Cold Process Soap making (LYE and Water ratio)

Cold Process Soap making : LYE and Water component

The water to lye ratio is important because it directly affects the properties of your soap. If you use too much water, your soap will be soft and low sudsing. If you use too little water, your soap can be harsh and difficult to cleanse with. Water is used to dissolve the sodium hydroxide lye so it can interact with the soaping oils to begin the saponification process. As the soap cures, some of the water evaporates and makes a harder, longer-lasting bar of soap. How much water you use in your soap will depend on the calculator you use.

The important part of determining how much water to use in your recipe depends on the ratio of lye to water you prefer. Remember, the lye solution is created by dissolving and diluting lye into distilled water. A common dilution rate is 30% lye and 70% water. In other words, the total makeup of the lye mixture is 1 part lye to 2.3 parts water. 

When the ratio of lye to water increases, the mixture is more lye concentrated. For example, a solution with 40% lye and 60% water (with a ratio of 1 part lye to 1.5 parts water) is more highly concentrated, because it contains less water in the total mixture.

Water discounting: The water to lye ratio for soap making may be 2:1 or 66% water and 33% lye. It is generally better to use a bit less water than too much water, using less water is sometimes called water discounting. It can help your soap harden and cure faster.

In practice, this means whatever you measure out for your lye, you will double that measurement in water.

Examples:

3 oz lye : 6 oz of distilled water

Soap made with a higher water to lye ratio will be softer than soap made with lower water to lye ratio.

Water discounting is not for everyone and it’s not something you should do with every batch of soap you make. It’s important to have a good understanding of the water to lye ratio and how it affects your soap before you begin water discounting.

When Water and Lye Ratios Change

The water to lye ratio is not always 2:1.

There are times when you will want to change the water to lye ratio. The most common reason for this is water discounting, which I mentioned earlier. When you want your soap to harden faster, using less water can be helpful.

Other times you may want to change the water to lye ratio if you are working with a special oil that needs more or less water.

You can also play around with the water to lye ratio to create different properties in your soap. For example, using higher water to lye ratio will give you a softer bar of soap.

Soap calc : http://www.soapcalc.net/

Water as % of Oils

"Water as % of oils" is a method of calculating the amount of water based on the weight of fats in the recipe.

Most soap recipe calculators are set to a default of "38% water as % of oils." This means a soap recipe will have 38 grams (or 38 ounces) of water for every 100 grams (or 100 ounces) of fats.

The problem with using "water as % of oils" is that the amount of water in proportion to the fats is not particularly important. What is more important to the chemistry of saponification is the amount of water in proportion to the alkali (NaOH or KOH).