Thanks for the notes Charles!
I actually was using a stick blender, its just that the second I turned the blender on the mixture instantly seized up. After that I couldn't really do much with the stick blender; the batch was so small that the blender couldn't really get purchase on enough material to do anything once it was solid enough to be mounded up around the edges of the tiny pot I was using. So I just mixed it around with the spatula and loaded it into the mold.
I looked around for the snowdrift farm caculator that you mentioned in an earlier post, but it was taken down or something so I could not get access to it. After looking through maybe 5 other calculators which were not NaOH/KOH blend capable I ended up just making up my own spreadsheet. This wasn't difficult to do for just one recipe since I wasn't trying to make it all purpose or user friendly, just enough to do the job for this project. I looked up the saponification values of the constituents and put them in, added columns to calculate what it would take to saponify the entered amount of each component with either NaOH or KOH, then did some calculations which allowed for superfat and mixed hydroxides. To check that I didn't mess something up I put in your listed recipe and checked that my spreadsheet was giving me the same hydroxide numbers you listed. For some reason I needed to put in 4% superfat to get your numbers; could be the way I'm using the input superfat value to discount the lye. In any case, then I entered the numbers for a tiny batch I wanted to do to try things out, which gave me the numbers I listed in my post.
I posted this spreadsheet on my google docs for anyone that is interested:
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B-JHo9tm7cE7cE9mOFZUNVIydVU
I did the same thing for the castille soap recipe I did first, since I had already created the spreadsheet. I also have a ton of rosin at work that is now surplus for requirements and I wanted to see about using that in some soap (most calculators didn't have rosin in them either). I proceeded in a similar way, by inputting numbers from a known recipe listed on the web and making sure my spreadsheet gave me the same hydroxide number listed in the recipe. This spreadsheet can be found here:
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B-JHo9tm7cE7THRlZE5iSHFUSkE
Of course its possible I messed up the measurements; I was using two different scales at home which is not ideal, and neither of them are that great. There is always the potential for operator error as well!
I became concerned that neither soap was very warm when I finished molding it and wrapping in some towels. After doing some reading, I began to think perhaps the batches were too small to hold in the heat of the reaction enough to get as far as it was supposed to in the first 24 hrs. So I took both molds and put them in my oven at 80C for four hours, then left them in the turned off oven overnight. I read about some people doing this online.
The next day I pushed them out of the molds (2" PVC) and cut them up. The shave soap looked ok, though it was a lot softer than the castile bar. Anyway, I've got the little soaps on a cardboard box in the closet. I'll let them cure for a few weeks and see how they are (after pH testing with pH paper from work). I took a picture; I'll post that tomorrow since I forgot my camera today.
Its great that you are now selling soap; I think its neat when people can bring in income based on something that starts as a hobby. Honestly I don't think you would lose much business by posting your latest recipe since most people just want to buy a soap and get on with shaving, rather than getting bogged down with these details. Then there a people who want to get into soapmaking anyway (such as me) who will want to make their own, even if they know its not going to be initially as good as soap they could buy. But I don't think its your duty to keep the entire internet appraised of your latest recipe either
Anyway, soap on, and thanks for this thread and the feedback on my newbie soapmaking technique! I'm so glad I don't have to suffer through making and using worthless shave soap recipes.
-Holly
I actually was using a stick blender, its just that the second I turned the blender on the mixture instantly seized up. After that I couldn't really do much with the stick blender; the batch was so small that the blender couldn't really get purchase on enough material to do anything once it was solid enough to be mounded up around the edges of the tiny pot I was using. So I just mixed it around with the spatula and loaded it into the mold.
I looked around for the snowdrift farm caculator that you mentioned in an earlier post, but it was taken down or something so I could not get access to it. After looking through maybe 5 other calculators which were not NaOH/KOH blend capable I ended up just making up my own spreadsheet. This wasn't difficult to do for just one recipe since I wasn't trying to make it all purpose or user friendly, just enough to do the job for this project. I looked up the saponification values of the constituents and put them in, added columns to calculate what it would take to saponify the entered amount of each component with either NaOH or KOH, then did some calculations which allowed for superfat and mixed hydroxides. To check that I didn't mess something up I put in your listed recipe and checked that my spreadsheet was giving me the same hydroxide numbers you listed. For some reason I needed to put in 4% superfat to get your numbers; could be the way I'm using the input superfat value to discount the lye. In any case, then I entered the numbers for a tiny batch I wanted to do to try things out, which gave me the numbers I listed in my post.
I posted this spreadsheet on my google docs for anyone that is interested:
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B-JHo9tm7cE7cE9mOFZUNVIydVU
I did the same thing for the castille soap recipe I did first, since I had already created the spreadsheet. I also have a ton of rosin at work that is now surplus for requirements and I wanted to see about using that in some soap (most calculators didn't have rosin in them either). I proceeded in a similar way, by inputting numbers from a known recipe listed on the web and making sure my spreadsheet gave me the same hydroxide number listed in the recipe. This spreadsheet can be found here:
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B-JHo9tm7cE7THRlZE5iSHFUSkE
Of course its possible I messed up the measurements; I was using two different scales at home which is not ideal, and neither of them are that great. There is always the potential for operator error as well!
I became concerned that neither soap was very warm when I finished molding it and wrapping in some towels. After doing some reading, I began to think perhaps the batches were too small to hold in the heat of the reaction enough to get as far as it was supposed to in the first 24 hrs. So I took both molds and put them in my oven at 80C for four hours, then left them in the turned off oven overnight. I read about some people doing this online.
The next day I pushed them out of the molds (2" PVC) and cut them up. The shave soap looked ok, though it was a lot softer than the castile bar. Anyway, I've got the little soaps on a cardboard box in the closet. I'll let them cure for a few weeks and see how they are (after pH testing with pH paper from work). I took a picture; I'll post that tomorrow since I forgot my camera today.
Its great that you are now selling soap; I think its neat when people can bring in income based on something that starts as a hobby. Honestly I don't think you would lose much business by posting your latest recipe since most people just want to buy a soap and get on with shaving, rather than getting bogged down with these details. Then there a people who want to get into soapmaking anyway (such as me) who will want to make their own, even if they know its not going to be initially as good as soap they could buy. But I don't think its your duty to keep the entire internet appraised of your latest recipe either
Anyway, soap on, and thanks for this thread and the feedback on my newbie soapmaking technique! I'm so glad I don't have to suffer through making and using worthless shave soap recipes.
-Holly
Hi. If you do cold process, idealy you need to keep the oils and lye at the same temperature. Around 42-43C is fine. 48C, while a tad hot probably is OK with Stearic acid too. If you see your lye is cooling down quicker than your oils, what you can do is put a few inches of cold water and ice cubes in the sink and put the oil container in the sink to help it cool down a bit faster. Keep in mind that if your oils get too cold, you can always zap them in the microwave to get the heat back up but you can't do anything with the lye...
Stearic acid with lye traces almost instantly which is why you got mashed potatoes. It's surprising the first time you see this Personally I moved to HP because I don't like to have to worry about the temperatures. You can probably find a used crockpot in a yard sale for next to nothing. New ones arent that much either when they are on sale.
The only thing i'm a little worried with your batch is that you mixed with only a spatula. You want to be sure that your lye is completely blended with your oils. You don't any lye pockets in your soap. It would be pretty harsh! I would recommend a stick blender. I bought a cheap 10$ one with a 10$ extended warranty. One of those rare cases where it was worth it.. replaced it twice already. More expensive ones will burn out just as fast lol.
Just out of curiosity, what lye calculator did you use to check your recipe? If you didn't use one, always do. Especially for recipes found online. One typo in the lye quantities and OUCH. I didn't run your recipe through a lye calc to see if it was OK..
After you've unmolded it and cut it, give it at LEAST 3 weeks to cure. It's usually safe (but a little harsh) after two weeks, but you'll find the soap is better after 4 to 6 weeks.
Other than that, i'm sure it will turn out just fine. And Peppermint should be really nice. The first soap I made was eucalyptus and mint. I loved it!
Have fun and if you have any questions let me know!