Curdled soap!

[Leanne213]

Hello every,

So I am new to soap making. I attempted to make a batch this weekend but it appeared to curdle. I would really appreciate if someone could tell me if I am able to save it.

I think I didn't let the oils cool down enough before mixing the lye. I had 1/3 coconut oil (which I had melted before mixing with lye), 1/3 olive oil and 1/3 rice bran oil. I mixed all with lye and began to blend. Almost immediately I noticed it looked like cottage cheese. I tried to continue to blend in the hope it would blend out the lumps but it became so hard and lumpy I had to stop. It's now gone hard and "set" in the original bowl. I'd hate to waste it :-(

Does anyone know if I can save it and how?

Thank you

 

[AustinStraight]

It riced. You can probably put it in the crock pot and mash it together until it's uniform in consistency, and then scoop it into a mold.

 

[lsg]

If you have an old crockpot, put the soap in that and stick blend it. Turn the crockpot on low and let it cook for 45 min to an hour. The soap will take on a translucent appearance when it is finished saponifying. I always touch a little of the cooled soap on the tip of my tongue. If I don't get a zap, then the soap is ready to go into the mold. From your post it sounds like you poured the oils into the lye solution. It should be the other way around. If you have a stick blender, you can sometimes beat the soap into submission when it curdles.

 

[Ankh]

hey there....

This same happened to me too unfortunately....
in my case it was temperature d first time...
fragrance oil d second time...
and lye heavy d third timeroblem:

firstly make sure your recipe is not lye heavy..

as you mentioned about not letting d oils cool down, temperature difference is the culprit in your case according to me...
always make sure that the difference between oils and lye solution is not more than 7-10 degrees...

well u probably would want to rebatching those seized batches..

hope this was helpfull..

ohh btw i completely agree with lsg..:grin:

 

[Susie]

Like lsg said, rebatching is your next move for that soap.

I mix my lye with my water, add unmelted hard oils, stick blend until melted, then add liquid oils(with EOs), stick blend til trace. No pre-melting required, no sweating temperatures. It saves steps and works perfectly.(Thanks DeeAnna)

 

[Hazel]

It's not necessary to be too finicky about having lye and oils close in temp before blending. I've blended them with more than a 10 degree difference (one time it was about 14 degree difference) and haven't had a problems. However, the higher the heat, the faster it traces so you would want to let the oils and lye cool down if your recipe is one which moves fast.

Did you add fragrance? When I have problems with curdled soap, it's generally because of a fragrance oil.

I also agree with lsg's advice.

 

[Leanne213]

Thank you all so much for your replies. I bought a big stainless steel pan today so I am going to try and rematch. I will let you know how I get on!

 

[Leanne213]

*rebatch!

 

[seven]

i put hot lye water to rt oils many times (when i was in a hurry or only doing single color soaps) and they were fine. not stinking hot, but def more than 10 degrees difference. as a matter of fact, i only let my thermo out when i'm making mp base and lotions/creams.

Leanne, good luck with your rebatch..

 

[Leanne213]

I rebatched the soap. Unfortunately it didn't turn out too well. It's very crumbly and delicate. :-( I really hope my soap never seizes again ha ha

 

[Susie]

Crumbly, delicate soap often makes wonderful confetti for other batches. Don't throw it away.

 

[Hazel]

You can also use it to make sugar scrub soap. There are quite a few threads about it so if you want to find more just search for 'cubes'.

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=31760
http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=14120

 

[reinbeau]

I never saw where the original recipe was put through a lye calculator. As for crumbly on rebatching, add a little liquid to it to help it all blend together better.

 

[navigator9]

I rebatched the soap. Unfortunately it didn't turn out too well. It's very crumbly and delicate. :-( I really hope my soap never seizes again ha ha

Leanne, I'm sorry your batch didn't turn out as planned, but mistakes are great teachers, we tend to remember things better when we've experienced them, than when we've read them, or someone has told us.

You might want to try soaping at room temp. For me, it's just simpler, since you don't have to use a thermometer. On the day I'm making soap, I mix the lye early and leave it to cool. At some point later on, I'll melt the hard oil/butters, then add the olive. I just feel the outside of the pot with my hand, and if it's just barely warm to the touch, I know it's OK, if not, I leave it a bit longer, but don't leave it too long or your hard oils/butters may begin to solidify. Soaping cool helps things to move more slowly, which helps if you're new to soapmaking, or want to do swirls, or just don't like to rush. Better luck next time!