godschild Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 I made up two 3 pound batch recipes and inputted my ingredients into soapcalc. I measured out all the ingredients and melted the oils for the 2 different recipes I was making. After I did that, I remembered that somewhere along the lines of learning about making soap I read that you are only supposed to use 2% castor oil in your recipes because it would cause it to set up too fast or something. I used 10 % castor in one and the other one I used 16% in the other! Now I can't remove all that extra castor because all the oils are melted together already. What do you think would happen if I went ahead and tried to make my soap? Is there anything I can do to fix this mess I made? I don't have enough ingredients to start all over?. I still have more soy and peanut oils and about 4 ounces of lard left I could add to my oils I already melted but I have no idea how much lye and water to add to my recipe amounts if I add more oils to it. Here is my first recipe with percents: Tot oil weight: 3lb, water as % of oil weight:38%, supcat/discount:5%, lye concent:20.856%, water : lye ratio 2.724:1. Ingredients are: water 1.140lbs, lye-naoh .0419lbs, oils 3lbs, fragrants0.094lbs. Soap weight before cook is 4.653lbs. Lard 60%, soybean oil 5%, castor oil 16%, coconut oil 76deg 19%. I didn't save my other 3lb recipe but here is the numbers that I just used but their equivalent percentages/amounts for a 3lb recipe: Tot oil weight 1lb, water as percent of oil weight 38%, supfat/discount 5%, lye concent 20.900%, water: lye ratio 2.717:1. Water .380lbs, lye naoh 0.140lbs, oils 1%, fragrance 0.031% soap weight before cook 1.551. Lard 45%, Soybean oil 10%, coconut oil76deg 20%, peanut oil 10%, castor oil 10%, cocoa butter 5%. See, I messed up Is there anything I can do to fix my mistake? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godschild Posted February 16, 2014 Author Share Posted February 16, 2014 I'm new to soapcalc and didn't even notice the "your messing up number" that pops up when you mess up but I'm sure it was there somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 Just make it as-is and learn from it. No big deal. There are no rules about castor. Some like it, some don't. Some like it at high %. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudMarineMom Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 If you measured out your oils per the percentages in soap calc, don't add any additional oils. The lye amount it calculated is based on the SAP values of the oils and butters you used. You can't really adjust your recipe once everything is melted.I generally use 8% to 10% castor in my recipes with no problems. I have read where others have used up to 20% castor. The soap may take a bit longer to harden and with the higher percentage and you may notice the soap is a bit sticky after the cure. Just continue on with your soap, you should be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godschild Posted February 16, 2014 Author Share Posted February 16, 2014 (edited) 10-4. About to fire up my crocks and git to gittin' and will post my results lolol. I really have learned from this to be on the lookout for those lil numbers that tell you what you're doing wrong. Thank yall so much for your wisdom. Here I go. Pray for me and my poor soap. My fiance made me laugh by saying that if it's sticky it would be great in the shower for a certain population. Giggles. Would be harder to drop it. Edited February 16, 2014 by godschild Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godschild Posted February 16, 2014 Author Share Posted February 16, 2014 Would anyone have a proper recipe using the oils I listed above? I'm sorry for being a bug. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debratant Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 (edited) try these percentageslard 55%coconut 25%soybean 15%castor 5%Your first recipe doesn't look bad at all as far as the numbers go for bar quality. They are within normal limits, even with that much castor. I would continue with it and you will be fine. Edited February 17, 2014 by debratant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck_35550 Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Soapcalc is kind of like falling down a rabbit hole. You can chase numbers to achieve lots of bubbles or gentle or super emollient and wind up with an out of balance recipe. Some soapers go by the 50/50 rule in formulation (50% soft and 50% hard oils) and build on that rule of thumb. You really want to keep an eye on your lauric acid (I try to stay under 12%) and pay attention to linoleic and linolenic percentages to prevent dreaded orange spots or rancidity. Quiet Girl's recipe is one of my favorites and it uses Crisco in the formula. The holy trinity of oils is olive, palm and coconut (Palmolive soap and detergent). Substitute lard for the palm and think 50% olive with 20% coconut and 30% lard. Now take out 10% from olive and add 10% soybean and take out 5% from olive and add 5% castor. Look at your qualities and whether adding or subtracting makes any real difference in the quality of your soap. Use quality lye, oils and research what fragrance oils work best in cp or hp applications. Leave your soap in the mold for at least two days and check with your gloved finger to see if its hard enough to unmold. HTH Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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