". I'm still new and that's what I do, except for my Castille soaps.

Many experienced soapers use less water when soaping, especially for things like true castille soaps. Its called discounting water, or DWCP.
This thread has some good information on it.

 

[Nevada]

+++ Seawolfe
I cringe when I hear the term "water discount" what exactly does that mean?
Water as % of oil default is 38% water
water:lye ratio makes sense as well

 

[Bex1982]

Yeah you just set the % to less than 38%. The faster it traces the harder it is to work with but you get a harder bar quicker and less shrinkage.
I still use full on my castille because I think the shrinkage looks cool, hehe. I only discounted a few times but not by much, I brought it down to 36%, for CPOP.

 

[newbie]

The water discount term makes it confusing, for sure. Less water makes gel a little less likely to happen, but gelling depends on a lot of things so it is just one factor. Full water, or 38% of oils, generally slows trace so if you want to do fancy swirls or lots of colors or more complicated techniques, it can give you more time to work. I wouldn't get overly concerned about the water being exact. Too much can be problematic, if it's a lot more, but if you undercut your water a little, it won't ruin your soap or anything.

 

[Seawolfe]

+++ Seawolfe
d
I cringe when I hear the term "water discount" what exactly does that mean?
Water as % of oil default is 38% water
water:lye ratio makes sense as well

I cringe as well! But those are the terms I keep seeing, and I find the shorthand quite confusing.
I much prefer I when it's spelled out in a ratio, like water:lye ratio is 2:1 but that doesn't seem to be common in the vernacular.

 

[LolaFalana]

Thank you guys so much. I really thought I was doing something wrong. Well since I'm still a newbie I won't worry about discounting water.

 

[Relle]

I'm not a newbie and I still don't discount water.

 

[LolaFalana]

I'm not a newbie and I still don't discount water.

That makes me feel even better

 

[newbie]

I hardly ever discount water. The only time I might is if I want my soap to trace a lot faster, which is hardly ever. The amount of water you use has nothing to do with how "sophisticated" or how new or old a hat you are at soaping!

 

[Lion Of Judah]

i don't discount as well

 

[jenneelk]

I do depending on what I'm making. Like another said, I like to do it for Castile or Bastille and also for some recipes I've made a lot and know how they move. I don't use it when I want to do fancy colors and such that take a long time.
Also when using a new fragrance I can't seem to get/find a full background check on, I like to do full water.

 

[CaraBou]

I almost always discount to 2 water :1 lye unless I have a reason not to (like a 'project' soap using colors). Since moving to silicone molds, it makes it quicker and easier to unmold -- let alone a more reasonable cure time. I don't know the magic number but this works well enough so far. I didn't discount much with my wooden mold -really didn't need to.

 

[IrishLass]

I almost always discount to 2 water :1 lye unless I have a reason not to

Same here (otherwise known as a 33% lye solution/concentration). The only time I use more water than that is when I'm HPing, or when I'm working with a frisky FO. I just really like the pace of a 33% lye solution- not too slow and not too fast- but just right. At least for me anyway.


Then there are the times I use even less water than a 2:1 ratio (1.5 water : 1 lye- a 40% lye solution)- but only when I'm making a batch of 100% olive oil/Castile with a well-behaved FO.


IrishLass

 

[seven]

Another 2:1 lover here. Except for funky FOs. I can totally feel when i use more water than usual, soap takes longer to unmold.


Sent from my iPhone using Soap Making

 

[LolaFalana]

I'm happy to know that it's not something I'm SUPPOSED to be doing but wasn't.

 

[Ruthie]

I usually discount water, but am finding it isn't always a benefit. IrishLass was mentioning those fragrance oils that give problems. I tried a new f.o. yesterday, not realizing it was a fast one. Barely got it in the mold! Some more water in there might have helped.

The one time I wish I had discounted (liquid, not water actually) was my last beer shampoo bar. Took a week for it to set up enough to get it out of the mold, and it was still very soft.