A Sad Story of Soap

[Sweet T]

After diligently studying, carefully measuring, skillfully mixing and patiently waiting this is what I got when I tried to make my face soap.





First use of my mold!

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Pour nicely, looks nice, smells nice, feels nice

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Took a while for the soap to firm up. Probably all the olive oil I was told.
But once it did I noticed oily drops on the top of my dried log. I didn't think that was a good sign.

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This is what I found when I opened my box. Ugly bad surprise. Could something have leached out of the wood? It was re-purposed wood and I didn't consider that. Not only that, it was sticky and soft.

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So I think to myself that if I cut off the ugly junk, maybe it will be ok. NOT!

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My PH is ridiculous. Like 13!!! What. Just. Happened?
(The other bar is a good bar from another batch)
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[tkhaney1]

What did you use to line your mold? It looks like wax paper to me. That could be the problem. Use freezer paper. It won't let the soap soak through it. I have had that happen when I used mylar and the soap came in contact with the soap. If it doesn't zap, you can cut the edges off and it should be fine for your personal use.

 

[IrishLass]

Oh no!

I agree with tkhaney1. Wax paper is not the most reliable or durable liner to use. As paper liners go, freezer paper is the best. Freezer paper is heavy-duty butcher paper lined with a durable plastic coating on one side (the side that should face the soap in the mold). Some people have a hard time finding it, but this is what it looks like:

http://www.reynoldspkg.com/reynoldskitc ... od_id=1798

My grocery store sells it down the same aisle as the foil and plastic wrap (usually on the bottom shelf).

Don't worry too much about the pH (at least not right now). I realise 13 is disconcerting, but it is normal for soap to have a higher pH at first, especially if it didn't gel (the pH of lye is 14 afterall). As the soap cures, the pH gets lower until it bottoms out somewhere between 9 and 10.5 (the normal pH range for properly made and cured lye-based soap). I would conduct a zap test on it in a week to see where things stand.

Also, pH strips are famously unreliable for testing bar-type soap. We have several threads on the subject. A pH meter is much more reliable and a better way to go, but expensive. But one doesn't actually need pH strips or a meter to determine if a soap is safe to use. The tip of the tongue is a very accurate sensor/meter all by itself, and it doesn't cost anything to use (I'm talking aboout the 'zap' or 'tongue' test). We have many threads that discuss the zap or tongue test. I conduct a zap test when my soap is a week old. The zap test will not tell you the exact pH in numbers, but one doesn't need to know the exact pH number to determine if their soap is safe to use or not. The tip of the tongue will tell you instantly by either giving your tongue a zapping sensation (not safe to use yet), or testing out tongue neutral (safe to use).


IrishLass

 

[Sweet T]

Thank you so much. I did indeed use wax paper (read somewhere that it was OK. Pooey) for the width but also used freezer paper (for the length). I did this because the width of the wax paper happen to be the same length as my mold. Anyhow, yeah, I used both but next time I will use just the butcher paper. Husband just threw away the mold. haha. Making a new one out of fresh wood.

I will wait a week and zap test it again. I did use my tongue and it did indeed zap something awful. I also read not to ever use the tongue (so much for stuff I read, eh?) but I was willing to risk it. All you guys can't be wrong! I do have a ph meter but its for soil but I don't believe it measures high enough for soap and it would be weird to use, I think, with the bulb end.
I suppose I won't throw my soap out just yet...

Here is my recipe, I posted it on another thread but here it again. Maybe something is off?? It's supposed to be acne face soap and I guess it would still work....By burning the skin right off your face!

10 oz olive oil
5.5oz sweet almond oil
4.3oz shea butter (it was all i had left or I would have used more)
1.5oz caster oil
3.5oz jojoba oil
5.2oz sunflower oil
.6oz sodium lactate
10oz water
3.6oz lye ( 6% discount)
.3 oz cedarwood eo
.15 oz tea tree eo
2tbs french green clay

Thanks again, you guys are great.

 

[IrishLass]

I will wait a week and zap test it again. I did use my tongue and it did indeed zap something awful. I also read not to ever use the tongue (so much for stuff I read, eh?) but I was willing to risk it. All you guys can't be wrong! I do have a ph meter but its for soil but I don't believe it measures high enough for soap and it would be weird to use, I think, with the bulb end.
I suppose I won't throw my soap out just yet..

You don't need to zap test so soon- right out of the mold, I mean- but at least you now know what zap feels like. I myself wait a week after unmolding before testing mine for the first time. Oftentimes, soaps can test out zappy right out of the mold without there being anything wrong with them, which will usually bear out in a weeks time when they test out tongue neutral. Why test twice when you need test only once (and more pleasantly) in a weeks time, I always say. :wink: I've seen info here and there on the net from some who say to never use your tongue, but it is quite safe. It's not like you are sticking your tongue into raw batter and slurping it up or anything like that. It's just a brief touch to a week old bar of soap with the very tip of the tongue, and then rinsing your tongue off or spitting if need be. If you are licking it like a popsicle or ice cream cone, you're doing it wrong. You can also lather up with a bit of the soap and stick the lather to the tip of your tongue and test it that way. Soapers have been safely zap testing for years and years and years without any adverse effects. Also- my soaping hero- Dr. Kevin Dunn- a chemistry professor, soapmaker, and author of the book 'Scientific Soapmaking' gives the zap/tongue test the thumbs-up in his book.

Here is my recipe, I posted it on another thread but here it again. Maybe something is off?? It's supposed to be acne face soap and I guess it would still work....By burning the skin right off your face!

10 oz olive oil
5.5oz sweet almond oil
4.3oz shea butter (it was all i had left or I would have used more)
1.5oz caster oil
3.5oz jojoba oil
5.2oz sunflower oil
.6oz sodium lactate
10oz water
3.6oz lye ( 6% discount)
.3 oz cedarwood eo
.15 oz tea tree eo
2tbs french green clay

Thanks again, you guys are great.

My take on it is that that's a lot of jojoba and almond oil in there, giving your soap a high level of linoleic acid, which can make your soap vulnerable to the possibility of DOS. It looks like it will make for a soap that's on the softer side of things (but will probably feel quite nice on the face, though). Your water amount was pretty high, so not only will it be a soft-ish soap, but it will take a while for it to harden up.

Hopefully more people will chime in with their takes on it.


IrishLass

 

[BakingNana]

I took a look at it, too, and agree with Irish Lass. It looks like it'd be a great conditioning soap but may DOS. If you decide to try it again, you might want to cut the water back to 8 ounces (or less - play with a soap calculator) and increase the sodium lactate to 1.3 oz. to make it a bit harder. One nutty suggestion would be to keep the extra bars in the refrigerator to (possibly?) keep them fresher a bit longer. Rosemary oleoresin extract added may help keep them fresh a bit longer, too.

Sorry about the mold. It looked like a really nice mold; your hubby did a good job on the construction. Keep us posted on how the soap does should you make this recipe again. It sounds intriguing. I've been trying to hit the sweet spot using avocado for 10% of a facial bar and haven't had much luck.

 

[PippiL]

I have licked so many soaps over the last few days, I was thinking to do that for a living ?

 

[SumikoKeel]

I have licked so many soaps over the last few days, I was thinking to do that for a living ?

That was cute


lol