# Help with Trace not working



## SouthernHomemadeables (Feb 15, 2021)

I am having problems getting my soap to Trace. I am using pure olive oil. I am making liquid castile soap. 
40 oz olive oil, 9 oz potassium hydroxide flakes (lye) and 32 oz distilled water. 
it has been cooking for almost 4 hours and still watery!. Please help!


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## lsg (Feb 15, 2021)

Using SoapCalc, I came up with 7.22 oz KOH, (7.6 oz with zero superfat), and 15.2 oz of water.


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## SouthernHomemadeables (Feb 15, 2021)

I got the recipe from here.








						How to Make Liquid Castile Soap (with Pictures) - wikiHow
					

Liquid castile soap is a versatile, inexpensive cleaning option that can be made with just a few ingredients. To make liquid castile soap, you can mix and cook your own soap solution at home, or use a slow cooker and boiling water to melt...




					www.wikihow.com
				




This is my first time making any kind of homemade soap!

I also have no idea about superfats lol!


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## KimW (Feb 15, 2021)

Did you run your recipe through a Soap Calculator?  As @lsg inferred, the amounts of lye and water that you used seem way off.


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## SouthernHomemadeables (Feb 15, 2021)

No I didn't. I was not aware of the Soap calculator until you guys just mentioned it. Im new to all this stuff lol! That's why Im here to find some help!

Also I tried my very first batch last week with a totally different recipe and I had the same exact problem. And it was different amounts than these. So last week I just set it and put the lid on and let it cook. It turned out to be a hard thick gel, which I diluted and it made some hand soaps with.


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## KimW (Feb 15, 2021)

Yay.  So, one thing going forward is to run every recipe through some sort of soap calculator.  There are a few out there besides the two already suggested, so find the one that makes the most sense to you.

About your current batch.  If your KOH (Potassium Hydroxide) is 100% purity, then you've used much too much lye.  If it's actually 90% purity, which is what KOH is typically, then you need to add at least 3 more ounces of Olive Oil to what you have going to get to 0% superfat (search for the term "superfat" on this forum). 

You seem to have added about twice the water needed.  I wonder - are you using a "no paste" recipe?

The forum has a really good Liquid Soap section.  Here are two recent threads about starting in Liquid Soap - perhaps they might shed some light:





						Formulating Liquid Soap
					

So, all the liquid soap experts, I have a question, well not ‘a’ but here they go.. can we use the same formula we have for solid soap for a liquid soap? does too much coconut oil result in drying an issue? As glycerine is added too... we look at hardness, drying and lasting in solid soap, what...




					www.soapmakingforum.com
				








						Basic Beginner Liquid Soap
					

There are about as many different ways to make LS as there are LS-ers! LOL We all seem to tweak our formulas to our personal preference. This is a good site for learning to make liquid soap online. Faith not only teaches the basics, but she answers many of the questions Newbies have about making...




					www.soapmakingforum.com


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## SouthernHomemadeables (Feb 15, 2021)

Actually Im trying to make the Paste, is what I was going for lol. SO so far the only 2 things Ive had trouble getting right out of all the products Im making is this and the body scrubs. They keep turning out to hard with the shea butter in them, so I switched to liquid oils only and bam, problem solved!


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## KimW (Feb 15, 2021)

Here's a YouTube Soaper who I respect and really like because she doesn't just "show", like so many youtube soap channels, she actually instructs.  She does have a penchant for Olive Oil, btw. The below video is on liquid soap, but if you peruse her videos you'll find a wealth of video information on all things soap:


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## linne1gi (Feb 16, 2021)

lsg said:


> Using SoapCalc, I came up with 7.22 oz KOH, (7.6 oz with zero superfat), and 15.2 oz of water.


Did you check the 90% KOH box, because with zero superfat and 40 oz of Olive Oil, I came up with 8.44 oz KOH and 15.2 oz water.


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## lsg (Feb 16, 2021)

No, I just checked the KOH box.


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## linne1gi (Feb 16, 2021)

lsg said:


> No, I just checked the KOH box.


You also have to check the 90% box because that is what most KOH is.  It makes a big difference.


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## Nibiru2020 (Feb 20, 2021)

SouthernHM get yourself an inexpensive stick blender.  It will definitely speed up the process for you.

Getting a 100% olive oil-based liquid soap to trace will take quite a long time and a lot of stick blending.
Don't even think about hand stirring it, you'll be there 'till the next ice age waiting for a trace.
Always use a soap calculator, the one at the top of this webpage will give you excellent results.  I use it exclusively.

Good luck!  Maybe on your next batch things will go smoother.


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