Bad Feeling

[Nutty]

Ugh...I have been wanting to make a batch of soap for MONTHS now. So today I bit the bullet and made some. Only 6.5 oz of it to fit a mold. I used that formula to estimate it. (In attachments).
It is a very windy day here in florida. Soap, lye, paper was flying everywhere. My postal scale auto shuts off after like 10 seconds... I screwed up measurements probably. But...I got SOMETHING into the molds...useable I will not know yet. My lesson learned...wait till the stars are aligned for the perfect weather outside. Or force my family to clean their stuff off the table inside.

Ugh...

 

[cmzaha]

Hopefully it will be fine, as soap is a bit more forgiving that many think. What is critical is to have a good scale especially if making tiny batches. We usually do not recommend making less than 1 lb for newbies. It is really much safer to work inside in my opinion so you do not have ingredients flying around. Once trick is to weight your working container while still empty so if your scale goes off you can weigh your partial filled container and deduct the tare weight of the bowl, bucket etc. Hopefully you will know what oil is short and can just add it in. After 72 hrs if your soap does not zap it will be fine, and if it does zap do not throw away but put the bars on the shelf and give them a 4-6 month cure, many times a long cure will fix soap errors.

BTW, I like the shape of your mold, just get another mold so you can make a larger batch.

 

[IrishLass]

Ditto what Carolyn said ^^^.

I hope it all turns out well in the end.

Just an extra caution about making batches under 1 lb with a postal scale. Unless the scale can weigh accurately down to .01g/.0005 oz, I wouldn't attempt it. The lower you go under 1lb, the less wiggle-room there is for weighing errors, especially where the lye is concerned. Just a 1 gram discrepancy in the weight of the lye in very small batches can cause exponentially greater consequences.

When I make test batches under 1 lb, I use my Jenning's scale: http://www.lotioncrafter.com/jennings-jsr-200-scale.html


IrishLass

 

[kumudini]

Sorry you had trouble but I hope the soap turns out alright. I know you will be better prepared next time and your second batch would be a success, just hang in there.

 

[Kamahido]

I too would caution against making a batch of soap under 500 grams. Too little wiggle room there for my tastes.

 

[Nutty]

Out of frustration I made a 1lb batch of that similar recipe. It came out great! It hardened pretty quick. I was able to cut it into 4 bars. Smells like lard. Looks like lard. I think it is Lard and the lye didn't do anything...LOL. But aha! I made soap! I'm so proud. (': Tomorrow I see if it hardens more and try the tongue zap test?

 

[KristaY]

Nice work Nutty and congrats!!!! They look great. Hopefully the lardy smell will fade during cure but I've never used it so can't say for sure. Wait a couple of days to zap test. Complete saponification can take up to 72 hours so it may zap for that long. I usually wait about a week just in case. You're on a roll now!

 

[Bamagirl]

Out of frustration I made a 1lb batch of that similar recipe. It came out great! It hardened pretty quick. I was able to cut it into 4 bars. Smells like lard. Looks like lard. I think it is Lard and the lye didn't do anything...LOL. But aha! I made soap! I'm so proud. (': Tomorrow I see if it hardens more and try the tongue zap test?

My first batch, I was the same way. I kept thinking since I used lard and CO, all I had done was mix those and it wasn't really soap . I had set aside my bowls to clean after a couple days so I wouldn't be washing oils down my drain, and when I went to clean them, I got bubbles. I was so excited seeing those bubbles and have been hooked ever since.

 

[Susie]

My first batch, I was the same way. I kept thinking since I used lard and CO, all I had done was mix those and it wasn't really soap . I had set aside my bowls to clean after a couple days so I wouldn't be washing oils down my drain, and when I went to clean them, I got bubbles. I was so excited seeing those bubbles and have been hooked ever since.

This made me smile. That was exactly my moment of addiction. When I first got bubbles.

 

[DeeAnna]

The bubbles from my first soap made me think of my grandmother who made her own lard soap when I was a little one. It felt good to follow in her footsteps.