# What does soap supposed to taste like? (zap test)



## Anstarx (Oct 5, 2020)

I don't make liquid soap often and I've never done zap test out of fear. I usually just sniff it for lye smells and it had been pretty accurate so far.
Just made a batch of LS tonight. Normally I will let it set over night to make sure all lye has reacted. However, I was wondering if it's safe to take out of the pot right now.
I took a small piece and quickly licked it. It tastes...extremely salty. Like you are licking a salt block or concentrated sea water. There might be a zappy feeling? But I'm not sure? I did it again and it is still the extremely salty taste. There is an odd sensation, you can kinda describe it as tingling, but I'm not sure if it's a zap or just my tongue not reacting well to the saltiness.
To have a general idea of what non-zap soap tastes like, I grabbed an unscented bar that was made 6 months ago, and licked it. Still very, very salty. Less salty than my soap paste, but still very salty, and my tongue got a weird feeling. Not as strong as the fresh soap paste but it's there.
So what exactly is a zap should feel like? Is soap paste supposed to taste salty?


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## DeeAnna (Oct 5, 2020)

Sodium hydroxide doesn't have an odor, so I'm not sure what you're smelling. ???

Zap is a static shock sensation that's immediate, definite, and, yes, somewhat unpleasant. A zap can be weak or strong, but it's always immediate and definite like a static shock.

If you aren't absolutely certain your soap is skin safe, do NOT lick the soap directly. Lightly rub a dampened fingertip on the soap and lightly touch that to the tip of your tongue. This goes for liquid soap paste and diluted liquid soap, as well as bar soap.

If there is a zap, rinse your mouth with fresh water until the sensation is gone. I recommend spitting the water out to err on the safe side -- don't swallow.​​If there is no zap, then it's okay to lick the soap to your heart's content, if that's what you want to do. But NEVER lick soap until after you lightly zap test with a fingertip.​
Also there's no shame in waiting a few days or even a week or more to zap test. Most people use the zap test as a double check to ensure skin safety. There's no reason to rush into testing if this is your reason for zap testing. If you've measured your lye and fat correctly and the saponified soap looks fine, the chance of encountering a zap is awfully small.

Soap can have a taste all its own depending on the types of fats used and any additives. Sometimes soap can taste very mild and almost bland and sometimes it can taste kind of nasty (neem soap -- I'm looking at you!) A salty taste isn't a zap. A distinctive or bad taste or a weird sensation on the tongue isn't a zap. A taste or sensation that takes a few seconds to appear isn't a zap.


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## earlene (Oct 5, 2020)

If you want to know what zap feels like, take a 9 volt battery (a weak one is okay, but not one that is totally dead) and lightly touch the 2 contacts to your tongue.  That's what it feels like.  If done lightly with the battery, it doesn't hurt.  But don't just linger with your tongue on the battery.

Licking a strong lye heavy soap crystal or lye rock inside your soap (yeah, it can happen if your lye solution is too cold when you add it to your oils) it will absolutely burn your tongue and take many days, even weeks to heal.  (yes, I did do that.)

Don't learn the hard way that a proper zap test does NOT require licking the soap!


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## Zany_in_CO (Oct 5, 2020)

earlene said:


> Don't learn the hard way that a proper zap test does NOT require licking the soap!


 While the ZAP test is a handy tool to have in your soap makers' tool box, there are safety issues that Newbies often aren't aware of. Licking soap with the tip of your tongue is one of them. That's where your most sensitive taste buds are. Irish Lass posted _*this thread*_ on how to do it safely.


Anstarx said:


> Normally I will let it set over night to make sure all lye has reacted.


Excellent! Good thinking.


Anstarx said:


> I took a small piece and quickly licked it. It tastes...extremely salty. Like you are licking a salt block or concentrated sea water. There might be a zappy feeling? But I'm not sure?


You may find this explanation helpful:
*https://www.modernsoapmaking.com/how-to-ph-test-handmade-soap/?highlight=ZAP%20TEST*
Scroll down to *Using Tongue Testing or Zap Testing to Check Soap Alkalinity.*

In my experience. the ZAP test doesn't work as well for LS as it does for hard bars. Going right from ZAP test immediately to dilution often results in a white layer settling at the bottom of the jug after the 2-week sequester or after all bottled up in containers where the white layer shows up down the road.

