Dissolving lye beads

[Carrie O'Donnell]

Last night I attempted my first ever soap making experience, which was a major fail!

I had everything ready and my oil mixed to perfect proportions, eye protection on, gloves on, long sleeve, heart covered pj onesie on (with the hood up)....I looked like a Care Bear from another planet. I was following along on the video I was watching and when it came time to add the lye she poured hers in as a liquid and mine was a pile of beads! . I poured them in anyway and mixed but they did not dissolve.

This morning the soap is like really thick frosting but there are clumps of lye at the bottom so I'll toss this batch out. My question is, how much water do I use to safely dissolve 5oz of lye beads?

Thanks, in advance, for your help!

 

[KiwiMoose]

Oh no! It sounds like you didn't make your lye solution first. You need to add the lye to water to make the solution and then you add it it to oils. I would be searching for another you tube video to watch, one that shows you the whole process. It's important you get your measurements correct too so use a lye calculator.

 

[Snowbell]

First off dump that batch. You need to find a soap calculator and input your oils and batch size. The how to is in the beginners section. Lye goes into the water, when cooled and/or clear that mixture goes into your oils. It does get easier and you be making fantastic soap in no time.

 

[Obsidian]

I like to use 2:1 water:lye so for your 5 oz of lye, use 10 oz of water.

 

[Carrie O'Donnell]

Oh no! It sounds like you didn't make your lye solution first. You need to add the lye to water to make the solution and then you add it it to oils. I would be searching for another you tube video to watch, one that shows you the whole process. It's important you get your measurements correct too so use a lye calculator.

Thank you!

I like to use 2:1 water:lye so for your 5 oz of lye, use 10 oz of water.

Great! Thank you so much for this!

First off dump that batch. You need to find a soap calculator and input your oils and batch size. The how to is in the beginners section. Lye goes into the water, when cooled and/or clear that mixture goes into your oils. It does get easier and you be making fantastic soap in no time.

Thanks! I will definitely get a calculator!

 

[Obsidian]

Check this calculator, its newbie friendly
https://www.soapmakingfriend.com/soap-making-recipe-builder-lye-calculator/

 

[Carrie O'Donnell]

Thanks! I will definitely get a calculator!

So my lye is cooling and there is a kind of milky colored scum on the surface. Is that normal?

 

[Snowbell]

Yes, it should turn clear before you use it.

 

[BattleGnome]

When I get scum on top of my lye solution it usually means my container wasn’t perfectly clean. If you get bit by the soaping bug you may eventually get a lye dedicated jug - I have a cheap pitcher (check the recycling code) from Walmart that is only used for dissolving lye. I make my solution, rinse with water and put it away for another day

 

[Nona'sFarm]

So my lye is cooling and there is a kind of milky colored scum on the surface. Is that normal?

Probably ok, but should become clear as it cools a little. Also, do your instructions say to use distilled water?
I found the SoapQueen/Bramble Berry videos good for step by step instructions. Start with the lye safety ones first. I am fairly new to CP soapmaking; some of the best advice I got was to make small batches and get your base formula down first.

 

[Carrie O'Donnell]

Probably ok, but should become clear as it cools a little. Also, do your instructions say to use distilled water?
I found the SoapQueen/Bramble Berry videos good for step by step instructions. Start with the lye safety ones first. I am fairly new to CP soapmaking; some of the best advice I got was to make small batches and get your base formula down first.

No, I used well water and thought about that as I was skimming it off. I will watch those videos, thanks. I got a little ambitious for my first run and tried to make yin yang bars. She made it look so easy on the video!! After watching my supplies literally melt away, I decided I need to downshift to the basics.

 

[cmzaha]

So my lye is cooling and there is a kind of milky colored scum on the surface. Is that normal?

It is most likely sodium carbonate which is also known as soda ash which occurs when unsaponified lye reacts with carbon dioxide in the air. This can cause a thin layer of soda ash on the top of your lye solution. It does not hurt anything and you can just stir it, it will not dissolve, or strain your solution when you pour it into your oils.

 

[TheGecko]

Last night I attempted my first ever soap making experience, which was a major fail!

I had everything ready and my oil mixed to perfect proportions, eye protection on, gloves on, long sleeve, heart covered pj onesie on (with the hood up)....I looked like a Care Bear from another planet. I was following along on the video I was watching and when it came time to add the lye she poured hers in as a liquid and mine was a pile of beads! . I poured them in anyway and mixed but they did not dissolve.

This morning the soap is like really thick frosting but there are clumps of lye at the bottom so I'll toss this batch out. My question is, how much water do I use to safely dissolve 5oz of lye beads?

Thanks, in advance, for your help!

No such thing as failures, only opportunities to learn.

Lye is sold in beads or flakes and needs to be dissolved in distilled water. You can find it with the other water in the grocery aisle; usually less than a buck a gallon. I sometimes get floaties if I don’t wash my container well, usually a little leftover soap.

