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I love your suggestion. There's no such thing as to much information, it's just knowing what to do with it! Thanks again for your time and information. Looking forward to getting started in the morning. Looks like you're a night owl also. Paul

Thanks cmzaha, your point is well taken. There are way too many soapers making great soap, and soap making videos, which suggests that it may not be the chemistry, but the process. Given that "soda ash" is not even included in the index of most of the books written by acknowledged soap gurus...

Thanks for your input. I'm wondering, if what I'm dealing with IS actually soda ash, or something else. It's white, a slightly sticky. clay like coating, covering the entire top surface of my test bars, which are poured at a light/medium trace, into a(6up 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" cavities) silicone...

You are correct that NaOH "dissociates (spreads apart), as a result of polar forces within the water (hydrolysis). Yes, the Na ion combines with the fatty "acid" to form a "salt" hence the chemical name used on soap and cosmetic labels. As I said before, my goal is to understand, and...

My ultimate goal is to reduce soda ash in CP soap! If unreacted lye, is the basis for soda ash, that seems like an obvious candidate for exploration. Thanks Kcryss. I feel like Colombo, just one more question. Having never made HP soap, I guessing that I can't do all the fancy swirls and...

Don't we SF so that lye soaps are as NON DRYING, and NON IRRITATING, as possible? Not sure that I would want to use a LYE HEAVY soap, but that's just me. VERY INTERESTING!!! Are you saying that "soda ash," the dread of CP soap makers, is NOT an issue for HP soap makers? Any idea why???

Actually, I'm more interested in PREVENTING SODA ASH. If it is, in fact the reaction of unreacted lye with the CO2 in the air (Na + CO2= Na2CO3), then there must be an EXCESS of lye in the batter. It seems like adjusting the chemistry (PREVENTING IT) would be a better plan. Reducing the...

Not sure why you thought EXCESS LYE would prevent Rancidity! Rancidity is 1) complete, or incomplete OXIDATION (by oxygen free radical) of the double bonds in mono and poly UNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS, or 2) HYDROLYTIC rancidity which occurs when triglycerides are hydrolyzed releasing free fatty...

If it's NOT and excess of free, unreacted hydroxyl ions (OH), from the dissociation of the lye (Na+OH), then what accounts for the high alkaline pH? In addition, if "soda ash" is NaCO2, then the Na ions must have been free to combine with the CO2 in the air. CO2 CAN'T combine with the NaOH...

At pH 11, I would expect you would get a "good" zap. If the rational for using a SF of 5-8%, is to assure there is NO EXCESS OF LYE, then I would expect a pH closer to 7 or 8, and very little free Na to combine with CO2, and thus NO SODA ASH! Am I correct that the NaOH hydrolyzes, resulting in...

What should the pH of CP soap be after 4-6 weeks?

Hi P.J. Thanks for Your response. I'm not able to upload photos right now. I am making CP soaps only, encompassing a wide variety of formulas. I am using 99% pure NaOH, 5% superfatting, and a 2.2:1 water/lye ratio, calculated by SoapCalc. In almost all cases, I get white swirls, streaks, and...

1. Does anyone have experience with tussah silk. Using it as a single addition, combining it with sodium lactate in the same recipe, or compared to the feel and hardness provided by sodium lactate.in CP soap? 2. Does anyone have experience (amount, results) with Squalene in CP soap...

Yes, I'm a newbie. My first two batches were perfect. Since then, no matter what I try, the surface of my small test bars (poured in 6/up rectangular mold) are covered in a layer of light tan, sticky, clay like coating. Could that be soda ash? I've soaped at 90-110F (Jan Berry), and 120-130F...

If you can't get a response from your supplier, I'd find a new supplier!

If you can't get a response from your supplier, I'd find a new supplier!