Teach Soap

A few questions as I begin to set-up my SoapMaker program (yeah!)....

My current questions (I'm sure there will be many more to come!) deal with the settings under the "My Preferences" section.

1. Lye discount is the same as Superfat, correct? I'm used to doing a 5% superfat, so I would set it to 5% lye discount if I understand correctly.

2. For "Non-soap" items, they have the following units already set up:
Input unit for ingredients----set to grams
Recipe volume units---set to fluid ounces
Portion size---set to 100 grams
Calculated weights units---set to grams
I make whipped shea butter and am beginning to make lotions. I'm used to measuring in ounces and putting my products in containers that have sizes like 2 ounces and 4 ounces, etc. Should I be working in grams instead? Or is it okay to just stick to ounces?

3. Final one for now.....what to put for "expected shrinkage" of soap? They have it preset to 15%, but I thought someone here (maybe Susie??) said her experience is close to 20% shrinkage.

Any insight? Trying to get this "right" from the start, but maybe that's a bit idealistic .

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Carrie
Wife to my Best Friend and Homeschool mom to 7 beautiful gifts

1. Correct, lye discount is the same as superfat
2. Use whichever is easier for you. I leave everything in ounces since that iswhat I use most often.
3. Shrinkage depends a lot on how much water is in your recipe. I tend to do a slight water discount on most of my soap so 15% is pretty accurate for me.

Another thing soapmaker does is calculate a "Waste Allowance" of 2% when resizing to different molds. You can adjust this percentage is you need to - so far it's been ok for me.

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

Thank you, Linda! Am excited (and overwhelmed!) about getting this set up. I've gone through the whole Help manual and the Set-Up procedures.....now it's time to get down to the business of entering all the data----aacckk!

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Carrie
Wife to my Best Friend and Homeschool mom to 7 beautiful gifts

It's really not bad, Carrie. You can also change the units used for a recipe (say a small batch you want measured in grams) while leaving your default the same by saving the recipe that way NOT choosing save in preferences. I found the 15% isn't always accurate due to seasonal weather but it averages out ok. Apparently I'm a slob because when I resize recipes, 3% waste turned out to be more like it! Enjoy Soap Maker, it really is great.

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Linda

I learn so much when I can't leave well enough alone!

I recently got SoapMaker myself. I continually play with the numbers and settings. I haven't gotten it right yet. The hardest part for me was inputting my current stock of supplies. I had no idea how much I had of a certain oil, and more or less guessed. I'm working on fixing that now though. Over time, I'll get it right, just the same as you will.

Thanks, Linda and roywestfall.....I do appreciate your encouragement. I just need to jump into it now, I suppose!

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Carrie
Wife to my Best Friend and Homeschool mom to 7 beautiful gifts

We're right here if you have more questions.

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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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Carrie
Wife to my Best Friend and Homeschool mom to 7 beautiful gifts

Hi Carrie, I am not sure where I put my bar of soap and the measurements I was doing... it will show up in this house sooner or later! I kept mine at the 15% as Linda is right... it depends on your water discount. I did notice while we were 'running around' the past 12 days that most soaps for sale in gift shops or coffee shops have loose wrappers! So depending on when you put the wrapper on and the amount of shrinkage this can make a difference in your final products appearance. I am going to ask my mom to show me her stash of my soaps and see what fit is on my lables now. I have always labled them as they finished curing.

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Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!

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

Linda, I agree with you. At least you are in the same town and maybe adjust the labels if needed. You may want to clarify this with the lady you are doing buisness with. There were some that when I picked up the bar the label just slipped off. I am sure if the soaper new this she\he would adjust the labels. It is even more fun to go 'soap shopping' now that I know the process.

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Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!

I would have packaged them in boxes, but because they are bigger bars, the standard soap boxes aren't thick enough. I'm going to keep looking for another way to package them so it won't matter if they shrink a little. I may even try the shrink bands with the open ends.

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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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Carrie
Wife to my Best Friend and Homeschool mom to 7 beautiful gifts

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

The shrink bands with open ends get loose too. The label won;t slip off, but the band can get loose enough that it slides around a lot.

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist