1%
superfat
–
no
neutralization
needed
Summerbee
Meadow
calculator
used.
70%
Olive
Oil
20%
Coconut
Oil
10%
Castor
Oil
20
ounce
oil
batch
14
ounces
olive
oil
4
ounces
coconut
oil
2
ounces
castor
oil
4
ounces
glycerin
(from
the
initial
water
amount
–
this
will
help
speed
up
the
process
of
getting
to
the
cooking
stage)
4.27
ounces
(121
grams)
KOH
8
ounces
distilled
water
(12
ounces
liquid
needed,
the
other
4
ounces
is
the
glycerin
added
to
the
oils.
This
is
optional
and
you
can
remove
the
glycerin
and
use
12
ounces
of
distilled
water)
I
have
split
the
required
water
amount
into
part
water,
part
glycerin.
Using
glycerin
in
place
of
part
or
all
of
your
water
will
speed
up
the
process
of
getting
your
paste
to
the
cook
stage.
Formulas
high
in
olive
oil
tend
to
take
quite
a
long
time
to
get
to
trace.
You
can
omit
the
glycerin
if
you
would
like
and
use
all
water
too.
Use
enough
water
so
that
you
can
fully
dissolve
your
lye.
My
rule
of
thumb
for
minimum
water
amount
is
1.1:1
water:lye
ratio.
Prepare
your
work
surface
and
follow
all
safety
protocols.
Lye
is
very
caustic
and
can
cause
severe
burns
if
it
comes
into
contact
with
any
body
part.
Long
pants,
long
sleeves,
closed
toed
shoes,
latex
of
other
cleaning
type
gloves,
and
protective
eyewear.
20
ounces
of
oils
fit
nicely
into
a
4.5
quart
crock
pot
or
other
stainless
steel
pot.
If
the
mixture
level
is
too
high,
it
may
bubble
over,
if
the
mixture
is
too
low,
it
will
splash
out
of
the
pot
–
both
are
dangerous
situations
due
to
the
caustic
nature
and
high
temps
of
the
mixture.
1. Measure
out
and
melt/heat
your
oils
and
optional
glycerin.
2. Measure
out
your
KOH
into
suitable
container.
Measuring
in
grams
is
best
for
accuracy.
Many
problems
can
be
avoided
with
accurate
measuring
of
oils
and
KOH.
3. Measure
out
your
distilled
water
into
a
suitable
container.
4. Slowly
add
your
KOH
to
your
water
and
whisk
or
mix
it
carefully
.
It
will
heat
up
greatly.
5. When
temperatures
of
both
the
oils
and
the
lye/water
are
between
140
–
160
degrees
F,
slowly
pour
your
lye
mixture
into
your
oils.
If
you
temps
are
too
low,
it
will
take
longer
to
trace,
if
you
temps
are
too
high,
you
may
bubble
over.
Heat
greatly
increase
the
speed
in
which
the
chemical
reaction
takes
place.
6. Stick
blend
the
mixture.
7. Your
mixture
will
go
through
several
stages
as
it
gets
to
trace.
-‐ It
will
be
a
very
thin
opaque
yellow
-‐ It
will
darken
and
look
like
applesauce
with
some
of
the
oil
wanting
to
separate
out
and
float
on
top
-‐ It
will
thicken
and
smooth
out
and
turn
a
matte
opaque
-‐ It
will
continue
to
thicken
and
turn
a
bit
shiny
-‐ It
may
thicken
to
the
point
that
your
stick
blender
will
get
stuck
in
it
or
it
may
stay
more
fluid
–
but
will
be
thick.
Please
note
that
each
formulation
will
behave
differently
as
there
are
many
variables
that
will
affect
the
stages
your
paste
will
go
through
and
the
rate
at
which
these
will
happen.
You
may
see
the
above
stages,
more
stages
or
even
fewer
stages
as
some
pastes
will
trace
very
quickly.
These
include
the
ratio
of
oils
used,
glycerin
amount
and
heat.
Some
pastes
will
stay
thick
and
fluid
the
entire
time
some
will
get
so
stiff
you
cannot
easily
mix
them.
All
are
valid
states
of
your
paste.
8. Once
it
is
too
thick
for
the
stick
blender,
or
is
thick
and
glossy,
you
can
start
your
cook.
9. You
can
cook
it
in
a
crock
pot
making
sure
your
temps
are
between
170
–
220
degrees
F
(it
can
be
very
hard
to
control
the
temps
in
a
crock
pot
based
on
how
they
regulate
temperature)
or
in
the
oven.
You
can
also
do
stovetop,
but
I
do
not
do
that
method
so
cannot
offer
instruction
on
it.
Heat
is
needed
to
cook
your
paste
in
a
timely
manner.
Too
low
of
temps,
will
take
your
paste
longer
too
cook,
too
high
and
you
can
scorch
the
paste.
Some
people
do
a
cold
process
method
where
they
remove
the
paste
from
the
heat
source
and
wrap
it
in
towels
to
allow
it
to
saponify
on
its
own,
but
this
will
take
quite
a
bit
of
time
to
do
–
again,
each
formulation
will
vary.
10. Check
your
paste
every
30
minutes
and
give
it
a
stir.
11. Your
paste
will
turn
more
and
more
translucent
as
it
cooks.
12. After
2
-‐
3
hours
(or
sooner
if
you
prefer),
check
your
paste
with
phenolphthalein
drops
if
you
have
them.
Place
a
small
amount
of
paste
on
white
paper
towel
or
paper
plate
and
put
one
or
two
drops
of
phenolphthalein
on
it.
This
is
to
check
for
excess
lye
to
determine
if
your
oils
are
fully
saponified
.
Clear
to
very,
very
faint
pink
is
good
and
your
soap
may
be
done.
Any
other
shade
of
pink
to
fuchsia
means
you
need
to
cook
it
longer.
If
you
do
not
have
phenolphthalein,
then
skip
this
step.
13. Clarity
test
–
add
1
ounce
of
paste
to
2
ounces
of
boiling
water
and
allow
it
to
dilute.
If
it
is
milky,
it
is
not
done
and
needs
to
cook
longer.
If
it
is
very
cloudy,
it
needs
to
cook
longer
(or
you
have
excess
unsaponified
fats),
if
it
is
slightly
cloudy
or
clear
and
the
phenol
test
is
good,
your
paste
is
done.
If
it
is
clear
(or
just
slightly
cloudy),
let
it
cool
and
test
the
pH.
I
prefer
a
pH
meter,
but
many
use
good
quality
pH
test
strips
successfully.
The
pH
should
be
between
9
–
10
which
is
perfect
for
liquid
soap.
Please
note
that
you
can
have
a
good
clarity
test
and
still
have
excess
lye
or
too
high
a
pH.
Please
have
an
accurate
way
to
test
your
soaps
pH.
If
using
a
digital
pH
meter,
also
note
that
the
pH
will
be
lower
the
hotter
the
soap
and
it
is
best
to
test
at
room
temperature.
14. If
the
paste
is
done,
remove
it
from
heat
source.
Your
paste
may
be
very
thick
and
stiff
or
more
fluid
while
hot.
The
more
glycerin
used,
typically
the
more
fluid
your
paste
will
be.
At
this
point
you
can
dilute
all
of
your
paste,
part
of
your
paste
or
let
it
sit
overnight
to
make
sure
that
all
of
it
has
fully
saponified
throughout
the
paste(this
is
my
preference)
and
then
dilute.
Diluting
your
paste
1. Weigh
out
how
much
paste
you
want
to
dilute
and
place
in
an
appropriate
pot
with
lots
of
extra
room
for
your
dilution
water.
I
use
a
crock
pot
to
dilute
and
turn
it
on
warm.
Heat
will
help
speed
up
the
process.
Too
much
heat
and
you
will
have
more
water
loss
due
to
evaporation.
Keep
a
lid
on
the
pot
during
dilution.
2. Weight
out
an
equal
amount
of
distilled
water
and
heat
to
boiling.
I
prefer
to
boil
my
dilution
water
to
make
it
is
as
sanitary
as
possible
and
the
heat
speeds
up
the
dilution
process.
Many
people
prefer
not
to
boil
their
dilution
water
–
the
choice
is
yours.
If
using
a
crock
pot
to
dilute
your
paste,
make
sure
that
the
crock
pot
insert
is
not
cold
as
you
do
not
want
to
add
boiling
water
to
a
cold
pot
as
it
could
shatter
when
you
add
the
hot
water.
3. Add
the
dilution
water
to
the
paste
and
allow
it
to
start
to
dilute.
Give
it
time,
lots
of
patience
is
needed.
Make
sure
your
pot
is
covered
while
you
dilute
or
some
of
your
water
will
evaporate
out.
4. As
the
paste
dissolves,
you
may
need
to
add
more
water
to
fully
dilute
it.
Formulas
high
in
olive
oil
need
more
water
to
dilute
than
formulas
high
in
coconut
oil.
Add
water
in
small
increments
and
allow
more
of
the
paste
to
dilute.
Continue
this
until
the
paste
is
fully
diluted.
If
you
see
chunks
of
paste
still
floating
around
or
your
soap
develops
a
“skin”
on
top,
then
you
need
a
bit
more
dilution
water.
TAKE
NOTES
ON
HOW
MUCH
WATER
YOU
ARE
ADDING
FOR
DILUTION.
This
will
save
you
time
if
you
repeat
the
same
formula
when
you
go
to
dilute
it.
Patience
is
key
when
it
comes
to
diluting
a
formula
for
the
first
time.
5. There
are
two
things
to
consider
when
diluting
your
paste
–
Soap
concentration
and
viscosity.
Some
formulas
will
always
be
thin
as
water
no
matter
how
little
dilution
water
you
add,
some
formulas
will
have
a
thicker
consistency
if
you
do
not
over
dilute.
The
less
dilution
water,
the
more
concentrated
your
soap
will
be
also
and
too
concentrated
a
soap
can
be
1)
wasteful
and
2)
on
the
harsh
side
as
with
any
concentrated
product.
You
may
need
to
adjust
your
usage
amounts
based
on
how
concentrated
your
final
soap
is
going
to
be.
These
are
things
to
consider
and
determine
your
own
personal
preferences
when
determining
how
much
dilution
water
to
add.
Soaps
that
are
too
thin
based
on
your
desired
soap
concentration
can
be
thickened
afterwards
by
using
a
variety
of
ingredients.
6.
Once
your
soap
is
fully
diluted,
allow
it
to
cool.
Once
cooled,
it
may
thicken
up
a
bit
or
it
may
develop
a
skin.
If
a
skin
develops,
you
can
add
a
bit
more
dilution
water.
If
it
is
too
thick
or
portions
have
reverted
back
to
a
paste
stage,
you
can
continue
to
add
more
dilution
water.
7. Pour
your
diluted
soap
into
a
clean
container
and
allow
it
to
sit
or
sequester
for
a
week
or
two.
At
this
time
you
can
add
sequestering
agents
that
may
help
with
clarity
if
you
soap
is
slightly
cloudy.
Glycerin
or
sugar
solutions
are
often
used,
as
is
alcohol.
I
have
used
glycerin
at
a
rate
of
1
ounce
per
lb
of
finished
diluted
soap.
Glycerin
at
this
rate
will
not
thicken
your
soap
–
in
fact
I
have
never
seen
glycerin
thicken
liquid
soap.
Neutralizing
your
soap.
Neutralization
in
liquid
soapmaking
is
the
process
of
neutralizing
any
excess
lye
that
may
be
present
in
your
soap
NOT
creating
a
neutral
pH
(7.0)
product.
This
was
routinely
done
in
the
past
as
KOH
is
typically
only
90%
pure
and
to
make
sure
that
all
the
oils
were
saponified,
an
excess
of
KOH
was
used.
The
current
online
calculators
we
now
have
available
to
us
take
the
KOH
purity
into
account
which
gives
us
much
more
accurate
measurements.
There
are
many
older
formulas
and
tutorials
out
there
that
are
formulated
with
a
lye
excess
in
which
this
neutralization
needs
to
be
done.
If
you
formulate
without
a
lye
excess
and
up
to
a
3%
superfat,
you
will
not
need
have
any
excess
lye
and
therefore
will
not
need
to
neutralize
your
soap.
Borax
is
a
buffer
that
will
neutralize
any
excess
lye
but
will
only
take
your
soap’s
pH
down
to
about
9.2
(the
pH
of
the
borax).
Citric
acid
is
a
pH
adjuster
that
will
neutralize
the
excess
lye
AND
lower
your
pH.
If
you
use
citric
acid,
you
must
be
very
careful
not
to
use
too
much
as
you
can
lower
your
pH
to
the
“breaking
point”
of
your
soap
and
your
soap
will
start
to
separate
out
into
fatty
acids,
water
and
potassium
citrate
and
will
no
longer
be
soap.
Adding
other
additives,
fragrance
and
color
to
your
soap.
