Concentration? Percentage? How do I figure the water amount for
my lye solution?  When it comes to cold process soapmaking, some
things are absolutely necessary and rigid, like how much sodium
hydroxide (NaOH) is needed for a given amount of oils. It’s a
property of the oils and can’t be changed without affecting the
outcome of the soap, sometimes in really bad ways.  Other things
are much more flexible, like the amount of water that is used to
make the lye solution. The water is only there to dissolve the
NaOH. Using more or less may affect how the soap mixes up, but
in the end the water evaporates out and the finished, cured soap
is what’s left. In fact, many experienced soapmakers use lye
solutions that are quite concentrated so that they don’t have to
wait so long for their bars to get dried-out and hard. It’s a
real time-saver!  If you’re ready to start using your lye
solution at a higher concentration, I can help you figure out
how much water you will need to get there. The math can be a bit
confusing f