Teach Soap

Soapbuddy, you wrote the following as a recommendation on someone else's botched soap batch question: "For small batches like 1 lb. I would go with a higher superfat; like 7 or 8%."

I think what you say here really answers my questions. I notice that you recommend a higher superfat for small batches--because the margin for error is much greater, right? Aha, the lightbulb has turned on for this soap newbie. I have had many really successful small batches with 5% superfat, and two unsuccessful ones where the soap felt too harsh for my skin. When I think over those "harsh" batches, I wonder if I wasn't careful to scrape every last bit of liquid oil with a rubber spatula out of the measuring cup when mixing it with the melted oil in the soap pot. In a small batch, that would really matter, since the diff between 5% and 3% superfat is something like .05 oz lye. Hmmm . . .

So here is my new plan to prevent harsh batches in the future:
Measure in grams since the scale doesn't register hundreths of an oz., go for a 7-8% superfat, double check every weight measure against the lye-calculator generated recipe before taring the scale, and scrape every last drop of oil out of the measuring cup.

Thanks, Soapbuddy

Sounds good to me and you're welcome.
For smaller batches in grams, round down your lye if there are two or more numbers after the decimal point. For oils or butters, round up.

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

Ok, good tip on rounding. I was using the standard rounding--up if .5 or higher and down if .4 or lower, but your method is less likely to cause problems with too much lye.