Simi, even though I have been making soaps for six years, I always learn something new from you. THANK YOU, THANK YOU for all the knowledge you generously share with us, your followers. You’ve made another excellent video, which I was eagerly waiting for, because last time we were writing to each other, you mentioned that you were preparing it. Thank you. Sending you warm greetings from Europe - Slovenia.🥰🥰
Yay!! I absolutely love seeing a comment like this - thank you! So happy to hear you enjoyed it and I do remember writing to you about this next video - thanks for stopping by to watch! :)
This made a whole lot of sense, particularly for an enthusiastic soap maker, who has had so many frustrations with this craft. You have simplified quite a lot. Thank you.
I‘ve been soaping for many years. I‘ve found this video so much more interesting and informative than I had expected from this length. You are sharing very valuable in depth knowledge here. Thank you so much for that. I‘ve never used palm oil and I don’t plan to, so all your tips were especially appreciated. I‘ve rendered gras-fed organic beef tallow before, that my local butcher used to give me for free. It made the most wonderful soaps, so I highly recommend it. But since my butcher retired I haven’t found a replacement, yet. Thank you again for this great video!!! Truly inspiring.
Thank you for sharing I have purchased soap making classes but none of them give all the information you give in that video thank you ❤ I have also purchased your book off amazon I haven't tried any recipes yet but I did read the entire book Really happy with my purchase ❤
Simi perfect timing. I have been playing around with recipes for a year and using those numbers in soap calc to guide me. After determining what recipe to go with as my base one I made more soap. My husbands friend asked if she could try some and was happy to give feedback. So I put together a page of what I wanted her to consider for each soap (5) not all with the base ingredients and all with different additions. She just gave the feedback and it has been so well done it’s useful. At the same time we are both trying the same amongst others and scoring the same values. Of course I recognise we all have different skin type , age etc so will prefer possibly different bars but it is the overall affect I am interested in. Now I have gone back to reading more about fatty acids and which oil is responsible and what is the recommended/preferred score. So you can see your video arrived just at that stage. I’ll come back to it later once I’m free in the day , but already thank-you Simi if you ever run an online course let me know.
Thank you Simi! Love your explanations and grateful for your substitution of different oils. May I ask you for an input for future videos if you also use any ghee in a soap and can include the properties of it and its comparison and similarity to another butter? Have a wonderful Christmas to you and your staff!!! ❤❤❤
Hi there! So happy you found this helpful! I’ve never used ghee, but I checked it out in soapcalc. It is an option and it looks like it’s very nourishing, but not very hard or bubbly. I’d love to hear the results if you make a ghee soap!
Thank you! Very informative! I use SoapMaker Friend and they include a Longevity number. Is that something I need to worry about as long as I'm following your other guidelines?
Hi there and great question! Longevity on Soapmaker Friend is calculated by taking the hardness number and subtracting cleansing. So, you could calculate it easily yourself, if you like. It can also be calculated by adding palmitic and stearic acid together. These fatty acids are less soluble in water, so they last longer. Since I talk about going for a higher hardness and lower cleansing in this video, this lines up for more longevity. I guess what they’re saying is that hard butters like Cocoa and Shea will last longer than coconut, since coconut oil makes up the majority of the cleansing number. Of course lard, tallow, and palm oil are all high in these fatty acids as well, I just don’t happen to use them. Honestly, people love our soap and we’ve been selling it for a lot of years, and I’ve never heard anyone complain about longevity (maybe because we do use high butters?). It’s all subjective and personal preference, of course, plus people use soap very differently! I’ve had some people tell me that our bars last a month or more and some people say they go through a bar a week! Hopefully this helps a little. If you’re not satisfied with longevity when using the bars you make, then definitely take a closer look at this.
Hi Simi and thank you for your lovely videos. So much to learn from them. Easy to understand and so informative. ❤ I have one question: you mentioned Saturated : unsaturated fats in soap. What difference does that make in soap? (I am just used to think about it in food 😅)
Hi there! In general, hard oils and butters like lard, tallow, palm oil, coconut oil, cocoa butter, etc are high in saturated fatty acids, so these hard oils/butters will lead to more hardness in a bar. Soft oils like olive oil, avocado oil, and sweet almond oil, are generally high in unsaturated fatty acids which leads to softer, but more nourishing bars of soap. The first four fatty acids in the list are saturated and the next four are unsaturated, so you can click on an oil and see its composition of each! I hope this helps!
