Weight and calculations

by Liza
(Gillespie, Illinois)

I love your shea butter calendula soap recipe with coconut milk.

I am a new soap maker. How many pounds of soap does it make and how can I bring it up to 3 lbs. Also is this a hard bar? If it isn't how can we make it harder? In Illnois it gets hot and humid and I don't want it to slime.
Liza Shade

Answer:

My Shea Butter Coconut Milk soap recipe with calendula makes just over 2 lbs of soap. In order to change the size of any recipe you will need to put the percentages of the oils into a lye calculator.

I suggest using SoapCalc to do this. Since you are a new soap maker, you are probably unsure how to use it. It is a very easy lye calculator to use and if you check out the top of the page on SoapCalc, you will find a link to the instructions. You can also click on all the blue numbers and pop up help boxes will appear.

You've asked if bar is hard. Yes it is. As for the slime situation...you will need to store any handmade soap in as cool and dry a location as possible until use. Handmade soap contains glycerin which attracts water, even from the air, and it will draw that water too it.

During use all soap should be placed in a self draining soap dish. The very nature of soap is to dissolve in water. If it is left sitting in water, it will do what it is designed to do. This results in slimey soap.

Cathy