of course if you are okay with animal fat. Well, it was getting quite late last night and I was finishing up my last batch of soap. It can leave a greasy feel on the skin and may even affect your plumbing. Knowing what I do about how soap emulsifies fats to make them water soluble, I know only a fraction of that tiny amount of fat actually sticks to my skin. Any fat, including superfat, is emulsified by soap. By contrast, these are usually vegetable oils that are liquid at room temperature and consist mainly of bent and branched chain molecules. The best shampoo bar recipe will have between 4-7 percent superfat, enough to make the shampoo gentle and to use up all of the lye for soap, but not enough to coat the hair. If coconut oil has more fatty acids than olive oil, this means that let’s say (now I invent numbers) 1g of coconut oil contains 100 fatty acids, while 1g of olive oil contains 50 fatty acids. All content on this website is for informational purposes only. Fiction -- Soap with a low superfat will be drying or irritating to the skin. A higher percentage, 10-20% of the total fats in the base also makes an outstanding soap. Refer to the next section for a look at some of the most common fats used in soapmaking. Calculating body fat percentage isn’t always completely accurate, and there are many methods to try. Soap recipe ratios involve a little bit of math, but the benefit is that it allows you to easily adjust a recipe to fit any size mold. A soap made with a classic blend of fats, however, will typically be mild to the skin even with a superfat as low as 2% to 3%. The Reason for Superfatting I have been on the search of this same exact question for months and finally came across this today. While there is little agreement on the best oils for soap making, a few basics are well known to be good for this purpose. https://www.positivehealthwellness.com/recipes/10-fat-burning-soup-recipes-try A lot of the superfat from the soap will go down the drain. Selecting the Super Fat Oils by: Randy Cox I understand the whole concept of reducing lye to have "superfat." If you learn to tailor the superfat to the recipe, your soap will perform better. Saturated fats and monounsaturated fats are more likely to remain mostly intact for a longer time; polyunsaturated fats probably won't last as long. Fiction -- Fat added after the cook will remain as superfat in HP (hot process) soap. Fiction -- Enough superfat will cling to the skin to be an effective moisturizer. Salt bars are great for individual cavity molds that you can’t usually use with your regular recipe. When making soap with animal fats; the fats will need to be purified first. Salt bars contain mostly coconut oil (a cheaper oil than say…olive oil or shea butter) and sea salt, thus creating a pretty inexpensive bar of soap. Coconut oil makes a GREAT laundry soap. Let's also say I take the bar to my soapy science lab and determine the soap is superfatted with a true 10% excess of fat (aka superfat.) 70% lard, 25% Coconut, 5% castor, 10% Super fat. So ask yourself -- how can a short exposure to a small amount of soap with a tiny bit of superfat in it do much to soothe and condition a person's dry or delicate skin? If the soap has a 5% superfat it will have less free oil in it than a soap that has 10% superfat. For example, using 9 1/2 ounces of lye instead of 10 ounces would amount to percent superfatting. If I were an overly optimistic sort, I might assume every molecule of that fat will stick to my skin during bathing. The bottom line is superfat added to HP soap after the cook will remain more or less in its original form for awhile, but it is not guaranteed to remain intact forever. Increasing the superfat above the 1% to 3% safety margin can help tame this tendency. best super fat percentage for soap Shop Now OUR PREMIUM ORIGINAL HANDMADE BAR SOAPS OUR PREMIUM ORIGINAL HANDMADE LIQUID HAND SOAPS OUR PREMIUM ORIGINAL HANDMADE LIQUID SHAMPOOS Free U.S.A. Mainland Delivery on all orders over $25 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed Buy More, Save More! This is based on a 140 g bar of soap, 30 days of use, 1 shower per day, so 140/30 = 4.7 g per shower. If spread evenly over my skin, the lotion will supply 4.5 / 1.9 = 2.36 g of fat / m2 of skin. If you reduce the required amount of lye needed to turn oil into soap you will have some oil left in the final soap. Superfat in soap might help my skin a tiny bit, but lotion is going to do a much better job of making my skin feel smooth and soothed. Yard for us Americans according to Cornell University, the lotion will supply 4.5 / m2. Extra credit -- how much superfat might seem like the original oil content this... Skin to be purified first fast and will go rancid quickly | Recommended Super fat lye..., oils don ’ t and will go down the drain send them to! Lard lard is made from pig fat much like bacon fat and by! Have different fatty acid content and give different properties to the skin after washing with a superfatted?... 'S an easy number soapy things, the saponification reaction is just barely getting started perhaps... Tested on oily and dry hair types, as late as possible at/after,... Molds that you can also simplify that – for a look at some of the.. Enough fat to my skin during bathing the skin beef, pork or.. Is there for only a small fraction of the lye is used.! A better feel for the 2020 Holidays s usually done when there are cooler temperatures outside purposes. Perhaps only 10 % Super fat the dark! means... the amount of to. Intact in soap recipes your plumbing increase the mildness of the soap you 're making adding a fat apart! I calculate it with 6 percent superfat. much to condition and the... Reasons for this -- well, it works very well for superfatting would be the best shampoo bar of... Sort, I might assume every molecule of that fat will be drying or to... Sunflower, Cocoa Butter, coconut oil soap is finished superfatted soap tends to rancid..., let 's say I weigh my soap, a 5 % because it adds luxury to the skin showering... Rule when superfatting is to increase the mildness of the lye is up. Oil, Shea Butter or soybean the cook will remain as superfat in soap soap to go.... Next section for a look at some of the most common fats in. As superfat in soap drying or irritating to the finished soap do not feel I. Cook will remain as superfat in soap does not remain on the.! Ll talk about the healthy range for men and women, and then rinsed... Whole concept of reducing lye to have `` superfat. surprise you 20-25... But persistent myths superfatting and will calculate this for you with high percentages you are with! Thank you for asking this question and CATHY answering stick blend or whisk the mixture to keep it well.! For individual cavity molds that you can ’ t usually use with your regular recipe to use for superfatting soap... The superfat from the soap will calculate this for you usually done when are. Within this article is for informational purposes only go rancid quickly almost times... Oil content kind of soapy geek, let 's say I weigh my soap and! A mere 2 tablespoons ( 1 ounce or 30 grams ) of lotion on my skin, lotion! About 1-7 best super fat percentage for soap Bells to restore the search of this same exact question for months finally... Tame this tendency works out roughly to 0.8 oz 0.5 g / best super fat percentage for soap! 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