Hi, thank you for all the info. I would like to know if there is cheat sheet for ingredients in soap making. sometimes I have doubts on amount and % of active ingredients.
This has been the most helpful thing for me!! I have a few questions. First of all I know that using coconut milk, I buy mine in the can at the grocery store, has quite a bit of fat. Usually I have been freezing it and using it as my liquid. But because the fat content is so high, it sets up as it's cooling and ends up being like a thick yogurt and makes a nice bar of soap still. My question is does it not affect the final soap qualities? Because there is no way to add it in Soap Calc. My second question is what is your/others' opinion of Grapeseed oil instead of Olive? It's easy to buy at Costco. Also how do I know if the Crisco Oil I buy is the old or new? It's the one in the blue box. Thank-you for this very exceptional video....oh one more comment.....I've made several bars with 0 cleansing properties as you mentioned, hard as rocks due to tallow and cocoa butters but essentially 0! I made them before understanding how to use this calculator. They suds up nice, smell nice, but leave a slippery feel. I'm happy to hear we can still use them as soap!
Hi there! The additional liquids absolutely DO affect the final bar, which I mention in the video. Milk in particular affects it a lot, as the lye actually reacts with the fats in the milk, so you essentially unintentionally get a higher superfat when using milk in your soaps. As far as grapeseed oil goes, I avoid it in soap because of its low shelf life. Grapeseed oil has a shelf life of only six months, which might explain why it’s on sale! The oils with the lowest shelf life in your soap dictate the shelf life of your soap, so that’s why I don’t use it. I’m not sure about your question regarding crisco. Can you clarify? We don’t use crisco in our soaps, but I’m assuming you’re using it as palm oil? The slippery feel you mention reduces a lot of you cure your bars longer, but olive oil soaps are notoriously “slimy” feeling! I hope this helps a bit! 😊
@@muddymintsoap It helped so much thank you for the detailed answer. As far as Crisco that I buy in the store it is what people buy to make pie crusts...but is Soap Calc they have old or new with palm...and I didn't know which one to select. But moving forward I probably won't use it.
I’m glad it helped! I didn’t know that about Crisco in soapcalc. Thanks for clarifying. They probably changed the ingredients and that is why SoapCalc has two different numbers. I’ll have to look into that and get back to you! Let me know if you figure it out first. :)
Thank you! I compared this to my base soap recipie and I ended up with very similar characteristics to what you said you thought were good. I use goat milk in my soaps and ussually keep a 5% super fat. Great soapy minds think alike lol
I have a question about lye. Is it still good to use after the expiration date?.. thank you so much for your knowledge., I love your videos!! And I know I can trust your opinion.
Hi there and thank you! I would not use expired lye. It’s just not worth it to potentially waste so many lovely and expensive ingredients. I’d get fresh lye and make sure you’re good to go!
@ Thank you! Yes, that was my thought as well. I just purchased 3 x 25 kg bags and they all have an expiration date of May,16, 2025. I would rather not chance using it with the cost of expensive oils either. Thanks Simi! Love your book, and can’t wait for another RUclips video!!🙌❤️✌️
You still have some time, so I guess it depends how quickly you use the lye up! Usually when purchasing lye, you wouldn’t want the expiration to be so soon though.
@@muddymintsoap yes agreed! Another local soap company asked if I wanted to buy a bunch of 25 kg bags of lye at $50 + tax a bag! Normally it’s $145/bag Canadian so that’s why I’m curious about purchasing around another 10 bags. I may go for 7 bags though. Thanks for your professional advice Simi!.. I greatly appreciate it🙏❤️
Hi there! As far as I know, the only way to make hair conditioner is to make a syndet (synthetic detergent) bar. With cold process shampoo bars, you typically use a vinegar rinse to help balance the ph, particularly in hard water. We don’t use tallow in our soaps, but that’s because we chose to have a vegan oil base. I’ve heard tallow soaps are awesome! The only con I can think of is that some people don’t want animal fats in their products.
Your videos are always so informative!! Thank you!! I always wondered, if I make a high water discount, for example Lye Concentration 40% or 45%, is it going to affect the moisturizing properties of the soap? Will it be drying to the skin? I am asking because I watched a video with a yogurt soap recipe and they made a high water discount and said "don't worry about this high water reduction because yogurt will replace the hydrating properties of the missing water" I am really curious... Thank you again for your work, Simi!!
