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I know you're not a fan of this process but I'm going to try one more time... do you have any idea as to why my lye wasn't heating up enough?

"This will spew hot lye solution and fat all over." A true volcano. Many thanks for these safety precautions. Also the last graf about temperature guns, that clears up a lot. I've been comparing temperatures of different cups of water with my candy thermometer & didn't understand the...

1. Sounds about right - the lye was old. Maybe even a year old. I was wondering about that. 2. Wondered about that, too - I'll try again with CO and castor, since I have them. 3. No. Does using shreds of finished soap throw off the calculations?

Apologies - I misread the word expansion as eruption. Which you took the time to bold & underline! :rolleyes: So, I did it and... It was a nothingburger. I think it was because my lye solution was too cool when I mixed it in with the oil, which I heated to about 210 on the stove top in a...

That's sugar or anything with sugar. Sugar's scorching point is 350F, so you're OK to add it before the cook. (How this is added is the subject of endless discussions. I'd take out some of the water and add it to the water before the cook and add it during the cook. I don't think it much...

OMG thank you & AliOop - I just had a major insight yesterday. The weight of the lye is a function of the weight & type of oils in a recipe. I honestly had not realized that. I thought that amount of lye was a function of the amount of water and the oil type/weight. No no no. Thank you both...

Pretty! I have some turmeric that I never use... how much do you use per batch? Also, is there any potential skin reaction issues?

Yes to all. In fact, I got this entire idea of HTHP from this site: Ultimate HP Soap and I wondered at the water discount. I loved the idea of dispensing with a crockpot - actually I loved the whole idea - but I was skeptical of some of the info, which is why I came here. 8.96 ounces water...

"That's actually a soaping myth." Another myth exploded! Oops, perhaps shattered would be a better word to use given the context..... Do you recommend less lye in hot process? DeAnna's Classic Bells page had a sentence about that. But I am planning on doing a 100% Castille, so I may stick to...

If the lye is 180F then there's a more than 10 degree difference between the two, which I've always read is the ideal.

Do you remember the temp that caused your volcano? So far I've been cold-processing using the "is it warm to the touch method" but for this I decided to spend a few bucks for an infrared thermometer. I thought it'd be much more expensive than it was. In one of the YT vids I saw they heat the...

No, I haven't done it yet.

Why use a stick blender at all with HTHP? Why not just whisk the whole thing, given that the temps are so high? Thanks so much and absolutely appreciate the suggestions. I will certainly report my experiences here. The word volcano works for me because eruption implies that the batter will...

I am intrigued by the High Temperature Hot Process method. It seems that you should expect a volcano when you use this method. If I mix in a vessel that is at least 4 times bigger than the soap recipe, will that solve the problem of overflow? Yes, I realize that volcanos gonna volcano, I just...

Does it actually change or does it get tighter? (Change meaning alter the direction of the bonds to create a different shape.) I've been thinking of the evaporation process a lot recently. Briefly, those of us who measure things in grams on little kitchen scales have comparatively crude...

Cocoa butter is a different issue entirely - it's not an added scent. It's something intrinsic to the material. In my experience, it's the only scent that persists. I don't think it can be replicated. Makes sense to me although there's a point where superfatting becomes tricky and you really...

That is true. An FO formulated to be used in soap is probably far safer. "Natural" doesn't necessarily mean safe. Poison ivy is natural....

I always try to do my research before coming here. So I read this*: https://www.brambleberry.com/how-to/soap/art0122-scent-fading.html But I always love to hear experienced soapers' hands-on experiences with scent. In my (limited) experience, essential oils are all quite transient, and the...

This inspired me to make a brown soap. 1. Molasses 2. Coffee instead of water 3. Cacao powder 4. Vanilla essence (just a few last drops of an old bottle) Oil mix: avocado, cocoa butter, coconut, castor. Not sure what that white stuff is. I think it may be dust. It's not on the other bars. I...

Which is where I read this, 😂 "Because of it’s higher palmitic acid content, it actually does contribute to a harder bar of soap (compared to other liquid oils such as almond, grapeseed, sunflower, safflower)." Which completely goes against everything you read about avocado oil being soft. I...