help with recipe and soap calculator.

[*Dee*]

ok so i found this recipe on here, its

45% olive oil

25% coconut oil

25% Lard

5% castor oil

which one would be better to use Lard of crisco ? is there a difference ?

also when i go to soapcalc i am a little confused as i have never done this before. the type of lye, weight of oils, water and super fat. i am not sure what to put here . is the 38 water as % of oils pretty standard cuz thats what it is set to? and the 5% super fat is already set as well, what exactley does that mean ?

and when i plug in the oils this is the results it is giving me, did i do everything right ?

anyway thanks in advance.. i am thinking about trying my hand at some cphp soap but would like to make sure i have everything figured out first. i need to fully understand everything first. so any help is much appreciated

Edited to add: i have read most people use between 5.5-6 qaurt crock pots how many pounds can you generally make with that size? and also is it neccessary to have a stick blender or does wire wisks work the same ?

Edited January 5, 2010 by *Dee*

[*Dee*]

ok after over 100 pages on here read and using google and bookmarking a bunch of different links. i think i might be understanding better, maybe not haha. but not i have like 7 different recipes.

im thinking im going to do cphp first, and then try cp just because i dont like to wait lol thankfully im not starting for a few more weeks yet once i get all the supplies i need. well once i found out what all i do need besides the lye and oils lol

off to do more research even though my eyes are very tired and my contacts are getting very dry.

[Kitn]

Research is a good thing , there is so much info out there , take notes , it will save you time later and bookmark stuff that is really good..I have a 6 qt crock pot and can hp a 6 lb batch of soap. You do not need a stick blender but some recipes will take a long time to trace with a whisk. The recipe you posted will take time to trace I amke a similar one and it takes about 10 minutes with the stick blender , so don't give up with the whisk it will take awhile.

Good luck with your soap , your research will pay off when you go to make your first batch , for sure.

[*Dee*]

Thanks so much i just ordered my pop colors from tkb. im going to get an extra crock pot and maybe the stick blendor this weekend. im gonna look at somethings i have read about from walmart to use as molds for now until i can get dh to make me some. but i also have a shoe box that will work awesome. its my daughters dora shoe box but its a rectangle same shape as alot of soap molds i have been seeing.

ill have my hubby bring me home a pair of safety glasses from work, and i believe i can get gloves at walmart if not my sister works at a pharmacy so she should be able to bring some home. too bad i dont work in a nursing home anymore i always had gloves then lol

im trying to think of what else i will need. i have read not to use glass for the lye/water mixture i was going to get a pyrex cup. so now i am researching on what to get for mixing that and also for mixing the cp when i am ready to do that. also i read plastic frosting spatulas work well and to not use wooden spoons as eventually they will be eaten lol

and then my ingredients. my brain is overloading on what all i need to start.

[Starr]

You're recipe looks sound to me. As for superfat, I've never done anything but the standard 5% that SoapCalc already preloads so I can't give you much info there. As for wisk vs. stick blender... I've yet to get a stick blender and have used a wisk for every batch of soap I've made. It works, it's probably slower and you'll curse your arm, the wisk, the soap, and possibly inanimate objects too while you stir and stir waiting for trace but it does work.

[inherowndominion]

Good luck with your adventures! It's totally addictive, isn't it?

I will say though, IMO, the POP colors don't come out nearly as pretty if you gel your soap. If you are doing HP or doing it in a crock pot, it's gonna gel, so don't be upset if the colors don't "POP" as much. The gelling just dulls the colors a little.

I used to use a whisk, but I couldn't live without my SB. However, if you are just experimenting, a whisk is probably a good idea cause it'll move much slower that way.

As far as molds go, Aldi, Costco, etc have tons of boxes for free that will make awesome slab molds! I still to this day use a pallette knife to cut my soaps, works the best!

HTH