Teach Soap

I have been lurking the boards and really want to try making soap, and am getting very close to making my first batch. Forgive me if this has been asked before, but I didn't spot this in the forums.

I am planning on making soap just for personal use, therefore many of the recipes I see seem to be too big of batches. I want to make different soaps/scents/colors, and I can't see making 5 pounds of different soaps. I really want to make smaller batches, perhaps 4-5 bars at a time, in order to experiment more.

Here is the question then, is there a problem down sizing recipes? Are there significant problems with small batches of soap? Anything special about temperature or technique I should look out for when making small batches?

Thanks for any insight, and I hope to make some soap soon.

If doing smaller batches, like 1 lb or so, you have greater chance of error while weighing ingredients. So weigh everything very, very carefully.
Also, smaller batches don't usually generate enough heat to gel completely. So it may take longer for your soap to be hard enough to get it out of the mold & you may get the "power ring" on the inside of your soap, but it's completely safe to use.

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Genny

Power ring? I am not sure what that is.

OK. Thanks for the information.

Convert recipes into grams, for more accuracy. Make sure to use soapcalc or another lye calculator to double check ingredient weights. Good luck!

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Lesli Sagan
Avital's Apiaries
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