Teach Soap

okay for all the times i have read about double checking a recipe i admit i didn't do it I figured hey it's in a book it must be right,.. here's the recipe

3 lbs shortening
17 oz olive oil
10 oz safflower oil
7 oz canola
3 lbs milk(i used water)
12 oz lye
1 oz borax
1/2 oz sugar
1/2 oz glycerin
1/2 oz eucalyptus EO
1/2 oz citronella EO

followed regular directions and mixed and mixed and mixed some more finally got it a little thick gave up and poured. I'm sure most of you can pick up the mistake... too much water! at least now after i plugged it into a lye calculator i know that. so will it ever set?

the moral of the story even if its in a book check it twice!!!

That's why I don't trust recipes from books. I always run it through a lye calc to make sure. This on will take a looooong time to dry and cure.

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

well thankfully its supposed to be a "bug repelling" soap and since it's still snowing here i guess i can wait. when double checking a recipe through a soap calc and it asks for percentage of superfatting how do i know what to enter? i usually do 5% but that never matches so i get nervous and try another calc and get a different result, which is why i stopped checking and just went by the book. I would rather have a little extra water and wait than have too much lye, I guess this time a little was an understatement. Thanks for all the help i'm sure as i keep trying new recipes i"ll have tons more questions.

If you go the the Sage lye calculator, it will give you different recommendations for water or liquid. 5% superfat is a safe way to go.

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

soapbuddy, thank you, knew I could count on you for a clear answer. I actually checked this recipe(after the fact of course) on brambleberry's soap calc because the sage doesn't have an entry for shortening and boy was the water WAY off. Made another 3 batches last night after that one and you can bet I checked them all before I started! happy soaping everyone!

You're welcome. I've used the soybean entry for vegetable shortening on The Sage.

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

ahhhhh, whatever would we do without you, and everyone else here who holds our hand through this adventure we call soampaking. Thanks again

No problem; anytime.

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