Teach Soap

We're making some soaps for Christmas presents. Not professionals by any means. I used a recipe for a sink and tub bar a friend sent. It turned out a bit softer than I expected even after 12 weeks of cure. Still made a nice soap but disappeared quicker than I expected, especially in a hot shower.

I ran the oils in the recipe through the summer bee soap calculator to verify the water and lye and it said to use about 13% less water than the original recipe specified with the same amount of lye and 5% super fat . Could this contribute to a softer bar?

I realize different oils lead to softer or harder bars. Just wondering the impact of less water.

I'm a long way from a professional, but in my limited experience the amount of water definitely makes a difference. I've found that if I use about 4-5oz ppo the soap is a lot easier to get out of the mold and tends to be a harder bar in general. I'm sure those with more experience can chime in with more information- you do have to be careful not to discount your water too much, especially with certain fragrances. I usually stick to the lower end of what the MMS calc suggests and have had good luck with it.

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Kim

The amount of water does make a difference; so do the oils or butters you choose.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.