untraced soap?

DaKakashi · Nov 6, 2014

hey guys, I have a question. Yesterday when I was tracing my soap, my stick blender stopped working. I tried to continue to mix it with a hand mixer, but my soap couldn't get to trace, or had a really light trace. All the ingredients were mixed together, nothing was separating, and it wasn't so liquid, but I continued to blend and nothing happened. finally I decided to pour it into the mold and see what happened.
Today I checked the soap, and it harden up and was warm like a normal soap.
does somebody know what happened? this is the third time that I use this recipe, I never had this problem before. I used the exact same ingredients, and I didn't mix in the essential oils when it happened. are the soaps usable? can an untraced soap harden-up like a normal one, or i did get to a really light trace?
thanks very much for your help, and i'm sorry if I my english is bad, its not my native language

girlishcharm2004 · Nov 6, 2014

When you get to trace, whether it's light trace, medium trace, heavy trace, you can mold it. If it hardened, it got to trace. If it separated, then it didn't. Test it to see if it's lye heavy. If it's not, then you have perfectly good soap.

I don't know what your recipe is but certain factors like temperature, amount of water, fragrance, speed of blending, etc. can affect how quickly the soap traces.

cmzaha · Nov 6, 2014

Actually soap batter only needs to get to emulsification. When no oil floats to the top of your batter it can be poured with or without a trace. It will just take longer to set up

DaKakashi · Nov 6, 2014

thanks for the quick answers! I already cut the soap into pieces and it looks amazing. now I only have to find another stick blender lol

IrishLass · Nov 6, 2014

A stick blender is actually not an absolute necessity. You can soap without one (I myself still make certain batches without one....on purpose), but it sure does make things a whole lot easier and quicker. I Just thought I'd let you know that in case you were thinking that one can't ever make soap without one.

When you go to zap test your soap, don't do it right away after unmolding and cutting. Wait about a week or so and then test. I say that because it's not uncommon to get a false positive zap so early on. I let mine sit at least 7 days before zap-testing.

IrishLass

summerflyy · Nov 6, 2014

Agree with IrishLass. My first few soap batches were made by handmixing. But it just took too long to get it to trace. (There was once I had to handmix for more than an hour to get it to very light trace. I gave up and dumped it into the mold so I got myself a stick blender to spare myself the grief)

seven · Nov 6, 2014

cmzaha said:
Actually soap batter only needs to get to emulsification. When no oil floats to the top of your batter it can be poured with or without a trace. It will just take longer to set up

^^
i second this. a proper emulsification is all you need. and i think you've proven this with the current batch in question.

personally, i don't like to go till thick trace. i usually pour as soon as it hits the lightest trace.

hud · Dec 7, 2014

IrishLass said:
A stick blender is actually not an absolute necessity. You can soap without one (I myself still make certain batches without one....on purpose), but it sure does make things a whole lot easier and quicker. I Just thought I'd let you know that in case you were thinking that one can't ever make soap without one.

When you go to zap test your soap, don't do it right away after unmolding and cutting. Wait about a week or so and then test. I say that because it's not uncommon to get a false positive zap so early on. I let mine sit at least 7 days before zap-testing.

IrishLass

How long it takes you to mix one batch and is there a spicific reason to do that?

IrishLass · Dec 7, 2014

hud said:
How long it takes you to mix one batch and is there a spicific reason to do that?

With the batches that I don't use a stick-blender, I'm working with a very fast-moving FO, and so I only stir by hand or by whisk to keep things from getting out of hand. If I used a stick-blender in those particular batches, I would probably end up with soap-on-a-stick faster than you could say, 'Uh-oh'. lol

IrishLass

hud · Dec 7, 2014

IrishLass said:
With the batches that I don't use a stick-blender, I'm working with a very fast-moving FO, and so I only stir by hand or by whisk to keep things from getting out of hand. If I used a stick-blender in those particular batches, I would probably end up with soap-on-a-stick faster than you could say, 'Uh-oh'. lol

IrishLass

I thought about this, too.
Very smart as usual.:razz:

JuneP · Dec 7, 2014

Emulsification

I cannot tell you how happy I was to read that it's OK to pour at emulsification! Watching so many soap making videos closely, and repeatedly, it sure looked like they weren't pouring at trace!

