| Not only is olive oil soap making an absolute blast of a | | | | Here's a quick example to clear up any confusion: |
| craft, but it's also extremely practical. Once you've | | | | How much lye would you need to use in order to |
| "released those creative juices" and formed your work | | | | saponify 7 pounds of olive oil? To figure this out, just |
| of art, you will have an amazing natural skin care | | | | take 135.3 (olive oil's SAP value)/1000 x 7 pounds of |
| product that can truly change your skin for the better. | | | | olive oil. As you can see, in order to completely |
| So how exactly does olive oil soap making work? It's | | | | saponify 7 pounds of olive oil, you would need .9471 |
| really quite easy... You simply mix olive oil with a | | | | pounds of lye. |
| substance called lye (sodium hydroxide) to create a | | | | In reality, you do not really want to completely saponify |
| chemical reaction that produces soap. | | | | all the oil. If you did, the results would definitely not be |
| OK, maybe this will take a bit of an explanation. In | | | | mild skin care soap. In order to create a mild cleansing |
| order to make soap, a chemical reaction called | | | | bar, you must apply a discount to your lye |
| saponification absolutely must occur. During | | | | measurement so that some of the oil will remain within |
| saponification, an acid reacts with a base to form a | | | | the soap unsaponified for skin care benefits. This, by |
| salt. The acid is your olive oil, the base is your lye, and | | | | the way, is called superfatting. |
| the salt produced from this reaction is the all natural | | | | For olive oil, I recommend a 15% discount; meaning 15% |
| soap. | | | | of the olive oil will not interact with the lye to make |
| The key to making olive oil soap successfully is to use | | | | soap. This will ensure that too much lye is never used |
| the correct amount of lye in the reaction. There needs | | | | and that some olive oil will remain unadulterated within |
| to be enough lye to turn just about all the olive oil into | | | | the finished product. |
| soap and create a relatively hard bar but not so much | | | | In order to apply a 15% discount, just multiply the |
| that it makes your soap caustic and harsh. | | | | weight of the lye needed to completely saponify an oil |
| So how do we know how much lye is needed for | | | | by 85%. For example, to find out how much lye we |
| olive oil soap making? In order to find this out, you need | | | | would actually use with a 15% discount in our example |
| to refer to an SAP value chart that will reveal the | | | | above we would multiply .9471 pounds by 85%. |
| saponification value of olive oil. According to our chart, | | | | Keep in mind that even for olive oil soap making you |
| olive oil has a lye sap value of 135.3. This means that it | | | | will never use olive oil alone. Multiple oils are absolutely |
| takes exactly 135.3 milligrams of lye in order to | | | | required in order to create soap successfully as each |
| completely saponify 1 gram (1000 milligrams) of olive oil. | | | | one has it's own characteristics that supplements the |
| If you divide each side by 1000, you'll realize that it | | | | detriments of other ingredients. |
| takes .1353 milligrams of lye in order to saponify 1 | | | | Using olive oil alone would create a very soft bar of |
| milligram of olive oil. Now that both ingredients are | | | | soap that has a slimy lather and spoils quickly. If you |
| represented in the same unit of measurement, you can | | | | add a percentage of palm oil for hardness, and |
| take the weight of the olive oil being used in the recipe | | | | coconut oil for a better lather, you are well on your |
| and multiply it by .1353 to find out the weight of the lye | | | | way to creating a masterpiece. |
| needed. | | | | |