Can this soap be saved?

[camproses]

I made soap last night for the first time in awhile and completely forgot one of my main oils but didn't realize it until after the soap was poured and hardening. The recipe was supposed to have a 5% superfat, but I ran the recipe through soapcalc and it has about .8 oz more lye than 0% superfat would have. I don't want to just throw it out, do I have to?

 

[AlexanderMakesSoap]

Ouch, how annoying - I know I'm going to do something like this eventually! At least you realized it before soaping yourself up.

While I have no direct experience doing this, there are certainly ways to rebatch soap and The Google is full of (hopefully) helpful videos!

 

[Arimara]

You could let it cure out for a long while. It really is a good practice to post your entire recipe though, if you really want help troubleshooting and resolving the issue however.

 

[lsg]

You can re-batch the soap and add the missing oil.

 

[camproses]

Thank you for the replies! My correct recipe is:
15 oz olive
7.8 oz canola (forgot this one)
5.9 oz lard
4.8 oz castor
4 oz apricot kernel
4 oz avocado
3.6 shea butter
3.6 oz cocoa butter

8.2 oz lye
16 oz water

You could let it cure out for a long while. It really is a good practice to post your entire recipe though, if you really want help troubleshooting and resolving the issue however.

How long do you think it would take? I normally cure for 6-8 weeks.

I hate to rebatch it because it was poured as a swirl with a few colors that would look incredibly ugly mixed all together.

 

[DeeAnna]

Your original recipe --

15 oz olive
7.8 oz canola
5.9 oz lard
4.8 oz castor
4 oz apricot kernel
4 oz avocado
3.6 shea butter
3.6 oz cocoa butter

48.7 oz total fat

If I've set up the recipe correctly in my soap calc, I'm finding this recipe would require only 6.2 oz NaOH, assuming 5% superfat and 100% alkali purity.

You said 8.2 oz NaOH was needed for this recipe. Did you make a typo or is this really what you used or did I misread your information? If you really did use 8.2 oz NaOH with the fats listed, that's close to a -25% superfat.

Not sure if my numbers are wrong or if your numbers are -- ???

***

If the recipe you actually made was this --

15 oz olive
(canola omitted)
5.9 oz lard
4.8 oz castor
4 oz apricot kernel
4 oz avocado
3.6 shea butter
3.6 oz cocoa butter

40.9 oz total fat

-- and you used 6.2 oz NaOH in the batch, then the superfat in this version is around -12%. With 16 oz water, the lye concentration is roughly 28%.

Based on my experience with lye-heavy soaps that cure out to be skin safe and other lye-heavy soaps that don't --

I don't think you can assume this much excess lye will cure out given the circumstances. I would either discard this batch or rebatch it to add back the missing fat. I realize this will ruin your pretty design, but the chance of the soap becoming safe to use after a cure is pretty slim.

 

[camproses]

Thank you DeeAnna, I was afraid of that, but figured that was the case. I was shocked when I saw the 8.2 oz lye amount on SoapCalc, but after thinking about it, I was looking at the recipe on my phone, and, given my current eyesight, or lack thereof, there is a good chance I simply didn't see the number correctly. That will be the last time I do that lol. Rebatch it is, I guess.

Your original recipe --

15 oz olive
7.8 oz canola
5.9 oz lard
4.8 oz castor
4 oz apricot kernel
4 oz avocado
3.6 shea butter
3.6 oz cocoa butter

48.7 oz total fat

If I've set up the recipe correctly in my soap calc, I'm finding this recipe would require only 6.2 oz NaOH, assuming 5% superfat and 100% alkali purity.

You said 8.2 oz NaOH was needed for this recipe. Did you make a typo or is this really what you used or did I misread your information? If you really did use 8.2 oz NaOH with the fats listed, that's close to a -25% superfat.

Not sure if my numbers are wrong or if your numbers are -- ???

***

If the recipe you actually made was this --

15 oz olive
(canola omitted)
5.9 oz lard
4.8 oz castor
4 oz apricot kernel
4 oz avocado
3.6 shea butter
3.6 oz cocoa butter

40.9 oz total fat

-- and you used 6.2 oz NaOH in the batch, then the superfat in this version is around -12%. With 16 oz water, the lye concentration is roughly 28%.

