Alkaline Heavy Soap

[mshearn3198]

Just made a two colour soap, one half is undyed, while the other half is dyed pink. The oils used were as follows

8oz Olive Oil
4oz Coconut Oil
4oz Palm Oil

Instead of making a slurry with the dye, the oxide dye was directly added to the soap mixture. The end result meant that the undyed soap is neutral, while the dyed half is very alkline.

Where did we go wrong? Was it the fact that we didn't make a slurry with the dye a reason for it going alkline?

 

[Obsidian]

What makes you say the dyed half is alkaline? How long ago did you make it?

You shouldn't do a zoo test until the soap is a few days old. Oxide won't affect the alkalinity.

 

[mshearn3198]

What makes you say the dyed half is alkaline? How long ago did you make it?

You shouldn't do a zoo test until the soap is a few days old. Oxide won't affect the alkalinity.

Used some litmus paper and the dyed area seemed to have a higher ph than the undyed area.

The soap is only a day old, so i will try again in a few days.

 

[Susie]

You can not test soap with litmus paper. Your soap will always be alkaline. Soap is an alkaline salt, not a neutral substance. This never means that your soap is unsafe, just that it is alkaline. To see if it is safe or not, zap test it. Rub a wet gloved finger over the soap to generate a little lather. Touch this lather to the tip of your tongue to see if you get a zap like a 9V battery does when it still has a charge. If no zap, your soap is safe.

I would wait a few days to do the zap test, though. If you did not gel your soap, it could very well be zappy yet.

Safe does not mean cured. Your soap will still need to cure 4-6 weeks minimum to be "good".

 

[DeeAnna]

Rubbing litmus paper on soap doesn't give accurate pH results for soap. Tests by experienced soapers have proven this to be true. I would not trust the results of such a test -- it doesn't work.

It might be possible the pH of the pigmented area is different than the pH of the plain soap ... but it is as likely the added pigments may be reacting with the chemicals on the pH paper.

Wait a few days and try this instead: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=63199