# Masala Chai potential disaster



## spiderpup (Nov 19, 2015)

Hi all,

I have two questions, I hope some soapy angel will help me!!

I'm wondering if anyone has any tips on how to slow down soap (that don't include using full water). I'm making a masala chai and honey soap and I know it's going to go craaaaazy fast because I made a similar soap (oatmeal honey spice) that gelled before I finished pouring it. For real. I can't do full water because I need it to cure fast - like, a month fast. EO's include cinnamon, clove, cardamon, star anise, ginger, vanilla and black pepper.

Also, I usually scent at 5% - should I cut this down so as not to burn anyone's tender bits?

Any advice would be deeply appreciated! Thank you


----------



## Arimara (Nov 19, 2015)

Only because I know (and fear) how potent ginger and clove are as EOs, I'd say yes. But maybe you could experiment to see how it will come out with varying proportions. But generally speaking, I've only heard that you have to be careful with spices as they can affect sensitive skin.


----------



## The Efficacious Gentleman (Nov 19, 2015)

With some of those, it's not about burning tender bits but rather causing lasting damage to the skin!

If you want to slow trace, soap cool and use as much water as you can. I take it these are for Christmas presents, hence the cure time? More water has more to do with how soon you can unmould and cut rather than the cure, unless you are changing a large amount of water


----------



## spiderpup (Nov 19, 2015)

Thank you so much, soap angels! I appreciate your help!!

EG, many thanks for your assistance! I'd be doing a 1:1 lye to water ratio, would you consider that a significant drop from full water? I have pretty thick wooden molds so gel always happens, even with low water and the temps up here in the frosty North (I soap in my garage). How much, in your opinion, does gel speed cure along, if at all? I soap at room temp, so hopefully that will slow things down. 

Arimara, thank you for the advice - I'll do a .25 oz ppo and see where that gets me - I used a .5 oz ppo  with the oatmeal honey spice (clove and sweet orange, I can't remember the ratio, but it was more spicy than orangey) and that one turned out totally non-burny - I use it on my face and I have ridiculously sensitive skin. Buuuuut, that was only one burny spice. I have a handful in this puppy. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, though! On the upside, the oil blend I made smells fantastic I've been tempted to stick my tongue in it, but I suspect that might be a bad idea

Thank you again!


----------



## The Efficacious Gentleman (Nov 19, 2015)

Using a 1:1 will make any recipe super fast, even make a Castile in to a managable time frame!  What recipe are you planning on using?  If it is less than 100% OO, I would not use 1:1 - it won't reduce cure time at all anyway, only unmoulding.


----------



## IrishLass (Nov 19, 2015)

I agree with the good Gent. Some of those EOs can really hurt someone's skin. If you've never made a soap that contains this particular combo of EO's before, and if you are trying to have them ready for Christmas, I would think twice about gifting them out without having had skin-tested them out first. Cinnamon, ginger, clove or pepper on their own are quite sensitizing, and I shudder to think at what they may do when used in combination.......also, 5% is a lot when it comes to using EO's in soap. The accepted maximum for EO's in soap is 3%, but with this kind of combo, I would go lower than 3%.....more like 1% or 2%.

Clove oil is a super-fast mover because of it's eugenol content. Using less water with it is not a good idea- it'll only make it move faster. Even with full water, it's a fast mover.

A 1:1 water to lye ratio is the steepest water discount one can make (the hugest drop from full water that one can fall from), and the smallest amount of water that lye will dissolve in. I do not recommend it as a good lye concentration to use for soaping because of how incredibly fast it can move- especially with the clove oil in there. If you use 1:1, you're just begging on hands and knees to get soap on a stick for sure.

As far as cure goes- there are no short-cuts. Soap will need to cure at least 4 weeks no matter what one tries. Gelling soap will help to speed up saponification, but saponification and cure are not synonymous. They are 2 different things altogether.

IrishLass


----------



## shunt2011 (Nov 19, 2015)

^^^
This

I would re-think your usage rate.  That's really high for EO's and could be harmful.  

Gent and IL have given you some excellent advice.


----------



## dixiedragon (Nov 19, 2015)

Lard is good for a slower recipe.

But honestly, I'd HP it.


----------



## The Efficacious Gentleman (Nov 19, 2015)

dixiedragon said:


> Lard is good for a slower recipe.
> 
> But honestly, I'd HP it.




Hp is a very good idea - avoids the trace issues AND means that a lower EO amount is not as bad as it could be with CP.


----------



## spiderpup (Nov 20, 2015)

Thank you all so so much! I appreciate you taking the time to help me! 

I should correct myself, though, I ought to have written .5 oz ppo instead of 5%! Duh!!

I wonder, is it possible that I've been buying crappy lye for all of this time? I can't buy lye from the hardware stores where I live - in fact, I have to show ID and sign a waiver before I can buy at the ONE place that sells lye in my city. I used to be able to get it at Canadian Tire back in the day but something about bombs? Or meth labs? Anyway, I looked over my recipes and I've done 1:1 on several soaps that I really shouldn't have been able to. It's not clumpy, but is there a possibility that its's weaker than it ought to be? And if so, how could I tell? 

I'll be soaping full water and scenting at .25% or less, though, and likely will use my Grandma's lard recipe! 

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!


----------



## Misschief (Nov 20, 2015)

spiderpup said:


> Thank you all so so much! I appreciate you taking the time to help me!
> 
> I should correct myself, though, I ought to have written .5 oz ppo instead of 5%! Duh!!
> 
> ...



You live in Canada? I buy mine at Home Hardware.. no ID needed. They have two sizes... 8 oz bottle and 3 kg jar ($27.99).


----------



## spiderpup (Nov 20, 2015)

Misschief said:


> You live in Canada? I buy mine at Home Hardware.. no ID needed. They have two sizes... 8 oz bottle and 3 kg jar ($27.99).




Ohmigod, you saved my life! I just checked it out online - I think that's the only one I didnt check - and it's waaaay cheaper than the place I usually buy from! Thank you, my fellow Canadian! I love Kelowna, by the way. I've been trying to move there since I was nineteen. I'm in Calgary. 

Is the Misschief an homage to Kent Monkman? I love his work!


----------



## Misschief (Nov 20, 2015)

spiderpup said:


> Ohmigod, you saved my life! I just checked it out online - I think that's the only one I didnt check - and it's waaaay cheaper than the place I usually buy from! Thank you, my fellow Canadian! I love Kelowna, by the way. I've been trying to move there since I was nineteen. I'm in Calgary.
> 
> Is the Misschief an homage to Kent Monkman? I love his work!



So happy I could help! Who is Kent Monkman?? Actually, it's a nickname given to me by a good online friend. I (used to) love getting into mischief and I'm definitely a woman. He put the two together. It fit so I've kept it.


----------

