Can you solve this Dilemma?

[Reesedog914]

I literally cannot figure out what is going on with my soap.

My recipe is as follows.

30 ounces coconut oil ( 850 grams)
50 ounces Olive oil ( 1, 417 Grams )
25 ounces water (709 grams )
11.5 ounces lye (326 grams )
3-5% EO

I converted the measurements into grams for better accuracy.
superfatted with a few ounces of shea butter as well.

One batch had a layer of lye heavy soap on the top and sides of the mold. When these are cut off the soap was perfectly fine. Another batch turned out the same way except only the small sides of the loaf were lye heavy and when cut off everything was fine. The final batch was not lye heavy where it gelled in the center but the top and sides were lye heavy. I am combining the lye solution and oils at 120 - 125 F. I am using a stick blender and hand stirring as well. There is no reason why my soap should be lye heavy as I am adding even more oils then the recipe calls for. Can anyone explain to me why I am getting random layers of lye heavy soap and why this recipe seems to work only some of the time.

I assure you that is not a miscalculation of ingredients and that I am in fact combining at 125F. Please help me ---

 

[Reesedog914]

P.S to clarify what I mean by "sides of the loaf".... I mean that out of 15 bars, two of them are lye heavy. Both of these are the ends of the loaf. That was one batch. The other had a small layer of lye heavy soap on the top. I simply cut it off and the soap was good to go. The last batch was lye heavy all around however.

 

[boyago]

How and when are you determining that the soaps are lye heavy?

 

[Seawolfe]

What leads you to think that these batches were lye heavy on those edges? How did you test them? How long after pouring and cutting were they whe you discerned this? Are they still lye heavy a few days later?

Did you reach thin, medium or thick trace when you poured?

You can add more oils to the recipe, but you can't selectively superfat a cold processed soap. It sounds as if you are describing partial gel, which is only cosmetic, if that is indeed what it is.

 

[KristaY]

When I input all your measurements into Soap Calc it looks like everything is right where it's supposed to be at 6% superfat. This will actually be higher with the extra shea you're adding. If you're getting lye heavy areas maybe you aren't mixing it enough? What stage of trace is your batter when you pour?

Boyago brings up a good point too. When and how you're testing is important. Remember saponification can sometimes take up to 72 hours. If you're testing before that, you should expect some excess lye. Maybe you need to wait a few more days before you zap test.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I think you're getting soda ash.......

It's a pale crust that forms on soaps sometimes. There is a sticky in the beginner section with pictures of soda ash, as well as a lot of threads. I'm on the app so I can't link well, but if you google "soda ash site:soapmakingforum.com" it'll show mentions of it on this forum

Edited to add - good point about superfat at trace in cp, it's really not possible I'm afraid

 

[pamielynn]

Could be ash or could it be that it's not gelling all the way to the sides and ends? Not lye heavy, just a different color?

 

[OliveOil2]

Like Pamielynn said, may not be gelled all of the way through to the sides, and the part that didn't gell will take longer to neutral. Is this hot process or cold process?

 

[Reesedog914]

I am pouring at light / medium trace. Since my batch is high in olive oil it does take up to 30 minutes of sporadic stick blending combined with intermittent hand stirring to reach. Because of this I believe there is sufficient blending occurring. I am zap testing at around 2-3 days but this layer of lye is present after 3 days.

I know my soap is lye heavy because I am zap testing and am feeling a zap.

My latest soap has reached the 72 hour mark at 12PM last night. And will check again right after i post this.

It does look a lot like soda ash but it cant be because it is burning me. On the batch where only two bars were lye heavy the bars have been curing for over a week now. Out of 15 bars only the two ends were lye heavy. What on earth would cause that? As one poster said the recipe should be fine and i should not be getting any parts that are lye heavy. Confused:wtf:

 

[Dorymae]

Are you absolutely sure you are getting zapped. Zap is immediate, truly unmistakeable - if you aren't sure- you were not zapped. Zap is a sensation not a taste. Honestly I think you are not getting zapped and are mistaking the sensation. This should be a real shock feeling - not mild. It doesn't hurt BUT it should make you think, "wow that is zap!" It both feels like a shock and it is shocking.

You said it burned you, it should not burn at all, it should feel like a mild electric shock.


The only other alternative is that you measured incorrectly. Perhaps your scale is not calibrated properly. You can check your scale, a nickle is 5g.

Other than the things already said, I don't know what you think we can do to help. I can tell you that you can leave that soap alone and after about a week it should be fine. Even soap that is intentionally made very lye heavy is zap free on the face by 8 weeks.

 

[Reesedog914]

That is interesting last reply. You're right, it is not an immediate zap...but a sort of unpleasant burning type sensation that occurs after 5-7 seconds.

 

[Reesedog914]

my only question is that if I am not getting a definite zap is my soap okay to use?

 

[Dorymae]

That is not zap. Your soap is safe. What you are feeling is the soda ash. Or it could be the EO, FO.

Take a bar of soap and wash it with some water. The soda ash should rinse off.

If you want to feel zap- to know the sensation you can put your tongue to a 9v battery where the two top terminals are, for a moment. It won't hurt you but you will get that instant zap. (Many of us were tricked into doing this as kids- me included. )

 

[navigator9]

Try this next time....after you stick blend and are ready to pour, but before you pour, take your spatula and stir the soap batter. Scrape the bottom and sides and make sure it's well mixed. The stick blender does a good job of mixing, but I don't think it always mixes evenly. I used to occasionally get streaky soap, and since I started doing this, I don't any more. I think it depends on the shape of the container you mix in, the strength of your stick blender, how much you move it around, the size of your recipe. That final stir and scrape with the spatula just seems to do the trick for me. Don't know if this is the particular problem you're having, but it can't hurt if it isn't. Good luck!

 

[Reesedog914]

Thanks guys you have solved this dilemma from me. It looks like I was getting confused from the soda ash/EO burn. I cleaned it off and the cuts on my hand did not burn when i was doing so. Thanks so much for saving this batch from the trash. Here's some of the lives you saved ( picture attached )

 

[Dorymae]

Nice top swirl! Very nice soap. Now the wait for curing - the hardest part.

 

[KristaY]

Very pretty soap!

 

[IrishLass]

I am thinking the same thing as PamieLynn and OliveOil2- i.e., that your soap is not gelling all the way to the edges. This has happened to me on several different occasions. Un-gelled soap can take up to at least 7 days before becoming tongue-neutral, and they do tend to ash (at least such has been so with mine). I doubt very much that your edges are lye-heavy. To me, it just sounds like a simple case of the un-gelled parts needing to catch up with the gelled parts, which they will eventually. Just give them more time.


IrishLass