how much water?

[Craftedinthewoods]

I've just played around a bit with a lye calculator from majestic mountain sage and after studying it I think I understand the lye amount chart. Depending on how much superfatting I want, I then chose which lye amount to use.

But how much water? The top line says for my recipe I should use 12 to 19 oz. of water. That seems like a pretty big range. Any thoughts on what I'm missing?

[topofmurrayhill]

As a beginner, use the high number. The soap will saponify and trace more slowly, and you're less likely to run into problems.

In soaping, the oil and lye have to be as accurate as possible, but the water is flexible. That's just the medium in which all the chemistry takes place. More water in your soap means more time to cure and dry out, so experienced soapers may use less.

[Craftedinthewoods]

As a beginner, use the high number. The soap will saponify and trace more slowly, and you're less likely to run into problems.

In soaping, the oil and lye have to be as accurate as possible, but the water is flexible. That's just the medium in which all the chemistry takes place. More water in your soap means more time to cure and dry out, so experienced soapers may use less.

Thanks, Top. I can't wait to try this!