Formulate with confidence
Dial in superfat, water and oil blends, swap ingredients without guesswork, and read your bar's qualities before you pour. For makers who want the numbers right.
The Formulator's Cheat Sheet
Dial in superfat, water conventions and oil swaps without guesswork.
Formulation
- Formulators
How to Swap an Oil Without Ruining a Recipe
Out of olive oil? Learn the apothecary way to substitute fats by their properties and recompute the lye so your soap still sets true.
30 July 2026 · 2 min read - Formulators
Sodium Lactate for Harder, Longer-Lasting Bars
A gentle salt of lactic acid that firms cold-process soap, eases unmolding and extends a bar's life. Here are the usage rates, benefits and cautions.
27 July 2026 · 2 min read - Formulators
How to Read the Calculator Quality Bars
A friendly guide to hardness, cleansing, conditioning, bubbly and creamy — what each quality bar means and the ranges to aim for.
9 July 2026 · 3 min read - Formulators
Preventing Dreaded Orange Spots and Rancidity
Why soap develops orange spots and goes rancid, and how fresh oils, chelators, and dry storage keep your bars sweet for years.
6 July 2026 · 2 min read - Formulators
The Soap Oil-Properties Cheat Sheet
A quick, honest reference to the soaping oils and butters in your cupboard, and the bar quality each one quietly lends to a batch.
2 July 2026 · 2 min read - Formulators
Gel Phase: Force It or Prevent It?
What gel phase does to a bar's colour, texture and feel, and the simple ways to encourage it or hold it back.
22 June 2026 · 2 min read - Formulators
Fragrance and Essential-Oil Usage Rates
How much scent to add to cold-process soap — safe percentages, acceleration, and flashpoints, explained for the home soapmaker.
18 June 2026 · 2 min read - Formulators
Citric Acid, Chelators and Hard Water
Why a pinch of citric acid keeps soap fresh in hard water, and how to add the extra lye it quietly demands.
11 June 2026 · 2 min read - Formulators
Superfat, Explained: Why Good Soap Leaves Oil Behind
That '5% superfat' in every recipe is the most useful dial in soap-making. What it means, why you always want some, and how to pick a number.
3 June 2026 · 1 min read