Teach Soap

I have read several articles that talk about superfatting after trace. Does that affect the Lye content?

Superfatting is what's added beyond what the lye is supposed to be able to saponify.

But, since lye is still active in traced soap (and a couple days later), it will saponify whatever fats it wants. So, I just add all of my oils and butters at once instead and have it all worked into my recipe.

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Genny

Thank you! But if its more than the lye is suppose to handle,why do it? It will be a long time before i can figure superfats into a Recipe.

People do it, so they will have extra "nourishing" components left over to "nourish" their skin. But, I'm a skeptic and think that those extra components would be more benificial in a product that isn't going to be washed down the drain right away, like in a lotion or lotion bar.

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Genny

It is also done to make sure that all of the lye is saponified. With a 0% superfat you run the risk of having some free lye particles, which would make your soap at best very harsh.

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

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Genny

I do between 5% and 8%, depending on my mold and recipe. I tend to stick with a 5% if my mold isn't silicone!

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

If a recipe called for alot of soft oils would doing a lesser superfat ,say 5% instead of 7 ,would that give a harder bar?

Superfatting and lye discount is the same thing. If you have a good balance of hard and soft oils, 5% superfat should be fine. I prefer 7% myself. Neither will give you a hard bar if you have too many soft oils in your recipe.

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