Precision is the order of the day.

"Enjoyed travelling with you on your soap journey," wrote Hui (not her real name) an old buddy of mine who had been most indulgent with me.

I started this soap-making hobby in November 2015 and it had been a captivating journey. Reason? Well, where do I begin? There's always something new to learn about the art. New mistakes to make, new problems to figure out, new lessons to learn, new solution to circumvent those problems. New theories, new frustrations when you research and read all sorts of absurd conclusions arrived at, by all sorts of soapers, who like me, hadn't the vaguest clue why soaps sometimes don't turn out right.

Yet the best part of the art is the moment of revelation. When the soap is cut or unmoulded, no two soaps are the same, in view of the variables that encompasses each batch.

Recently, we discovered the dreaded brown spots and oily patches. We deliberated over the issue, researched online and was intrigued by the myriad of conclusions, none of which although sounding logical could explain away our concerns.

It all boils down to one word. "Superfatting." This is a situation where excess oil in the soap mixture, having insufficient lye to react with during the saponification becomes suspended in the subsequent soap. This suspended oil adds a moisturizing effect to the soap and the recommended excess is between 3% to 5%. In a batch where the superfatting is excessive, the excess oil gets oxidized and brown spots or patches appear. The soap adopt a rancid smell and goes mushy when used.

So, precision is the order of the day. You want to get your oil and lye portion right.