Pretty Please help with soap recipe??.

OK, since I am as dumb as a box of rocks when it comes to math, could someone please help me?? Pretty please?

I want to make this recipe that was posted in the recipe section, it sounds wonderful and I have the stuff on hand..lol

Quietgirl's Basic soap

After many requests for my basic soap recipe, Ive decided to share with the members of this board. Thanks to all who have contributed and shared their recipes with me.

Put in soap calc:

Vegetable shortening 15%

Coconut 15%

Palm Kernal Flakes 15%

Kokum or Shea 5%

Safflower 25%

Olive 25%

This is superfatted at 5%. I normally discount my water. And sometimes do half milk/water.

This makes for a sudsy bar. Havent had any complaint on it being drying. Maybe others can chime in here that have used it. Enjoy!

Kathy

I am very new to soapmaking this will be my 3rd batch of CP soap.. Anywho, how do I figure out how to put this in to oz? I want to make about a 4lb batch. I want to use frozen GM for the water. I don't know how much GM I will need, I only have a 12oz condensed can.. ( I got some instructions from Oregon Trails on how to use frozed GM with your fav CP recipe and wanted to try it) I went to soapcalc and being that I am in special ed math class..lol I can't figure it out, so I went to MMS calculator but don't have it in oz to plug in. The two recipe's I have done were already measured I am also a little confused on the supperfatting, I didn't have to do that before :undecided ..

Feel free to laugh, but after your done can can you help me?..lol

TIA!

Sharon

Won't laugh, but did you read the Miller website? Must Read if you ask me. Anyway...

First, by 4# batch do yo mean 4# of oils? That's a pretty big batch for a newbie, but that's just me talking. Second, I would never try a new recipe with any complications added (like GM) but I love this recipe - it's one of my faves - and know it's not a tricky one, so go for it...

Second, if you use soapcalc.com you can enter as %s, and it's truly better to think that way if you ask me.

Superfatting is part of the lye calculation - you basically short yourself a bit on the lye to make sure you don't have too much, and a little extra oil/fat in the recipe keeps it from being too harsh. Some calculators default to 5%, others to 6% - either is fine.

Assuming you are doing 4# of oils, you take 4# and multiply that by 16 ounces (per pound) to get 64 ounces total. Then...

Vegetable shortening (Crisco) 15% = 0.15 X 64 oz = 9.6 oz

Coconut 15% = 0.15 X 64 oz = 9.6 oz

Palm Kernal Flakes 15% = 0.15 X 64 oz = 9.6 oz

Kokum or Shea 5% = 0.05 X 64 oz = 3.2 oz

Safflower 25% = 0.25 X 64 oz = 16 oz

Olive 25% = 0.25 X 64 oz = 16 oz

(total weight 9.6+9.6+9.6+3.2+16+16 = 64 oz oils)

Plug that into a lye calculator to get the amount of lye and liquid required (I would say don't "discount" the liquid/water- use the amount recommended. I like soapcalc.com. Use 50% of the liquid as GM if you desire (or more or less, whatever works for you) and the remainder as water.

WOW Carebear.........were you a math professor in a previous life?? LOL You for sure were a teacher!! Excellent job of explaining that!

I love this recipe too...it is one of my favorites also!

math - that I get. the rest of life boggles my mind!

Thanks Carebear! It's ok to laugh, I am! Yes, I have been reading Millers website, there's a lot of great info there. I am learning, but I don't know if there is much help for me in the math department...lol If I can figure out what formula I need to use to convert to oz to do my measuring, I could do it on my calculator..

Oh, gee I don't know is that to big a batch? I thought I read that you shouldn't go much smaller then that when your a begginer because there isn't room for error. Maybe that that was a 2lb batch??.. I don't even have a real mold yet. I am using a plastic drawer that measures 12x9x2 1/2 so, I don't have anything very small to use.. Do you think I should cut it down? Your the expert. Maybe I should make a 3lb batch huh? 50% GM 50% water. Not 100%GM is that correct?

Thank you much for your help!! I greatly apprecite it!!!

Sharon

I would personally find a smaller mold and make a 2# batch, but I'm like that LOL!

You don't want to make your bars 2" thick, though - do 1.25" thick maybe - so the amount of oils you need are 12 X 9 X 1.25 X 0.4 = 54oz (3.375 lbs).

If you are using evaporated GM it's basically double strength, so you can use equal parts water and GM and it'll be "full strength". Some will say use frozen GM (I have no luck with that), some say make up the lye with the water portion and add chilled GM to the mix after adding the lye sol'n to the oils. Lots of techniques for GM. (I use powdered, added as powder, and still have issues - GM is NOT my thing LOL).

OK, I will look for something smaller and do a 2lb batch. What about like a loaf pan, would that work, or it that to small? I am trying to think of what I might have here that would work...Hmmm what could I use... The first batch was a smaller and the mold was to big, so the bars were very thin 3/4":undecided

The last batch I didn't fill it to the top, the bars were about 1 1/2" thick, but pretty heavy..

I was looking for powdered GM but couldn't find any, only the condensed. I am not saying I am going to have any luck, just wanted to give it a try..

I Don't know maybe I should try a small batch of this recipe with just FO to see how I like it and then do one with the GM?

Also, when is it safe to try it out? I know the longer you cure it the better, but I am itchin to try it..lol the first batch has been curing for 2 weeks and the other for 11 days...

Thanks!

Sharon

The easiest way for me to take a percentage recipe and make it into oz is to enter all of the %'s into the calc as ounces.

Vegetable shortening 15oz

Coconut 15oz

Palm Kernal Flakes 15oz

Kokum or Shea 5oz

Safflower 25oz

Olive 25oz

That will make a 100oz batch. Then tell the soap calc to resize to 32oz or 48oz or whatever size batch you need.

HTH and it's even way easy for the math challenged.

Edit to say, if the other batch has been curing for 2 weeks, use it. I test mine within a week. If they are good then, they will just get better.

www.herbalsoapsbyrj.com has a conversion from % to ounces. I use it all the time and love it. It's so easy. Try it I think you'll be pleased. Quietgirls recipe is the da bomb!!!! I love it. HTH

My first batch was 8 pounds, it worked for me. I soaped "Rachel's Tried and True" from Miller's site, used a dishpan with a garbage bag for a liner.

Use any box that you have and line it with freezer paper, garbage bag or a shopping bag turned inside out so the print won't bleed into your soap. You don't have to have a fancy mold to make great soap!

I also think that experience is the best teacher, figure out ahead of time the method you want to use with your goat milk by careful research, then if you like it, fine, if not then back to the drawing board to find another way to incorporate your goat milk. I have milk frozen, canned and powdered on hand to soap whatever way suits my fancy at the time.

It is really good to try different ways to find what works for you, just remember to always use safety precautions when you are soaping.