# My soap won't harden...



## MicahsMommy (Jun 5, 2009)

Hello,
I just poured my first ever batch of CP soap, and it has been sitting for almost 2 days now and it wont harden. I made the recipe myself, but then I ran it through soapcalc.com and it seemed to work fine. I measued everything exactly..... what happened? What can I do to it now?

Heres the recipe just in case you need it:

50%  CRISCO
10%  COCONUT OIL
  5%  GRAPESEED OIL
  8%  CASTOR OIL
  5%  OLIVE
22%  CANOLA


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## krissy (Jun 5, 2009)

is it runny? what kind of trace does it look like? i had a batch of castille that looked like a very light trace for more than a day and then all of a sudden it was hard. a day later and i couldnt even cut the bars. maybe just let it alone for a while


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## MicahsMommy (Jun 6, 2009)

its just very soft. Its kind of firm.... but still very squishy. So I should just let it sit longer? how long do i wait before i can finally decide that this batch wont harden and try to rebatch it?


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## Vinca Leaf (Jun 6, 2009)

I'd say just wait.  If you didn't get a gel it could be slower, and with only crisco as the hard oil, it may take longer than something with coconut or palm.  The other oils you have in there are "soft" kind of oils too...so, just try it in another day or two.  If you notice a difference from Day 1, then it will probably be ok.

As an aside, I just did a castille today and it was ready to cut within hours.  Same with the coconut bar I did.  Wooo!


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## Vinca Leaf (Jun 6, 2009)

Also, how much water did you use, by percent?  If you're doing full water then it will take longer I think!


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## Guest (Jun 6, 2009)

I would leave it for a while longer , you have a lot of soft oils that do take a little longer to cure. Does it zap you when you test it . If it doesn't just give it some time , I know it is super hard to wait to try the soap.

Kitn


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## IrishLass (Jun 6, 2009)

Like Kitn said, as long as it doesn't zap, I would wait it out for now. Time is definitely a CPers best friend.   

You sure do have a whole lot of soft fats/oils in there, though..... 

I don't know _exactly_ how hard or soft it will actually feel in the end, but looking at the fatty acid profile of your soap, the linoleic level is very high (35%). That is a good predictor that your soap will be on the softer side of things, and also be more susceptible to coming down with the dreaded DOS (dreaded orange spots). 

What qualities are you looking for your soap to have?

IrishLass


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## xraygrl (Jun 6, 2009)

How much water did you use, and what size batch was it? You have lots of softer type oils in there so if you used a higher water content, it will take longer to harden up.


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## Egzandra (Jun 6, 2009)

The crisco you used is the same as Trex in the UK (I think!) and when I did a recipe with a lot of Trex in it it took a long time to harden.  Did in the end, though and the soap turned out nice and creamy.  Good luck with it.  I made a soap with a high percentage of olive oil in it yesterday and was expecting it to take ages to trace, but it did so in about 40 minutes - I had to glop it into the mould rather than pour it.


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