1. Using
anything
other
than
distilled
water
(and
the
sequestering
agents
above)
to
dilute
your
soap
is
setting
up
a
breeding
ground
for
bacteria,
yeast
and
or
mold.
Please
consider
this
when
thinking
about
dilution.
2. There
are
several
things
you
can
add
to
your
diluted
soap
to
enhance
its
properties.
Some
additives
are
in
powdered
form
and
should
be
dissolved
in
distilled
water
first
others
are
already
in
liquid
form.
Anything
insoluble,
will
float
on
top
or
fall
to
the
bottom
of
your
soap.
You
can
superfat
your
soap
with
water
soluble
oils
like
Water
Soluble
Shea
Butter
(Peg
40
Shea
Butter)
or
Turkey
Red
Castor
Oil
(sulfated
Castor
oil).
3.
Fragrance
and/or
essential
oils.
You
can
easily
add
these
to
your
soap
at
1
–
3%
of
your
finished
soap
weight.
Even
though
these
are
oils,
they
will
easily
incorporate
if
you
heat
up
your
soap
first
before
adding
them.
Some
people
have
success
just
adding
them
to
room
temp
soap
too.
Experiment.
Some
people
prefer
to
use
a
solubizer
like
polysorbate
20
or
other
fragrance
oil
modifiers
too
before
they
add
the
FO/EO
to
their
soap.
Please
note
that
polysorbate
20
can
cloud
your
soap.
ALWAYS
TEST
A
NEW
FRAGRANCE
OR
ESSENTIAL
OIL
ON
A
SMALL
SAMPLE
OF
SOAP
FIRST.
Not
all
fragrance
or
essential
oils
play
nice
with
liquid
soap
and
you
do
not
want
to
ruin
an
entire
batch
by
adding
an
incompatible
FO/EO.
4. Coloring
your
soap.
Liquid
dyes
work
best
but
many
use
micas
too.
Not
all
liquid
colorants
are
liquid
dyes
and
if
you
want
to
keep
your
soap
in
a
clear
state,
use
dyes.
Brambleberry
has
a
nice
selection
of
FD&C
liquid
dyes
and
you
want
to
use
the
low
pH
ones.
I
know
this
seems
counterintuitive
in
a
high
pH
product,
but
that
is
the
information
I
was
given
by
them
and
I
have
great
results
with
the
low
pH
dyes.
Many
people
do
use
micas,
but
you
will
find
over
time,
that
they
will
settle
to
the
bottom
of
your
soap.
Another
way
to
color
your
soap
is
to
infuse
one
of
your
oils
with
certain
botanicals
that
will
color
it.
Preservatives
Preservatives
can
be
a
touchy
subject
with
soapmakers
on
both
sides
of
the
debate
and
many
more
in
the
middle.
The
higher
natural
pH
of
liquid
soap
does
make
it
more
difficult
for
yeast
and
mold
and
even
bacteria
to
grow.
The
higher
the
concentration
of
soap
will
too.
The
higher
the
pH
of
the
product
and
the
higher
the
soap
concentration,
the
lesser
the
likelihood
of
things
growing
in
it.
The
higher
the
sanitary
conditioners
of
your
work
environment
and
utensils,
the
better
too.
However,
we
are
now
getting
into
lowering
the
pH
of
our
soaps
into
the
8.5
–
9.0
range
either
naturally
via
the
oils
and
formulas
used
or
by
using
pH
adjusters.
In
these
cases
one
must
consider
whether
a
preservative
will
be
needed.
You
will
also
want
to
consider
a
preservative
if
you
add
any
type
of
botanical
or
other
additive
that
provides
a
breeding
ground
for
nasties
in
your
soap
(aloe,
proteins,
etc.).
Some
of
these
additives
may
already
be
preserved
in
the
raw
material
state,
but
keep
in
mind
that
that
preservative
is
just
enough
to
keep
the
raw
ingredient
preserved
and
is
not
adequate
to
preserve
it
in
a
product
or
the
entire
product
once
it
is
added.
If
you
decide
to
use
a
preservative
for
you
soap,
you
need
to
choose
one
that
is
effective
in
a
higher
pH
product.
This
blog
has
great
information
on
preservatives
in
general
and
specific
information
on
liquid
soap.
http://makingskincare.com/preservatives/
In
soaps
that
I
choose
to
add
preservative,
I
use
Liquid
Germall
plus
or
Suttocide
A.