Does beeswax not need to be figured with the lye?

by Joel
(Camp Verde, AZ (USA))

In your recipe for Sweet Citrus Honey soap, you list the beeswax as an optional additive, but then you combine it with the hard oils before the lye. I'm confused. Wouldn't the addition of that beeswax before the lye-water throw off the saponification calculations? If I add it, I have a certain mass/volume/percentage of oils; if I don't add it, it would be different, right?

Please shed some light for a new soaper.

Thanks!

Joel

Answer:

You certainly can add the 18 grams of beeswax into the calculation for lye but in this case it will only increase the lye by 1.14 grams which is so small that it won't hurt the recipe if it is left out. In fact, it just makes the superfat percentage slightly larger.

Beeswax needs to be added to the hard oils in order for it to blend in smoothly.

Cathy