The amount of water used to dissolve the lye plays a crucial role in the soap-making process. It affects how quickly your soap thickens (reaches "trace"), when you can cut it, how fast it dries (cures), and how hard the finished bar will be.
This amount can be expressed:
Note: as [water-to-lye ratio] and [water as percentage of oils] increase, [lye concentration] decreases.
If you’re new to soap making, we suggest starting closer to the upper limit of the above ranges (lower limit in the case of [lye concentration]). A larger amount of water gives you more time to work with your soap before it reaches trace and is more forgiving if errors or delays occur.
Even for experienced soap makers, a higher water content is recommended when:
Things to keep in mind:
If part of the lye does not react with the oils and remains in the soap after the saponification, the resulting soap can be caustic and harsh to the skin. To prevent this, most soapmakers use an excess of oils and fats in their recipes - more than the amount theoretically required to react with the lye. This process is called superfatting. You may also hear the term "Lye discount", which is essentially the same concept.
Superfatting also benefits the skin as the excess of oils in the soap create a protective, moisturizing layer.
Superfatting is expressed as a percentage, typically ranging between 1-10% (with the recommended value around 5%). However, many soapmakers use significantly higher superfatting percentages. Keep in mind that:
We recommend experimenting with different superfatting percentages to find the right balance for your preferences and needs.
The fats and oils you choose will determine the properties of your soap, such as lathering, conditioning, creaminess, and more.
To add a fat/oil to your recipe:
Note: If you’re entering quantities as percentages, ensure that the total sum of all percentages equals 100%.
Selected fats/oils are highlighted with a colored background in the list.
To remove a selected fat/oil:
Select your additives (herbs, fragrances, essential oils, etc.) from the list.
To add an additive to your recipe:
Selected additives are highlighted with a colored background in the list.
To remove a selected additive:
Enter any additional details about this recipe.
If you've added custom additives, you may want to note them here.