1st try need help

[Buckscent]

1st try need help - UPDATE

I need some input please. I will gve as much info as I can to replicate my pour.
48oz loaf
5% superfat
38% water
30% olive oil
30% coconut oil
30% lard
10% castor oil
No FO
No EO

Mixed lye water 6.8oz lye and 16oz water. Or close to that

Melted the coconut and lard together in the microwave then added olive oil and castor oil.

While it was cooling down I mixed a couple colors in a couple cups. 1 TBLS olive oil and 1 tsp mica

I poured lye water in oil at room temp. 85 and 89

I mixed to what i thought was just right at or even right before light trace and poured even amounts into my colorant cups and used my immereser in each cup to mix them up

It poured into my colorant cups pretty easy but I knew I was in trouble because as I was mixing I could tell it was sticking pretty good to my immersion mixer. When I got all colors mixed it was waaaaay to thick to pour in my mold. I literally had to do a hard shake to get it to come out of the cups in thick chunks. Almost needed a spoon to get it out

From the time I poured into cups, mixed colors and poured was like 3-4 minutes

Why did it thickn up so much so fast? All videos I see it seems it pours easy in the molds and has time to work with Thanks in advance for any help

 

[DeeAnna]

That's sometimes all the time you get -- just a few minutes.

Sounds like you soaped on the cool side and that isn't a bad thing, although with lard (or palm or tallow) you risk "false trace" if you soap too cool. At 30% lard, this is unlikely, but something to think about if you increase your lard % in the future. False trace is when the batter is so cool the lard (or palm or tallow) begins to solidify and thicken the batter. This fools people sometimes into thinking the batter is at a stable emulsion, when it's really not quite there yet. When this batter warms back up, as it will when it starts to saponify strongly, the lard melts, the batter thins out, the apparent emulsion fails, and the soap can separate in the mold and make a mess.

Some people advise using less or no castor oil to lengthen the working time. At 10%, you're on the high side as far as most people think.

Based on my experience as a beginner and what others have said, I suspect you might have stick blended too much. Even though you stopped at emulsion or very light trace, a goodly dose of high intensity mixing is a little like bicycling to the top of a tall hill ... and then wondering why you're zooming down that steep hill way too fast. By using a stick blender more sparingly, the hill is not quite so steep and saponification doesn't start racing along quite so fast. I still do this to myself if I make soap after a break -- it's too easy to blitz that SB around my soap batter without considering the consequences, and that often gets me into trouble with my soap setting up too fast.

 

[dixiedragon]

How hot was the oil when you added the lye to it?

I don't think you did anything wrong. You just spent too much time mixing so the soap got thick. When you are going to do multiple colors, it is helpful to soap cooler - have your oils between 90 and 100. Also, stop mixing at emulsion - basically give it a few blasts with the stick blender until the entire pot is opaque - no swirls of unblended oil or lye water - then pour into your mixing cups.

How many colors did you use? It might be good to just start with one.

Your soap will be fine. congrats!

 

[Buckscent]

How hot was the oil when you added the lye to it?

I don't think you did anything wrong. You just spent too much time mixing so the soap got thick. When you are going to do multiple colors, it is helpful to soap cooler - have your oils between 90 and 100. Also, stop mixing at emulsion - basically give it a few blasts with the stick blender until the entire pot is opaque - no swirls of unblended oil or lye water - then pour into your mixing cups.

How many colors did you use? It might be good to just start with one.

Your soap will be fine. congrats!

Oil was 83/84 degrees
Yea I think I immersed way to long
I did 6 colors, yea I know I know . Im just one to go all out or go home

 

[dixiedragon]

LOL. I get it! The standard advice around here is to make a few batches with no color or scent...but where's the fun in that?

Here is something simple but pretty. Prepare your soap. Blend the pot of soap batter until just emulsified. Pour some in mold. Add a small amount of color and blend. Pour some. Add more color. etc. It's simple, you only use one pot, but it's very pretty!

 

[Spice]

Oil was 83/84 degrees
Yea I think I immersed way to long
I did 6 colors, yea I know I know . Im just one to go all out or go home

I was having that problem too, then I increased my water. I used this thread to help me understand percent of water to percent of lye solution.

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=38387
if you planning on doing more color then maybe more water would work better.

 

[Buckscent]

LOL. I get it! The standard advice around here is to make a few batches with no color or scent...but where's the fun in that?

Here is something simple but pretty. Prepare your soap. Blend the pot of soap batter until just emulsified. Pour some in mold. Add a small amount of color and blend. Pour some. Add more color. etc. It's simple, you only use one pot, but it's very pretty!

Yea, might try that just try that and slow down a little

 

[navigator9]

What you might find helpful is to stick blend for few seconds, then with the stick blender off, use it to stir the batter, then blend again, then stir. And in between these two, watch carefully. The more soap you make, the more you will get used to noticing small changes in the batter. It's just one of those things that takes practice.

 

[Ruthie]

Yes, what Navigator said. Has worked well for me.

 

[cmzaha]

I need some input please. I will gve as much info as I can to replicate my pour.
48oz loaf
5% superfat
38% water
30% olive oil
30% coconut oil
30% lard
10% castor oil
No FO
No EO

Mixed lye water 6.8oz lye and 16oz water. Or close to that

Melted the coconut and lard together in the microwave then added olive oil and castor oil.

While it was cooling down I mixed a couple colors in a couple cups. 1 TBLS olive oil and 1 tsp mica

I poured lye water in oil at room temp. 85 and 89

I mixed to what i thought was just right at or even right before light trace and poured even amounts into my colorant cups and used my immereser in each cup to mix them up

It poured into my colorant cups pretty easy but I knew I was in trouble because as I was mixing I could tell it was sticking pretty good to my immersion mixer. When I got all colors mixed it was waaaaay to thick to pour in my mold. I literally had to do a hard shake to get it to come out of the cups in thick chunks. Almost needed a spoon to get it out

From the time I poured into cups, mixed colors and poured was like 3-4 minutes

Why did it thickn up so much so fast? All videos I see it seems it pours easy in the molds and has time to work with Thanks in advance for any help

Was this a batch using 48 oz of oils. What I come up with in soap calc is this was a 29% Lye Concentration or Water as percent of Oil weight 34%. This is really a low lye concentration so I would also guess you SB'ed to long, had to much castor, which accelerates trace and soaped lard a little cool. I never soap even 25% lard below approx 100º F. I actually to not check temp just go by feel of my bucket, but I do know it is around 100º. Cutting castor to 3% will give you more time. I would also practice with 1 lb batches. You can cut castor to 3% and add in some sugar for bubbles

 

[Buckscent]

Here is the outcome of that pour.... turned out just ok I guess. It's not bright, kind of dull looking. I was hoping for bright colors.... What do you all do to get vibrant bright colors?
Also, took out of mold at 27 hours and still very very soft so I just left it on the counter until tomorrow afternoon and hope it hardens up

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Many people find that gelling a soap results in more vibrant colours and not gelling gives more of a pastel colour. Of course, what you use to colour and how much will also have some sort of impact