Help for a newbie please!

[Sneakyham]

Hi, hope everyones having an awesome day.

I'm VERY new to soap making ... in that I’ve yet to make my first batch.

I've done a lot of research in regards to the steps needed to make soap however any videos / Recipes / instructions seem to go over a few things very quickly and make no sense to a beginner. Even the 'For beginner' versions still forget to mention things.

So I’ve come here with a mountain of questions in the hope that some of you pros could clear a few things up for me. Apologies for any misuse of terms etc.

The main step I seem to be struggling with is the calculator.
I can see the Lye ratio is 2 Water to 1 part Lye - This is a normal ratio or something that’s adjusted per batch?

How much essential oil can you add to a batch? - Is there a rule of thumb regarding this? - for example 3%

Is there a value chart to any oils regarding hardness, moisturizing, lather etc? If so what’s it called?

I'd rather not use Palm oil where i can help it due to me struggling to find a sustainable source of it. Could i use Shea Butter instead of Palm oil with the same outcome or will this affect the hardness etc?

If i wanted to add colours to soap (using Mica powder) i read that i would need to add this to oil then separately add this to the batch during trace.
Do i need to use any particular oil? and will i need to add this to the total oils used?

I know it provides very bright colours but is Mica powder considered 'natural'?

If anyone can help with any of the above i'd hugely appreaite it - I'd love to start making soap to give to friends and family but the supplies for me are expensive and hard to get hold of, so I'd like to make sure my homework is right before i start so i don't waste anything.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Trudybee]

Hi, hope everyones having an awesome day.

I'm VERY new to soap making ... in that I’ve yet to make my first batch.

I've done a lot of research in regards to the steps needed to make soap however any videos / Recipes / instructions seem to go over a few things very quickly and make no sense to a beginner. Even the 'For beginner' versions still forget to mention things.

So I’ve come here with a mountain of questions in the hope that some of you pros could clear a few things up for me. Apologies for any misuse of terms etc.

The main step I seem to be struggling with is the calculator.
I can see the Lye ratio is 2 Water to 1 part Lye - This is a normal ratio or something that’s adjusted per batch?

How much essential oil can you add to a batch? - Is there a rule of thumb regarding this? - for example 3%

Is there a value chart to any oils regarding hardness, moisturizing, lather etc? If so what’s it called?

I'd rather not use Palm oil where i can help it due to me struggling to find a sustainable source of it. Could i use Shea Butter instead of Palm oil with the same outcome or will this affect the hardness etc?

If i wanted to add colours to soap (using Mica powder) i read that i would need to add this to oil then separately add this to the batch during trace.
Do i need to use any particular oil? and will i need to add this to the total oils used?

I know it provides very bright colours but is Mica powder considered 'natural'?

If anyone can help with any of the above i'd hugely appreaite it - I'd love to start making soap to give to friends and family but the supplies for me are expensive and hard to get hold of, so I'd like to make sure my homework is right before i start so i don't waste anything.

Thanks in advance.

Hello @Sneakyham

I hope you are doing well. If you are a visual learning I think these two options would be a good start for you. You can follow along with Katie at Royalty Soaps on Youtube. She has a series called the Royal Creative Academy where she teaches you how to make cold process soap safely. Here is the link to the first video in her series. She covers the basics including lye safety and it also includes a recipe for you to complete you first batch of soap. Wishing you all the best.