Check out other options in this Beginner's Soap Tutorial:

*http://alaiynab.blogspot.com/2014/07/basic-beginner-liquid-soap-and.html*
*Scroll down to items 12 & 13 to learn more.*


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## amd (Oct 5, 2020)

It makes sense that soap would taste salty: acid + base = salt


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## TheGecko (Oct 5, 2020)

Anstarx said:


> So what exactly is a zap should feel like?



Get a 9-volt battery.


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## DeeAnna (Oct 5, 2020)

I can't say my soap usually tastes salty. Maybe sometimes, but mostly it's just bland.

The use of "salt" to describe soap is using the word in a more targeted, science-y way. To a chemist, the word "salt" means the chemical formed by the reaction of any acid and any alkali. The resulting "salt" isn't necessarily salty to the tongue, although it can be sometimes.


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## Lmswares (Oct 6, 2020)

I have to say this. For the Zap test, if you don’t know what soap tastes like then you may be to young and never had your mouth washed out with soap for saying something your parents didn’t want you to say. . I still know that taste to this day.


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## Zany_in_CO (Oct 6, 2020)

Lmswares said:


> I have to say this. For the Zap test, if you don’t know what soap tastes like then you may be to young and never had your mouth washed out with soap for saying something your parents didn’t want you to say. . I still know that taste to this day.







Me too! Mother used to wash my mouth out with soap. I became an addict. It's her fault.


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## Anstarx (Oct 8, 2020)

Lmswares said:


> I have to say this. For the Zap test, if you don’t know what soap tastes like then you may be to young and never had your mouth washed out with soap for saying something your parents didn’t want you to say. . I still know that taste to this day.


I've seen people do that on western TV but never know anyone do that in real life lol. Soap was valuable and kinda pricy when my parents are young so they probably never got treated to that taste  therefore not knowng it as a form of punishment.


DeeAnna said:


> Sodium hydroxide doesn't have an odor, so I'm not sure what you're smelling. ???
> 
> Zap is a static shock sensation that's immediate, definite, and, yes, somewhat unpleasant. A zap can be weak or strong, but it's always immediate and definite like a static shock.
> 
> ...


Static shock is a much clearer expression! So I think my soap paste didn't zap if it's supposed to feel like that. I am usually very cautious and will let it set for a week before I even poke it with my finger but I just got very curious all of a sudden.
As for the smell, eh, I'm not sure if I can call it a lye smell but that's the best way I can describe it. You know how the lye solution kinda stinks if you dissolve lye in coffee, milk, beer, etc? Well I still smell stink like that when dissolving lye in iced pure water, albeit much fainter. If dissolving lye in beer stink is a 10 than water lye is a 3-ish. Faint, but still there.
Once you mix in the oils it became stronger and I can smell it even with strong FOs or EOs. In CP soap, it will start to mellow out once the soaps are hard enough to cut and almost vanish once the soaps are 6-8 weeks old.
I use the smell to deteremine if saponification had finished or not, and also if the soap had cured enough. Not very scientific but pretty useful when I'm too lazy to check my notes in another room.


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## earlene (Oct 9, 2020)

Anstarx said:


> I've seen people do that on western TV but never know anyone do that in real life lol. Soap was valuable and kinda pricy when my parents are young so they probably never got treated to that taste  therefore not knowng it as a form of punishment.
> 
> Static shock is a much clearer expression! So I think my soap paste didn't zap if it's supposed to feel like that. I am usually very cautious and will let it set for a week before I even poke it with my finger but I just got very curious all of a sudden.
> As for the smell, eh, I'm not sure if I can call it a lye smell but that's the best way I can describe it. You know how the lye solution kinda stinks if you dissolve lye in coffee, milk, beer, etc? Well I still smell stink like that when dissolving lye in iced pure water, albeit much fainter. If dissolving lye in beer stink is a 10 than water lye is a 3-ish. Faint, but still there.
> ...


*Anstarx*, I am impressed with your discerning sense of smell.


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