Teach Soap

Wondering if anyone knows what is the highest % of water discount that is safe when making soap? I am trying to shorten curing time and was considering discounting water more than 30% which is my current water discount. I am worried that with less water the lye crystals will not completely dissolve is this a valid concern

If you go to The Sage lye calc and input your recipe, it will give you a water (or liquid) range; for example 8 to 12 ozs. of water. Use the lowest number to mix your lye water with.

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

Thanks soapbuddy I'll check it out

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

I always use the soap calc. so this question made me wonder. So I went and compared/calculated the two and found that the range is 26% to 37% water.

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

Tammy

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

Well I thought I had been being wild cuz I always use 35-36% So lastt nights batch was a whopping 28% liquid! So bold, so daring, it's lavenderlady!

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

Tammy

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

Hi Tammy, thanks for your reply. I usually soap at the ratio of 1 lye : 2 water but I have heard some soapers use a ratio of 1 lye: 1.5 water (40% discount) this seems quite a discount, I was just wondering if anyone here has experimented with such a discount. Since my soaps are never gelled they take longer to cure and hardening I am trying to cut the amount of water I use as much as possible.

I've done a 1 lye: 1.5 water for pure castille since that one takes a long time to trace. It got hard as a brick pretty fast. You could use it as a lethal weapon

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

Soapbuddy is Castille soap in your opinion the only type of soap that 1 lye: 1.5 water would be ok to apply or could you do it with any other soap?. I am a bit concerned when FO's are used which normally accelerate trace

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

Here's a newb question: Why discount water?

I haven't been making soap super long (only since December). I've made about one recipe per week, mostly keeping it basic and experimenting with different oils. None of the books I've read mention discounting water- only discounting lye for superfatting. My guess is it could help create a harder bar. I'd love to get some resources on this though.

Discounting water makes the soap harder faster since water needs to evaporate. This only works if your fragrance or essential oil does not accelerate trace.

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

I am a steep water discount soaper. I often use only as much water as is needed to dissolve the lye. I definitely don't recommend it for the less experienced soaper. It can be a problem with some accelrating FOs and another thing to consider is that your lye solution is much more dangerous should you have a spill or a splash.