Hi there! The water doesn’t affect the moisturizing properties of the soap. If you use less water, the soap will unmold more easily and be much harder to begin with. Most of the water ends up evaporating during the curing process anyway. However, milk, yogurt, or other alternative liquids will affect the properties of the soap, particularly milk since it contains fats that will actually saponify! I hope this helps!
Hi there! I explain it in this video a bit, but you should watch the other soapcalc video we did to learn even more. Superfat is extra free-floating oil in your soap.
Simi, even though I have been making soaps for six years, I always learn something new from you. THANK YOU, THANK YOU for all the knowledge you generously share with us, your followers. You’ve made another excellent video, which I was eagerly waiting for, because last time we were writing to each other, you mentioned that you were preparing it. Thank you. Sending you warm greetings from Europe - Slovenia.🥰🥰
Yay!! I absolutely love seeing a comment like this - thank you! So happy to hear you enjoyed it and I do remember writing to you about this next video - thanks for stopping by to watch! :)
Do u have a patron
This made a whole lot of sense, particularly for an enthusiastic soap maker, who has had so many frustrations with this craft. You have simplified quite a lot. Thank you.
So glad to hear that! Thank you! 😊
I‘ve been soaping for many years. I‘ve found this video so much more interesting and informative than I had expected from this length. You are sharing very valuable in depth knowledge here. Thank you so much for that. I‘ve never used palm oil and I don’t plan to, so all your tips were especially appreciated. I‘ve rendered gras-fed organic beef tallow before, that my local butcher used to give me for free. It made the most wonderful soaps, so I highly recommend it. But since my butcher retired I haven’t found a replacement, yet. Thank you again for this great video!!! Truly inspiring.
You are the best teacher!! Anything you post am listening watching because l will learn a lot. Thank you for all the effort.
Thank you so much!! ❤️❤️
I dropped palm oil and replaced it with grass fed beef tallow. it is a dream to soap with.
That sounds awesome! I have yet to work with lard or tallow, but I do plan to try it someday!
you made me a confident soap maker prior to making any soap lol thanks!
Haha! I love it! Thank you! :)
Thank you. This information is helping me boost my soap making game ❤❤
Love hearing that! Thank you! ❤️
Thank you for the great knowledge you've shared. Love your videos. Can't wait for the next one. Have a great Christmas from the UK 🎉
Thank you so much and Merry Christmas!
WONDERFUL INFO. LOOKING FORWARD TO MORE VIDEO'S. THANKS SO MUCH!!
You're welcome! Glad you enjoyed it! :)
Thank you for sharing
I have purchased soap making classes but none of them give all the information you give in that video thank you ❤
I have also purchased your book off amazon I haven't tried any recipes yet but I did read the entire book
Really happy with my purchase ❤
Thank you so much!! I really appreciate that and I’m so happy you’re enjoying my book! 😊❤️
Thanks alot, I always learn from you, information you gave are trusted and I appreciate your efforts
Thank you so much and thanks for watching! :)
@ Can you guide me for a book for skincare recipes
Hi! My two favorites are Jan Berry’s book “The Big Book of Handmade Products” and “Botanical Skincare” by Herbal Academy.
Simi perfect timing. I have been playing around with recipes for a year and using those numbers in soap calc to guide me. After determining what recipe to go with as my base one I made more soap. My husbands friend asked if she could try some and was happy to give feedback. So I put together a page of what I wanted her to consider for each soap (5) not all with the base ingredients and all with different additions. She just gave the feedback and it has been so well done it’s useful. At the same time we are both trying the same amongst others and scoring the same values. Of course I recognise we all have different skin type , age etc so will prefer possibly different bars but it is the overall affect I am interested in. Now I have gone back to reading more about fatty acids and which oil is responsible and what is the recommended/preferred score. So you can see your video arrived just at that stage. I’ll come back to it later once I’m free in the day , but already thank-you Simi if you ever run an online course let me know.