Based on my experience with lye-heavy soaps that cure out to be skin safe and other lye-heavy soaps that don't --

I don't think you can assume this much excess lye will cure out given the circumstances. I would either discard this batch or rebatch it to add back the missing fat. I realize this will ruin your pretty design, but the chance of the soap becoming safe to use after a cure is pretty slim.

 

[DeeAnna]

Oy! If you really did use 8.2 oz NaOH, it's definitely not going to cure out.

A bunch of us did a complicated experiment some years ago with making soap using large excesses of NaOH and water. Turns out a large excess of NaOH -- a superfat in the -40% range -- will indeed dissipate during cure IF we also used a large excess of water.

A few of the people made a similar lye heavy soap using normal levels of water. This soap remained permanently lye heavy. Your soap is this second type -- normal water, moderate to high amount of excess lye.

A slight amount of lye heaviness will cure out, but in my experience, this happens with soap that has no more than about 3% percent excess lye. Not -12% or more as is in your soap.

 

[TheGecko]

I don't want to just throw it out, do I have to?

In my early days of soap making, I got a tiny amount of raw soap batter trapped under my wedding set (I thought I was safe to take off my gloves while cleaning up). I woke up in the middle of the night with my finger hurting, but I thought maybe I had slept on my hand and pushed the band into it, so I just gave it a bit of a twist and went back to sleep. When I got up in the morning, my hand was swollen and my finger hurt to the bone...it took me a good 20 minutes to get my rings off. Looking at my hand under the desk lamp, I saw dark spot...it was a burn mark...from the lye. It was almost a week before I could put my rings back on.

Needless to say, I don't mess around when it comes to lye. While I may say "oops" if I over pour an oil by 0.8 oz figuring I've added to my super fat, when it comes to weighing out Sodium Hydroxide, my tolerance is measured by the hundreths of an ounce.

Suggestion for future reference because I too forgot an oil once. Weigh your empty container and add it to the weight of your oils/butters, then before you add your lye solution or any additives, put your container on the scale and weigh it. Does the weight match? If it weighs less, how much is it off and compare it with the weights of your ingredients.

Bottom line...it's always smarter to lose a few ounces of oils/butter than sell a product that may be unsafe.

 

[camproses]

Ouch! I have had similar experiences, just can'tbe too careful. That is a great idea to weigh everything with the bowl.[M M
Cccccccd
QUOTE="TheGecko, post: 845783, member: 33279"]
In my early days of soap making, I got a tiny amount of raw soap batter trapped under my wedding set (I thought I was safe to take off my gloves while cleaning up). I woke up in the middle of the night with my finger hurting, but I thought maybe I had slept on my hand and pushed the band into it, so I just gave it a bit of a twist and went back to sleep. When I got up in the morning, my hand was swollen and my finger hurt to the bone...it took me a good 20 minutes to get my rings off. Looking at my hand under the desk lamp, I saw dark spot...it was a burn mark...from the lye. It was almost a week before I could put my rings back on.

Needless to say, I don't mess around when it comes to lye. While I may say "oops" if I over pour an oil by 0.8 oz figuring I've added to my super fat, when it comes to weighing out Sodium Hydroxide, my tolerance is measured by the hundreths of an ounce.

Suggestion for future reference because I too forgot an oil once. Weigh your empty container and add it to the weight of your oils/butters, then before you add your lye solution or any additives, put your container on the scale and weigh it. Does the weight match? If it weighs less, how much is it off and compare it with the weights of your ingredients.

Bottom line...it's always smarter to lose a few ounces of oils/butter than sell a product that may be unsafe.
[/QUOTE]

Thank you sharing the experiment results. It makes alot of sense to need more water. The strange thing is, I rechecked the numbers from soapcalc, and it definitely says 8.2 oz lye, so I am confused as to what to think.

Oy! If you really did use 8.2 oz NaOH, it's definitely not going to cure out.

A bunch of us did a complicated experiment some years ago with making soap using large excesses of NaOH and water. Turns out a large excess of NaOH -- a superfat in the -40% range -- will indeed dissipate during cure IF we also used a large excess of water.

A few of the people made a similar lye heavy soap using normal levels of water. This soap remained permanently lye heavy. Your soap is this second type -- normal water, moderate to high amount of excess lye.

A slight amount of lye heaviness will cure out, but in my experience, this happens with soap that has no more than about 3% percent excess lye. Not -12% or more as is in your soap.

