pjb31apb Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 Please forgive me if this has already been asked before, but is there even a difference? From what I understand, superfatting is adding extra oil at the end to increase the richness and a lye discount is starting out with a bit less lye solution to cut the harshness right? If that is the case, then does it make more sense to just use the normal amount of oils in the begining and put in less lye than to have to add more to the end that you may or may not forget? And if you decide to add extra at trace, then do you adjust your lye discount on the calculator to 0%?Again sorry if this is a repeat. TIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire and Ice Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 Someone needs to correct me if I am wrong but I think what you mean is a water discount, not a lye discout. I've been researching for months both on these forums and on the Dish and I've never heard of a lye discount. You don't want to discount the lye due to the fact that the if you under measure the lye, you will have oils that are unsaporanated and a huge oily mess in you mold due to too much oil. Superfatting means you add the oils at the end~ trace so that they are not eaten by the lye. Fire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruina Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. From what I understand, you can superfat in 2 ways. Either discounting your lye by 3-8% to keep some oils unsaponified or not discounting your lye and adding extra oils at trace.Discounting water is something else entirely and it's usually done by experienced soapers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinInOR Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 You are correct, there's 2 ways of having 'excess oils' in your soap.1. Most calculators default to a 5% 'lye discount'. That will leave 5% of the oils that you've entered into the calculation unsaponified. 2. Add extra oil to your batch that you haven't included in your original lye calculation. In cold process, saponification is happening in the mold, so if you do #2, you aren't guaranteed that oil as the only oil left unsaponified. #2 is best used by hot processors, who have already cooked their soap before placing it in the mold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjb31apb Posted January 1, 2008 Author Share Posted January 1, 2008 Ooops I meant water not lye. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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