What is the purpose for adding wax cold process soap ? How would incorporate it and how is it calculated in the recipe? I am new soapy, ready to explore !
Why Wax
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Using waxes adds hardness and longevity. The two most used in soap are beeswax and soy wax. There's nothing special about adding them, you just melt them with the rest of the fats. The difference is that they need higher temp to stay liquid and you may reach trace faster.
Both of them are present in (at least some) calculators with their own SAP and FA profiles. SW is used in higher % and has high % FA - you definitely need to count it among the fats in the recipe ‐ it works well for PO substitute. Some soapers (me included) use BW as an additive instead and ignore its SAP - it's used in lower % and has lots of unsaponifying stuff inside, so it's safe and doesn't affect the soap negatively, from what I've experienced. But it is there, as an option, to count it within the oils if you want
Both of them are present in (at least some) calculators with their own SAP and FA profiles. SW is used in higher % and has high % FA - you definitely need to count it among the fats in the recipe ‐ it works well for PO substitute. Some soapers (me included) use BW as an additive instead and ignore its SAP - it's used in lower % and has lots of unsaponifying stuff inside, so it's safe and doesn't affect the soap negatively, from what I've experienced. But it is there, as an option, to count it within the oils if you want
Just to clarify - Soy wax is not a true wax. It is made by hydrogenating and/or esterifying soybean oil.
I am trying to understand so please forgive my inexperienced wording . So if I used BW as an additive I would not put it in soap Calc? I would just melt it with my oils. And mix lye and oil at higher temp?
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You need to figure that in with the rest of the ingredients. SoapCalc has beeswax as an ingredient.
Hey, no worries! I was a beginner myself not long ago, I know how confusing it may be.
What I meant is that beeswax (in this lye calculator for example) is both in the oils list and the additives list at the same time (even if it wasn't, you can add custom additives to your list, so there's always that option). It's up to you how to handle it - you can add it as an oil and let the software do its magic and calculate how much NaOH is needed to consume the fatty acids in the BW in addition to the rest of the oils in the recipe (a hint - it usually won't be much). Or, you can use it from the additives list (so that way it will only add to the total weight of the batch and nothing else) and completely ignore its SAP value - and it will be completely fine.
The reason for that is that people usually use very little beeswax in their recipes - like 1-2% of total oil weight, rarely higher than that. And given its low SAP value (for example, avocado oil has twice the SAP value of BW), as long as the amount is little, it won't affect the SF that much and you won't notice any negative effect. BW has a lot of stuff that can't get saponified (if you check the FA profile in the above calculator, it shows 0 for all of the main fatty acids important for soap making - which just shows how low is the supposed value). Of course, if you go higher %, it won't be a bad idea to include it with the oils and add some more NaOH. After a certain % people report soap getting brittle - I can't say because I haven't used much and can't confirm it though.
With all that being said, do what makes sense to you, follow your logic and try to keep it simple until you get more into it.
And yes, you just melt it with the oils and mix with the lye as you usually would - just make sure it's a little hotter (like, around 65-70 C or so), otherwise it will start getting solid within the mixture.
I hope I managed to explain it, but please let me know if I overdid it again
I admit all that stuff can be a little overwhelming at first, so I'll be glad to help further if needed
I must respectfully disagree with advice to list beeswax as an additive, rather than an oil. Especially for beginners, it is best to list anything with a SAP value (beeswax, pine tar, etc.) in the oils list. While it is true that nothing terrible is likely to happen, small inconsistencies like this can add up and can result in a much different soap than planned.
For instance, if one added 2% beeswax to firm up a 20% pine tar soap (somewhat common), and then used a little extra oil (not from the batch oils) to disperse colorants (also somewhat common), now you have three factors increasing the superfat of the soap and dampening the lather.
These are the types of compound mistakes that end up as a post here on SMF, asking, "What happened to my soap?"
Hey, no worries! I was a beginner myself not long ago, I know how confusing it may be.
What I meant is that beeswax (in this lye calculator for example) is both in the oils list and the additives list at the same time (even if it wasn't, you can add custom additives to your list, so there's always that option). It's up to you how to handle it - you can add it as an oil and let the software do its magic and calculate how much NaOH is needed to consume the fatty acids in the BW in addition to the rest of the oils in the recipe (a hint - it usually won't be much). Or, you can use it from the additives list (so that way it will only add to the total weight of the batch and nothing else) and completely ignore its SAP value - and it will be completely fine.
The reason for that is that people usually use very little beeswax in their recipes - like 1-2% of total oil weight, rarely higher than that. And given its low SAP value (for example, avocado oil has twice the SAP value of BW), as long as the amount is little, it won't affect the SF that much and you won't notice any negative effect. BW has a lot of stuff that can't get saponified (if you check the FA profile in the above calculator, it shows 0 for all of the main fatty acids important for soap making - which just shows how low is the supposed value). Of course, if you go higher %, it won't be a bad idea to include it with the oils and add some more NaOH. After a certain % people report soap getting brittle - I can't say because I haven't used much and can't confirm it though.
With all that being said, do what makes sense to you, follow your logic and try to keep it simple until you get more into it.
And yes, you just melt it with the oils and mix with the lye as you usually would - just make sure it's a little hotter (like, around 65-70 C or so), otherwise it will start getting solid within the mixture.
I hope I managed to explain it, but please let me know if I overdid it again
I admit all that stuff can be a little overwhelming at first, so I'll be glad to help further if needed
Thanks for all your help ! You're great at explaining everything! Xoxo
That's something that can be polished as a person gains more experience. For my first recipe with milk I even counted the fat content within it as part of the total oil weight - ever since I haven't bothered to do that, I just keep my SF low. Same with beeswax. To each their own.
While I get your point, my opinion is that people should find what works best for them and stick to it as they progress - or change it if needed. The example you gave about the three SF increasing factors is possible, but I think beginners with little experience should keep it simple and take one step at a time instead to avoid scenarios as the one you described. Learn, observe, understand how everything works - because if you mess up, you can't blame anybody else.
I agree that what you described happens more often than not - it's just a case of taking a bigger bite that one can chew.
P.S.: Thank you for the post, I always enjoy our discussions!
We can agree to disagree. 
My philosophy of teaching new soapers is to do things "by the book" until there is enough understanding about the why behind the generally accepted "rules" - using that term loosely given how many versions of soaping "rules" are out there.
Once the soaper has good basic soaping skills, and an understanding of the science behind the rules, then s/he can usually determine whether deviating from standard practice is going to cause problems. I say "usually" because (to quote that wise soap philosopher @KiwiMoose):
Sometimes, soap just do what soap do.
My philosophy of teaching new soapers is to do things "by the book" until there is enough understanding about the why behind the generally accepted "rules" - using that term loosely given how many versions of soaping "rules" are out there.
Once the soaper has good basic soaping skills, and an understanding of the science behind the rules, then s/he can usually determine whether deviating from standard practice is going to cause problems. I say "usually" because (to quote that wise soap philosopher @KiwiMoose):
Sometimes, soap just do what soap do.
I'm sure someone else said that first - but no-one has come forward so I'll own it.We can agree to disagree.
My philosophy of teaching new soapers is to do things "by the book" until there is enough understanding about the why behind the generally accepted "rules" - using that term loosely given how many versions of soaping "rules" are out there.
Once the soaper has good basic soaping skills, and an understanding of the science behind the rules, then s/he can usually determine whether deviating from standard practice is going to cause problems. I say "usually" because (to quote that wise soap philosopher @KiwiMoose):
Sometimes, soap just do what soap do.