One question about light trace that came up for my yesterday, was when two people mentioned paisley in relation to trace. What is paisley?????? I know what paisley designs are in fabric, etc. but what does the term mean in soap making?

So much to learn!

June

SoapinInAl · Dec 7, 2014

What does it mean to zap test?

Obsidian · Dec 7, 2014

When you swirl your SB around in your soap pot, you will often see paisley like designs on the surface of the batter that disappear after a few seconds.

A zap test is a way to test if your soap is lye heavy. Once your soap is 2-3 days old, wet a finger tip and lightly rub it across the soap then touch it to the tip of your tongue. If it gives you a zap, it still has active lye, if it doesn't then the soap is safe.

DeeAnna · Dec 7, 2014

Stick blenders are very nice for soaping, but my grandmother made lye soap by stirring with a big kitchen spoon and having a lot of patience.

I do not use a stick blender if I am making pine tar soap or (like Irish Lass) if I use a fragrance that causes the soap to emulsify quickly. In those cases, I just use my version of Grandma's big kitchen spoon.

JustBeachy · Dec 7, 2014

SoapinInAl said:
What does it mean to zap test?

If you touch the soap to your tongue and get a slight zap, think touching a 9 volt battery to your tongue, then it's still not finished processing the lye or your soap is lye heavy.

On CP soap, you shouldn't be getting a zap after max of 2 days. Mine exhibits no zap in 24 hours max. It doesn't mean the soap is done, it still needs to "cure", but it shows the soap is safe. No leftover lye.

lenarenee · Dec 7, 2014

DaKakashi said:
hey guys, I have a question. Yesterday when I was tracing my soap, my stick blender stopped working. I tried to continue to mix it with a hand mixer, but my soap couldn't get to trace, or had a really light trace. All the ingredients were mixed together, nothing was separating, and it wasn't so liquid, but I continued to blend and nothing happened. finally I decided to pour it into the mold and see what happened.
Today I checked the soap, and it harden up and was warm like a normal soap.
does somebody know what happened? this is the third time that I use this recipe, I never had this problem before. I used the exact same ingredients, and I didn't mix in the essential oils when it happened. are the soaps usable? can an untraced soap harden-up like a normal one, or i did get to a really light trace?
thanks very much for your help, and i'm sorry if I my english is bad, its not my native language

I think you did a great job explaining yourself, and your English is just fine!

IrishLass · Dec 7, 2014

JustBeachy said:
On CP soap, you shouldn't be getting a zap after max of 2 days.

.............unless you have a stubborn, ornery (or maybe just a 'slow-as-molasses' to react) un-gelled batch of soap such as I have had a few times. Didn't stop zapping until about 5 or 6 days had gone by, wouldn't you know it. lol

That's why I don't get too freaked out anymore if my soap is still zapping after more than a few days have gone by. Actually, I don't even check for zap anymore until a week or 2 after unmolding.

IrishLass

JustBeachy · Dec 7, 2014

IrishLass said:
.............unless you have a stubborn, ornery (or maybe just a 'slow-as-molasses' to react) un-gelled batch of soap such as I have had a few times. Didn't stop zapping until about 5 or 6 days had gone by, wouldn't you know it. lol

That's why I don't get too freaked out anymore if my soap is still zapping after more than a few days have gone by. Actually, I don't even check for zap anymore until a week or 2 after unmolding.

IrishLass

That's a good point. I can't say I've ever had one go past 24, but it can happen.

DeeAnna · Dec 8, 2014

"...I don't even check for zap anymore until a week or 2 after unmolding...."

After intentionally making soap with 40% lye excess and finding it didn't zap after a few weeks of cure, I stopped worrying about zappity-ness. I test, yes, because I'm not interested in washing with a zappy soap, but I don't get too worried if one of my soap stays zappy a little longer than usual (most don't, but it sometimes happens); I just give it more time.

shunt2011 · Dec 8, 2014

I too ususally only get to emulsification most times. Especially if I want to do some other techniques with it.

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