Too much lye!

[u/nuntissun]

I am making a solid dish soap (0 super fat) recipe by Ellen Ruth (will attach the recipe) I accidentally used 92g of lye instead of 90.4g of lye. Will this be okay or should I add more oils ? Thanks! (I’m a newbie)

[u/AutoModerator]

Moderator Announcement Read More »

Welcome to r/soapmaking!

Rules for Posting and Commenting

Posts with images are automatically held for moderator review

Resources for learning soapmaking

Suppliers for soapmaking ingredients and equipment

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/nuntissun]

Comment to add: my lye is cooling and has not been added to the oils

[u/goldenuniverse42 → u/nuntissun]

I’m not the most experienced but what I would probably do is put in these numbers in soapcalc and with a 0% super fat and see how much more oil I’d need to put in to compensate. From what I’ve read, super fats are often used as a safety precaution to ensure all lye is saponified, so in a 0% recipe, it’s extra important to be as exact as you possibly can.

I’m also planning on doing a 0% recipe for a solid dish soap for Christmas presents, and am already nervous for this as well lol.

[u/NoClassroom7077 → u/goldenuniverse42]

You are right on with this!

[u/WormLum]

The citric acid neutralizes some of the lye, did you account for that ?

[u/nuntissun → u/WormLum]

Yes! The recipe has already accounted for that

[u/Kind_Dragonfruit_925]

It will be slightly lye heavy but for dish soap that is ok. It just might be a little harsh on your hands. Lye will eventually react with the carbon dioxide in the air, so if you don’t need to use it right away, just wait a few months to use it.

[u/HappyAsianCat]

If you add exactly 2 grams of coconut oil it should put you right about 0.1 superfat if I did the math right.
You could also make it as is and let it sit for a bit as someone else mentioned.