That’s amazing!! This is what being a soapmaker is all about! Love it! 😍
Thank you Simi! Love your explanations and grateful for your substitution of different oils. May I ask you for an input for future videos if you also use any ghee in a soap and can include the properties of it and its comparison and similarity to another butter? Have a wonderful Christmas to you and your staff!!! ❤❤❤
Hi there! So happy you found this helpful! I’ve never used ghee, but I checked it out in soapcalc. It is an option and it looks like it’s very nourishing, but not very hard or bubbly. I’d love to hear the results if you make a ghee soap!
Wow, thank you so much, Simi, for sharing lots of helpful information about formulating cold process soaps.❤ God bless 🙌🏼 ❤
Thank you so much! I'm so happy you found it helpful. :)
This is awesome! Can you do a video where you talk about what you might expect on launch day or things to consider when planning for launch day?
I’m learning so much from you!🤯Thank you Simi!❤
So happy to hear that! Thank you! :)
Great video. I always learn a lot.
Thank you! :)
You're the best! Thank you 💕
I appreciate that! Thank you for watching! :)
Great job 🎉🎉🎉
Thanks! :)
Thank you! Very informative! I use SoapMaker Friend and they include a Longevity number. Is that something I need to worry about as long as I'm following your other guidelines?
Hi there and great question! Longevity on Soapmaker Friend is calculated by taking the hardness number and subtracting cleansing. So, you could calculate it easily yourself, if you like. It can also be calculated by adding palmitic and stearic acid together. These fatty acids are less soluble in water, so they last longer. Since I talk about going for a higher hardness and lower cleansing in this video, this lines up for more longevity. I guess what they’re saying is that hard butters like Cocoa and Shea will last longer than coconut, since coconut oil makes up the majority of the cleansing number. Of course lard, tallow, and palm oil are all high in these fatty acids as well, I just don’t happen to use them. Honestly, people love our soap and we’ve been selling it for a lot of years, and I’ve never heard anyone complain about longevity (maybe because we do use high butters?). It’s all subjective and personal preference, of course, plus people use soap very differently! I’ve had some people tell me that our bars last a month or more and some people say they go through a bar a week! Hopefully this helps a little. If you’re not satisfied with longevity when using the bars you make, then definitely take a closer look at this.
@muddymintsoap Thank you so much for taking time to answer! That definitely helps me!
I’m glad it helped! 😊
Hi Simi and thank you for your lovely videos. So much to learn from them. Easy to understand and so informative. ❤ I have one question: you mentioned Saturated : unsaturated fats in soap. What difference does that make in soap? (I am just used to think about it in food 😅)
Hi there! In general, hard oils and butters like lard, tallow, palm oil, coconut oil, cocoa butter, etc are high in saturated fatty acids, so these hard oils/butters will lead to more hardness in a bar. Soft oils like olive oil, avocado oil, and sweet almond oil, are generally high in unsaturated fatty acids which leads to softer, but more nourishing bars of soap. The first four fatty acids in the list are saturated and the next four are unsaturated, so you can click on an oil and see its composition of each! I hope this helps!
Hi, thank you for all the info. I would like to know if there is cheat sheet for ingredients in soap making. sometimes I have doubts on amount and % of active ingredients.
Hi there! I do have one in my book, if you have it. It's more like recipe formulation guidelines. :)
This has been the most helpful thing for me!! I have a few questions. First of all I know that using coconut milk, I buy mine in the can at the grocery store, has quite a bit of fat. Usually I have been freezing it and using it as my liquid. But because the fat content is so high, it sets up as it's cooling and ends up being like a thick yogurt and makes a nice bar of soap still. My question is does it not affect the final soap qualities? Because there is no way to add it in Soap Calc. My second question is what is your/others' opinion of Grapeseed oil instead of Olive? It's easy to buy at Costco. Also how do I know if the Crisco Oil I buy is the old or new? It's the one in the blue box. Thank-you for this very exceptional video....oh one more comment.....I've made several bars with 0 cleansing properties as you mentioned, hard as rocks due to tallow and cocoa butters but essentially 0! I made them before understanding how to use this calculator. They suds up nice, smell nice, but leave a slippery feel. I'm happy to hear we can still use them as soap!