You need to run your recipe through a ‘soap calculator’, I use SoapCalc.net which will give the the exact amount if distilled water you need.

Hopefully you are starting small...one or two pound batch of soap.

 

[Relle]

I was following along on the video I was watching and when it came time to add the lye she poured hers in as a liquid and mine was a pile of beads! . I poured them in anyway and mixed but they did not dissolve.

I wouldn't be trying to watch a video while soaping, it's too distracting, watch videos etc before making your soap. Then get the process in your head before you start, start taking notes and follow what you need to do step by step, like making a cake.

 

[Nona'sFarm]

I got a little ambitious for my first run and tried to make yin yang bars.

WELCOME!!! to the world of CP soapmaking. There are so many exciting things to try and learn. The chance of getting bored is close to zero. This is a great forum. I have learned so much, both by asking questions and reading older threads. And have continually added to my list of things to try. Like I said above, I found the step by step beginner SoapQueen and Bramble Berry YouTube videos a good place to start, use a soap calculator, start small.

 

[sirtim100]

I use lye beads from the local super, and use a special plastic jug for the purpose covered with dire warnings and skulls and crossbones. When I started making soap, I read so many warnings about pouring water into lye and the dangers of alkaline burns that I dressed up like Darth Vader and moved very, very slowly. I found that sometimes the beads don't mix or there's a nasty scum on top of the liquid. As the other forum members say, it's usually due to the jug not being completely cleaned out.

All the other trials and errors are par for the course, don't worry, you'll make your first nice batch of soap and you'll feel like a million bucks. It's worth getting into a one piece pyjama for...

 

[SideDoorSoaps]

Aww! I will say though that I’ve watched a lot of videos and most already have their lye water ready. Not many mention to dissolve the lye first so I can understand the confusion.

We used a craft store melt and pour the first soap we attempted. It was meh. I remember the first Cold process soap we made and it wasn’t fabulous either. I still have a bar in the bathroom, almost 10 years later, just to see how it fares over time.

I hope you have fun with making soap and I agree that nothing is really a failure but opportunities for growth!

 

[TheGecko]

I remember the first Cold process soap we made and it wasn’t fabulous either.

LOL...my first batch was fabulous, it was when I started experimenting, wasn't paying attention, got into a hurry, etc that I ended up with many 'opportunities to learn' as I like to call them.

 

[Michele50]

@Carrie O'Donnell, while you might already know this (it's important if you do not), be certain to put the lye into the water and not the reverse. Dry into wet, not wet into dry because "Step 4 Do not pour water into lye, as doing so can cause a serious reaction. Water in lye causes a chemical reaction that generates heat that can reach combustible and even explosive temperatures. ..." (https://www.hunker.com/13420985/how-to-dispose-of-lye-crystals) I can't speak to if it would become explosive because I've never done this but I suspect it certainly could. The lye itself is to be kept dry and tightly closed to prevent moisture from entering the container.

Also important is the material of the container you use. While I've always had a dedicated container I finally got a stainless steel coffee milk frothing pitcher that others in this forum had mentioned using. Most materials will break down over time so a container that seems to be a good one to use can cause damage to skin and property when it decides to finally breakdown and fail, then one is left with lye solution no longer contained. I went with a large one (66 oz) since I just now started master batching my lye solution, b/4 now I would've only needed a smaller one.

Edited: Maybe others have mentioned but well water will often be hard water and not best to use with soap making. Though we aren't on well water, I still use distilled water for soap making and do not use my tap water. It's from .85 to $1 to buy where I live.

 

[earlene]

Welcome. It sounds like your first experience was quite an adventure, but taught you a lesson about doing proper research before jumping in with both feet.

All good advice so far, but I'd like to point out something that was mentioned a couple of times, but needs more clarification regarding the containers that are appropriate for making your lye solution.

When the recycle code was mentioned, I didn't see the actual numbers to look for - but I was skimming, so I may have missed it. This is very important. For a plastic container to be lye safe when mixing the water and dry NaOH (or KOH, should you choose to make soap with KOH at some time in the future), you need a plastic that can not only withstand the chemical harshness of the lye, but also the heat that it produces. So make sure you use a Recycle Code #2 or #5 plastic. In other words, you want a High Density Polythylene (HDPE) or Polypropylene (PP). This is very important. (I hope I spelled those correctly!)

You can also use high quality stainless steel (not all stainless steel is suitable, and I won't go into the specifics, but there are some discussions here at SMF about how to determine which SS grades are best for mixing lye solutions) (Here is one such post for reference.)

GLASS IS NOT SAFE for mixing lye solution. I just wanted to clarify that as well, since you are bound to see a few people, including Anne-Marie Faiola using Pyrex to mix her lye solution. Lye etches glass, which weakens it over time and the glass can explode at the most inopportune times. We have several accounts of this happening to members in the past. The possibility of just dropping a glass container full of lye solution is scary enough, but to think that it could spontaneously shatter while holding it is enough to make me shudder in fear. I would not risk it!