Teach Soap

Could someone explain superfatting to me?

It's oils or butters that do not saponify, which means you'll have free oils in your soap that did not get eaten up by the lye. You need to always superfat so the soap is mild, not drying and doesn't strip the skin.

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

It can also be called "lye discounting".
Some older books call for extra oils/butters to be added at trace as superfat, but this isn't necessary. Just figure all of your oils/butters into your recipe and then run it through a lye calculator using whatever superfat % you want.

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

so how would I know what kind of oil to use for the superfatting and what %. I didnt know it was an essential thing to do.

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

So I put the oils in my calculator in say ounces and put the 5 or 7 in the superfat place. What will it show me in the end, will it add to the amount of an oil by that %? I am sorry to be so dense, its just that I have never understood and didnt know that it was necessary to make my soap as good as possible.

It is a bit confusing.
What it will do is take ALL of the oils in your recipe and then calculate your lye amount to leave 5% (or whatever superfat number you pick) of oils unsaponified.

Example: Your 2# recipe calls for
50% olive oil
20% coconut oil
20% palm oil
5% shea butter
5% castor oil
...and then it says to add an additional 2 tablespoons of castor oil at trace for superfat. This last step isn't necessary - just caluculate your recipe and tell the lye calculator what superfat you want to use. It will automatically figure the superfat - no need to add anything at trace.

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

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

So as I was reading I realized I didn't know what superfat meant either.

So just so I can get it straight in my pea brain...you can choose at what % you want to superfat. At least 5%...but other than that it's personal preference?

Do you ladies usually stick with a certain percentage or do you mix it up depending on the recipe?

I prefer 7% superfat (or lye discount).

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

It is easy to get caught up in the terminology that is used in soaping or any craft for that matter. When I was first learning to make soap some one explained superfat as extra fat. It is the amount of extra fat that is left over beyond what the lye will turn into soap. As the others have explained that extra fat is what makes soap non drying etc... So superfat can be thought of as extra fat or leftover fat in the recipe. To me when it was described that way it made sense.

Katie, I use a couple different amounts, depending upon the recipes, but for the majority I use 6% . I use higher for some of my recipes, and lower for one. Everyone uses a high percentage in their salt bars, you have too, and you should use 0% in laundry bars.
It really is a personal preference for most bars, so try experimenting with a few different amounts to see what you like best. The environment you live in, your skin, as well as the recipe(s) you use will impact the superfat amount that you like best and that works best for you.

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy

As a general rule, I've always been advised to not go higher than 10% superfat for standard recipes. That way, you won't end up with too soft of a bar, or one that doesn't lather and feels greasy or one that goes rancid (aka DOS (dreaded orange spots) showing up down the road).

I've been increasing superfatting every now on a random batch to see how it changes the feel of the soap. Right now I'm using 6% SF as my default.

Thanks everyone! It makes sense now! Explaining it as "extra fat" is a good way to get the point across!