maryann Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 I thought I wanted the iodine level to be in the 70's? I read the following on another forum (I'm confused ).... "The ideal iodine level is around 160-165 and that will produce a long lasting firm bar of soap and this is reached by a balance of soft and hard oils." The recipes I came up w/ the iodine level was 74, but the hardness was 32 -what does the 32 mean? TIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaybee23 Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 I have read the lower the iodine level the harder the bar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 This is copied from the Sooz site. Iodine - As a general rule, the lower the number, the harder the bar and the less the conditioning qualities and vice versa. Definition: number of grams of iodine that will react with the double bonds in 100 grams of fats or oils.http://www.soapcalc.com/soapqualities.asp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinInOR Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 The 160-165 number is the INS number, which is a combination of iodine and saponification numbers. The 32% in the hardness just says that 32% of the fatty acids in the bar contribute to hardness. I find the iodine is more reliable in telling me if something new is going to be hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maryann Posted February 28, 2006 Author Share Posted February 28, 2006 Thanks Carrie, I finally understood how to use the soapcalc on that site, now it looks like I need to explore the site a little more and alot of my questions will be answered . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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