Masterbatching: How to prepare lye solution

Soapmaking can be very time consuming. Measuring out oils, making lye solution, waiting for the solution to cool, preparing colors, etc, etc, etc. I’ve researched and researched the different ways that other soapers get ready when making soap. This is what I’ve found to work for me. Saves a TON of time. 

Masterbatching lye solution starts with getting a container that will be able to hold the solution without deteriorating and can stand high temperatures. The best containers for this are laundry detergent containers. I use a Tide container

This baby holds a lot of solution, doesn’t mind the heat, and has a handy dandy spout for pouring. Rinse, rinse, and rinse the container to ensure there is no detergent lurking behind. To make the solution you will use equal parts lye and distilled water. 

THIS SOLUTION IS SUPER CONCENTRATED, USE GLOVES AND SAFETY GOGGLES. 

Disclaimer over.

I mix them in my usual plastic pitcher. Then I pour it into the Tide container. I don’t wait for it to cool down but you could if you were using a container that isn’t really heat resistant (which I don’t recommend.) Voila! You’re done until you’re ready to soap. I soap with a 33% lye concentration. That means that I use a 1:2 ratio lye to water. So this makes it super simple when soaping. I just double the amount of lye needed in the recipe and that’s the amount of lye/water mix I use. Then I add the extra water needed which is the amount of lye needed. Makes sense? No? Ok, here you go: 

Say I need 10 oz. of lye for a recipe. Double that and you get 20 oz. so I pour 20 oz. of premade lye/water mix into my pitcher. I then add the extra water I need which is the same amount as the lye amount, 10 oz. So I now have 30 oz. total. Want to check the proportions? Twenty ounces of 50/50 lye/water solution means 10 oz. is lye and 10 oz. is water. Adding another 10 oz. of water means I have 10 oz. of lye and 20 oz. of water. Hence 1:2 ratio lye to water. Get it now? Good :)

For those using different lye percentages, do the same step for getting the lye/water mix amount as in the previous example. Then simply subtract the lye amount from the water amount to get the additional water amount needed. If the recipe calls for 5 oz. of lye and 15 oz. of water, pour out 10 oz. of mix. Subtract 5 (lye amount) from 15 (water amount) to get 10. Pour an additional 10 oz. of water to the lye/water mix. 

And there you go! Time saved! Now, before anyone puts me on blast, I will say that once you add the extra liquid, the mixture does heat up. I put it in an ice bath and the temperature drops faster than if I did the mix fresh, I’m assuming because it doesn’t get as hot since the lye has already been dissolved. Nonetheless, masterbatching lye is still a time saver. And not having to work with lye crystals every single time is somewhat relieving. Yay. 

Happy sudsing!

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