You are wanting to rebatch, so if you check out rebatching at your favourite soap making site, you'll find lots of info and tips.

Generally, adding the butters, you'll want to add 5% of your recipe for each; with the numbers of butters that you want to add, this may be too much superfatting.

For superfatting, aim for the 5% to 8% range.

you may want to gain some knowledge for each of the additives that you would like to use through research.
You really have too many questions for starting out, it may

"You really have too many questions for starting out"

I thought there was no such thing as too many questions?

I have already looked up ALOT on the net, I was just asking here, because I wanted to discuse rebatching with somebody, not just reading instructions.

It's ok though. I rebatched my shampoo base so far and they seem to be doing ok. They are all cut up into bars and on my drying rack. I did have to add more coconut milk than what I thought, but the bars are hard. Was worried about the too much liquid, but they seem ok.

Melissa

Melissa

scent combos will depend on your own nose, but singly, most of the Eos that you have (except the mandrin) you could use at about .3 to .5 of an ounce per pound of the total weight of your oils in the recipe. The mandrin I would consider 1 oz. Per pound.
CP soap is usually superfatted between the 5% to 8% range.

It would be good to know what the sf (superfatting) amount is of the base you ordered.

By adding the butters, you would be increasing this sf amount.

Soap is not made close to the zero sf amount, because lye is calculated to turn oils/fats into soap Within a range of each oil
Soap is made with an "extra" margin to avoid being too harsh and may cause irritation or burning of the skin, if not enough extra oil is used. (Your base will have this cushion built in already)

If you add too much "extra" oils/fats" youll either have a sloppy mess or soap that may not harden as much as you would like.

Using each of the butters you purchased, and to use it in enough quantities to make a difference in the soap, you may be too high in the sf; so knowing the sf of the base you bought). Would help figure out how much extra oil you could use. Ask your supplier how much you can use, min/max?
The butters and oils you bought are usually used for sf purposes, to exspensive to make soap out of in large quantities.
Some soapers will add many oils just to get label appeal, and doesnÂt add much to the quality due to the amounts that they use.

I do not (some do though) include the essential oils when figuring out the sf.

Sometimes, it is difficult to explain the superfatting over the net, within a few posts.

Ronniner thank you for that explanation.
I have been making basic melt and pour soap recipes and finally decided to make a batch from scratch.

I have looked into both hot press and cold press and thing CP is the way to go.

I, like melissa have bought several fried herbs, oils, lye, etc and I am trying to find just the right recipe.

I would like to make soap with hemp seed oil. Do you happen to have a recipe you might share or recommend?

The herbs/colorants I am working with are things like lemongrass, chamomile, burdock, turmeric,spearmint leaves,dandelions, and a few more whose names escape me at the moment.
As for EO's I have several, and my favorites are lavender, lemongrass, mint, jasmine, etc

I am looking for a reasonably small recipe for my first time, maybe 4-5 lbs. (even less)
I saw some soap in an organic store yesterday and couldn't believe how strong the fragrances were! I would love to make something that has a strong scent.

I understand the lye calculator and how to change measurements to %
Melissa I can find a few links for you that will clarify this for you as it did for me.
Thanks Ronniner for sharing your knowledge and experience. There are so many sites and recipes out there that it can be overwhelming.

Jody :)

Jody, thank you for your comments; over the many years I�ve been coming here, not many that I have seen thank others for their help.

I have looked into both hot press and cold press and thing CP is the way to go.

CP is my favourite process to make soap, HP was too rustic for me, although some soapers can successfully make HP look like CP.

I, like melissa have bought several fried herbs, oils, lye, etc and I am trying to find just the right recipe.
I�m hoping that you meant "dried" vice "fried"? lol! (Sorry, I�m a bit of a kidder)
Experimenting is a large part of this hobby; but the expense can get out of hand, especially with the scents.

I would like to make soap with hemp seed oil. Do you happen to have a recipe you might share or recommend?
I have stayed away from hemp oil; the shelf life is too short, if memory serves me, 6 months in the raw state?
Used hemp like any other conditioning oil; like shea or coco butter.

The herbs/colorants I am working with are things like lemongrass, chamomile, burdock, turmeric, spearmint leaves, dandelions, and a few more whose names escape
me at the moment.

Jody, what are you hoping to do with the above list?

I have used turmeric for colouring a recipe, but none of the others in your list for colour.
If you are hoping to use those herbs for scent, you�ll be disappointed. If these are EO (Essential Oils) or Fos (Fragrance Oils), then you�ll be ok.
I have use parsley in some recipes, but after a year or so the parsley will fade into a pale yellow colour.
I have successfully used clays for earth tones as well as Stevia for green.

As for EO's I have several, and my favorites are lavender, lemongrass, mint, jasmine, etc

Lavender EO or FO, I would use at 1 ounce per pound of oils.
Lemongrass EO, is quite strong, I would consider around � ounce per pound of oils.
Peppermint Eo is stronger then spearmint EO, peppermint I would use no more then � ounce per pound; spearmint slightly more, maybe .6
Jasmine (hint: remember white florals) can hurry trace, so make sure you have all equipment ready to pour before hand mixing the lye solution into the oils/fats and soap on the cooler side.

I am looking for a reasonably small recipe for my first time, maybe 4-5 lbs. (even less)

Jody, what are you asking here, if you can use the calculator, then what advice can I offer?
About 2 pounds maybe a good start.

I saw some soap in an organic store yesterday and couldn't believe how strong the fragrances were! I would love to make something that has a strong scent.
These are all Eos: Peppermint, Spearmint, and Lemongrass would be good for strong scent. Some others would be; tea tree, Clove (not really recommended), Cinnamon, Rosemary and Patchouli.(You have to like the sent of these oils)
Fos, will depend on who has manufactured them, not all are created equal.

August is the beginning of my holidays, so I may not be available soon.

My old stomping grounds used to be TheSoapDish (if it is still called that) lots of good info there.
I understand the lye calculator and how to change measurements to %

Hemp is a good conditioning oil, so you could use 5% or so of your recipe, although I have not personally used that one; but I do use Caster oil from time to time, depending on the other oils in the recipe.

Good luck Jody, if I can be of more help, just let me know!

(I hope the formatting is good here I had trouble with Word 2010)