 

[Arimara]

You forgot to add coconut oil too or you accidentally calculated it in your recipe. The numbers were correct so soapcalc is still working fine.

 

[Becky1024]

If your re-batched soap looks ugly, you can market it that way or shred it and use for confetti soap. Could also felt it, keep it for personal use, or give away to a local shelter or food pantry. Never let good soap go to waste, even if it's ugly.

 

[camproses]

You forgot to add coconut oil too or you accidentally calculated it in your recipe. The numbers were correct so soapcalc is still working fine.

I did add the coconut oil .

You forgot to add coconut oil too or you accidentally calculated it in your recipe. The numbers were correct so soapcalc is still working fine.

Since I added the coconut oil, is it possible to wait it out, or is rebatching still necessary?

 

[cmzaha]

60 oz of oil would require approx 8-9 oz of lye depending on superfat. I always recommend taring out your mixing container and marking the tare weight. It just makes it easy to figure out measuring mistakes. If you had 60 oz of fat with 8.2 oz lye your soap will be fine so let it cure and test for zap. My batches are 59 oz of fats and my lye requirement is around 9.5 oz

 

[camproses]

In order to rebatch, do I simply add what I left out, or do I add less? Do I add water? I have never successfully rebatched.

 

[Marsi]

Since I added the coconut oil, is it possible to wait it out, or is rebatching still necessary?

omitting the canola from your original recipe made a negative superfat of -8% in soapcalc
soapcalc assumes 100% sodium hydroxide purity but the actual purity will be lower from manufacture and use
your recipe also has lot of water in it (2.8:1 water to lye ratio)

I would wait it out

In order to rebatch, do I simply add what I left out, or do I add less? Do I add water? I have never successfully rebatched.

a big pot of shreds in a warm oven is easy
if you rebatch remember to add the missing oil

IrishLass posted this in 2015 for someone in a similar situation to you

Welcome Nicky!

Since the soap has already set-up, if it were me, I would rebatch it by grating/shredding the soap (or cutting it into small chunks), mixing in your missing 10 oz. of avocado oil, then heating it all up in a covered crockpot on set low, or in a covered stainless pot in an oven set to 170F, stirring occasionally, until soft and melty, much like mashed potato consistency. If things look too dry as it's heating, you can spray it with water from a spray bottle, or sprinkle some water in (the trick is to not add too much because your soap will warp too much from evaporation during cure). Then, when all looks cohesive and melty and the soap does not zap when the tongue-test is applied, you can smoosh it into your molds. Once it has set up and cooled down, you can unmold and cut and let it cure for 4 weeks. It most likely won't win any beauty pageants and will look somewhat on the rustic side, but it will be perfectly good and safe to use in the shower or bath.

IrishLass

 

[camproses]

Thank you! I actually only used around 14-16 oz ice/water instead of the 22 oz on the recipe. Would you still wait it out or rebatch? I cut the soap today and despite soaping at around 98 degrees F, it is covered in glycerine rivers. I love the design though and I am kicking myself for screwing it up lol.

omitting the canola from your original recipe made a negative superfat of -8% in soapcalc
soapcalc assumes 100% sodium hydroxide purity but the actual purity will be lower from manufacture and use
your recipe also has lot of water in it (2.8:1 water to lye ratio)

I would wait it out


a big pot of shreds in a warm oven is easy
if you rebatch remember to add the missing oil

IrishLass posted this in 2015 for someone in a similar situation to you

 

[DeeAnna]

"...The strange thing is, I rechecked the numbers from soapcalc, and it definitely says 8.2 oz lye, so I am confused as to what to think. ..."

Here's the problem -- Your recipe in Post #5 lists EIGHT fats. Your Soapcalc screen shot in Post #10 shows NINE fats. You didn't include the coconut oil in the list of fats in Post #5.

 

[camproses]

"...The strange thing is, I rechecked the numbers from soapcalc, and it definitely says 8.2 oz lye, so I am confused as to what to think. ..."

Here's the problem -- Your recipe in Post #5 lists EIGHT fats. Your Soapcalc screen shot in Post #10 shows NINE fats. You didn't include the coconut oil in the list of fats in Post #5.

Yes, I unintentionally left out the coconut oil on my post list. I did include it in the soap, though.

 

[DeeAnna]

"...I did include it in the soap, though. ..."

That's good to know.

I hope you are able to appreciate now why the advice you were getting at first wasn't quite on target.