Re: Maurice et al, help with trace ot?

[Guest guest]

>I know that we don't do the soap thing here. But I thought I might get a

>good answer here. I am wondering what the chemical point of adding oils at

>trace is. I have some assumptions, but I only have a minor in chemistry so

>by no means am I an expert. Unfortunately, this means that I also know

>enough to not be satisfied with the general " this is how I feel about it

>answers " -grin.

>I have been soaping full blast for about 6 years now and have been playing

>with it for about 10. Can anyone tell me about adding oils at trace? I do

>HP, both crock pot and oven. Here are a few questions I have concerning it:

>1) Are the oils added so as not to saponify?

>2) Do you calculate oils into lye equation?

>3) Do you choose oils that won't saponify as easily or completely?

>4) Do you add at light trace or hard trace?

>5) Is it primarily for skin conditioning?

This sounds like an excellent discussion for the Think Tank

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/The-Think-Tank/

Maurice

--------------------------------------------------------

Maurice O. Hevey

Convergent Cosmetics, Inc.

http://www.ConvergentCosmetics.com

-------------------------------------------------------

[Guest guest]

Hi I'm new here and certainly no chem expert or even soap expert. I

haven't yet checked out the Think Tank that Maurice suggested, but I

wanted to throw something in here myself:

I was under the impression saponification is not an exact science

unless somehow you can control the environment and ingredients each

time it's made.

Isn't that why an experienced soapmaker can make the same batch

several times but one batch will not turn out right, because maybe

that day was raining or maybe the oil used had slightly different

chemical makeup just because the plant source got extra fertilizer

prior to harvest?

Also I've never had a unused bar go bad, but I've always read that if

a bar is too superfatted it could go rancid. Has anyone here ever had

one or of one actually going bad due to superfatting?

I understand there are saponification values for different oils, but

is possible to measure actual amount of saponification while making

soap and also after curing?

If this all sounds dumb, it's because I've only read of soaping,

haven't yet made my own other than melt and pour, but I've been using

only cold process for about 10 years now (i would like to try a HP

bar)---so I think I'm an expert---ha, ha!

I just always understood that saponification is something that is

affected by multiple factors, therefore not exact. ~

[Guest guest]

Hi I'm new here and certainly no chem expert or even soap expert. I

haven't yet checked out the Think Tank that Maurice suggested, but I

wanted to throw something in here myself:

I was under the impression saponification is not an exact science

unless somehow you can control the environment and ingredients each

time it's made.

Isn't that why an experienced soapmaker can make the same batch

several times but one batch will not turn out right, because maybe

that day was raining or maybe the oil used had slightly different

chemical makeup just because the plant source got extra fertilizer

prior to harvest?

Also I've never had a unused bar go bad, but I've always read that if

a bar is too superfatted it could go rancid. Has anyone here ever had

one or of one actually going bad due to superfatting?

I understand there are saponification values for different oils, but

is possible to measure actual amount of saponification while making

soap and also after curing?

If this all sounds dumb, it's because I've only read of soaping,

haven't yet made my own other than melt and pour, but I've been using

only cold process for about 10 years now (i would like to try a HP

bar)---so I think I'm an expert---ha, ha!

I just always understood that saponification is something that is

affected by multiple factors, therefore not exact. ~