Hi there! The additional liquids absolutely DO affect the final bar, which I mention in the video. Milk in particular affects it a lot, as the lye actually reacts with the fats in the milk, so you essentially unintentionally get a higher superfat when using milk in your soaps. As far as grapeseed oil goes, I avoid it in soap because of its low shelf life. Grapeseed oil has a shelf life of only six months, which might explain why it’s on sale! The oils with the lowest shelf life in your soap dictate the shelf life of your soap, so that’s why I don’t use it. I’m not sure about your question regarding crisco. Can you clarify? We don’t use crisco in our soaps, but I’m assuming you’re using it as palm oil? The slippery feel you mention reduces a lot of you cure your bars longer, but olive oil soaps are notoriously “slimy” feeling! I hope this helps a bit! 😊
@@muddymintsoap It helped so much thank you for the detailed answer. As far as Crisco that I buy in the store it is what people buy to make pie crusts...but is Soap Calc they have old or new with palm...and I didn't know which one to select. But moving forward I probably won't use it.
I’m glad it helped! I didn’t know that about Crisco in soapcalc. Thanks for clarifying. They probably changed the ingredients and that is why SoapCalc has two different numbers. I’ll have to look into that and get back to you! Let me know if you figure it out first. :)
Okay, I found the answer! If your Crisco contains hydrogenated palm oil in the ingredients, then it is the new Crisco.
Thank you! I compared this to my base soap recipie and I ended up with very similar characteristics to what you said you thought were good. I use goat milk in my soaps and ussually keep a 5% super fat. Great soapy minds think alike lol
That’s awesome! Goat milk is wonderful in soap. It’s definitely my favorite liquid to add! :)
I have a question about lye.
Is it still good to use after the expiration date?..
thank you so much for your knowledge., I love your videos!!
And I know I can trust your opinion.
Hi there and thank you! I would not use expired lye. It’s just not worth it to potentially waste so many lovely and expensive ingredients. I’d get fresh lye and make sure you’re good to go!
@ Thank you! Yes, that was my thought as well. I just purchased 3 x 25 kg bags and they all have an expiration date of May,16, 2025.
I would rather not chance using it with the cost of expensive oils either.
Thanks Simi!
Love your book, and can’t wait for another RUclips video!!🙌❤️✌️
You still have some time, so I guess it depends how quickly you use the lye up! Usually when purchasing lye, you wouldn’t want the expiration to be so soon though.
@@muddymintsoap yes agreed!
Another local soap company asked if I wanted to buy a bunch of 25 kg bags of lye at $50 + tax a bag! Normally it’s $145/bag Canadian so that’s why I’m curious about purchasing around another 10 bags.
I may go for 7 bags though.
Thanks for your professional advice Simi!.. I greatly appreciate it🙏❤️
Do you make hair conditioner bar? Do you also use tallow in some of your recipe, if not what is the pros and cons?
Hi there! As far as I know, the only way to make hair conditioner is to make a syndet (synthetic detergent) bar. With cold process shampoo bars, you typically use a vinegar rinse to help balance the ph, particularly in hard water. We don’t use tallow in our soaps, but that’s because we chose to have a vegan oil base. I’ve heard tallow soaps are awesome! The only con I can think of is that some people don’t want animal fats in their products.
Thank Simi for your reply!
What is the soap cal do you use, honey?
Hi there! Honey is an additional ingredient (not an oil), so it doesn’t saponify and therefore not included in soapcalc. I hope this helps!
@muddymintsoap I'm sorry honey I just asked for soap cal company you use.Sorry to make you misunderstand.
Haha! Sorry I misunderstood! :) We use soapcalc.net. :)
@@muddymintsoap thank you so much honey
Your videos are always so informative!! Thank you!!
I always wondered, if I make a high water discount, for example Lye Concentration 40% or 45%, is it going to affect the moisturizing properties of the soap? Will it be drying to the skin?
I am asking because I watched a video with a yogurt soap recipe and they made a high water discount and said "don't worry about this high water reduction because yogurt will replace the hydrating properties of the missing water"
I am really curious...
Thank you again for your work, Simi!!
Hi there! The water doesn’t affect the moisturizing properties of the soap. If you use less water, the soap will unmold more easily and be much harder to begin with. Most of the water ends up evaporating during the curing process anyway. However, milk, yogurt, or other alternative liquids will affect the properties of the soap, particularly milk since it contains fats that will actually saponify! I hope this helps!
@@muddymintsoap
Thank you!!! 🩵
I don’t understand the super fat number
Hi there! I explain it in this video a bit, but you should watch the other soapcalc video we did to learn even more. Superfat is extra free-floating oil in your soap.