Teach Soap

I just received the recipe for Pink Salt Bars in my Brambleberry Newsletter. The recipe is for a 5 pound batch. I am having a little trouble adjusting this recipe for my 3 pound loaf. I think it might be the salt that confuses me. Her oils total 54.9 ounces and the salt is 5 cups and it makes a 5 pound batch. Any thoughts

You could always do some math! Dun dun duuuuuun! Hehe

For each oil and for the salt in the original recipe simply divide by 5 and multiply by 3 When you divide by 5, you're taking your 5 lb batch to a 1 lb batch and then multiply by 3 to get your recipe from the 1 lb batch up to your 3 lb batch.

IE (I don't know the actual oils, so just using a generic batch):
Castor Oil 5.49 oz
Coconut Oil, 76 deg 10.98 oz
Olive Oil 21.96 oz
Palm Oil 16.47 oz
= 54.9 oz

Salt (5 cups) = 80 oz (5 lbs) - 54.9 oz = 25.1 oz / 5 cups = about 5 oz per cup

To get a 1 lb batch divide everything by 5:
Castor Oil 1.098 oz
Coconut Oil 2.196 oz
Olive Oil 4.392 oz
Palm Oil 3.294 oz
Salt 5.02 oz
= 16 oz

To get your 3 lb batch, now multiply your 1 lb batch by 3:
Castor Oil 3.294 oz
Coconut Oil 6.588 oz
Olive Oil 13.176 oz
Palm Oil 9.882 oz
Salt 15.06 oz
= 47.97 oz

since it's a tiny bit short AND it's going to the .001 you can probably round up on your measurements and then run those through your lye calculator ^_^

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Tamra
New to soaping, long time crafter and artisan, avid learner of new things!

The easiest way to recalculate recipes imho, is to put the original recipe into the soap calc using the weights. You will then see the percentages when you calculate it. Click to use percentages, then put the amount of oils you want to use in the box and it will tell you how much of each oil to use.
As for the salt amount, some people use an equal amount of salt and oils, some people 70%, and some people 50%. That is all your preference and not truly a set amount. You can calculate the percentage she used, but you'd be better off deciding what amount you would rather use, and trying several to decide which you like best.
Happy soaping!

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

Tammy

I hate Math. Now, I feel better. However, I found the awesome (yep, new to soaping) formula for figuring amounts on About.com You take the percentages of your recipe for oils, multiply by how many pounds of soap your recipe is, in ounces that is. and the sum is the number of ounces you need for each oil. ^^ And I have learned how to calculate the volume of a container - well, pvc pipe that is, for the volume, then multiply that sum by .40 to see the amount of oils you need to fill the container. Awesome! Now, if only I could figure out how to get a taller bar..... hum. I also learned when you are using a container with no bottom - only wrapped - dont bang it on the counter.....

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

Hello everyone... so very glad to have this chance to chat with fellow soapers.. I LOVE making soap. I have recently tried Salt Bars. They are newborn soaps , so I haven't had a chance to shower with them, but they look great. SOOO excited. One issue. I live in Maine and it has been VERY humid. I noticed my bars have "sweat"( along with the rest of us . The bars are very smooth and hard, but there are clear beads of ? water?, ?E.O/F.O on the soap. It wipes off easily, doesn't appear to be sticky. Will this eventually stop or will the humidity always make them "sweat". If so , can I prevent it?? One tiny snag in an otherwise successful venture. Any ideas/answers/suggestions welcomed.Thank you
Blessings...Linda

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Linda

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

Thank-you, Do you think wrapping /shrink wrapping is an option. Will they still cure properly?

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Linda

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

no dehumidifier.. Luckily humidity level like that of the last few days are not the norm. Tincture of time and a little patience is in order... thank you ... so glad to have found this forum... blessings..linda

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Linda

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~bytheSEAsoap~ Mella bythesea, bythesea, bythebeautiful sea

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