Does everyone zap?

[soapmonster]

There's a lot of debate around zap testing, some say it's the best way to test and some say it's crazy to put it in our mouths when there's so many precautions around lye safety. So is zapping really okay to do?

And for those who do zap, when and how often do you do it? Do you keep testing until the sting is gone? Or can you just test when it's cured so there's a less than likely chance it'll burn?

 

[Logansama]

I've done it a couple times but I really don't see the point. At about 4 weeks I'll take a bar and wash my hands with it, and if it doesn't dry me out, I assume its going to be okay.

I've used PH strips too, and same thing, it not particularly exact so I don't really see the point. I've only had one batch turn out weird over the past couple years, and believe me, I'm not putting that on my tongue! LOL!

 

[Jstar]

I dont zap test much anymore, unless I realize I have done something really wrong like forget a major ingredient...which has been quite awhile.

After 4 weeks Id zap test again if I have to test the first time.

I dont use ph strips, and never have...I figure my tongue is the best testing strip..after all as a child I took great glee in sticking my tongue to a battery

 

[seven]

I dont mind zap testing. It's only touching the tip of yer tongue and you can wipe it afterwards so not to swallow anything.

I rarely tongue test for cp except when it came out weird like crumbly or something. And i don't do much hp as well.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I zap test, with CP more from habit, with HP to see when I can start letting it cool. My process -

Get some wet soapy water on my finger, wait for a tingle. When no tingle..............
............touch the soapy finger to my tongue to see if it zaps. When no zap...............
............touch the soap with my tongue.

Whole process takes very little time and tells me the important information - is there unreacted lye in the soap or not. pH doesn't tell you that, so I don't pH test. If my soap is good on the skin or not is what makes me look at adjusting the recipe, so there is really nothing the pH can help me with.

 

[shunt2011]

I too zap test out of habit. I may not do every batch but most. I've only had 1 batch zap me and that's when I was on pain killers and shouldn't have been soaping anyway. Left out some oils (duh). Zapped and went into the garbage as I had no idea what I may have missed or done.

 

[PinkCupcake]

Sometimes I zap test, sometimes I don't. If I'm doing my standard recipe, and it behaves the way it usually does, I don't test. But if anything seems even slightly different, I do.

 

[galaxyMLP]

When I'm doing something new or different, I zap test. otherwise with my typical recipes I dont really do it much any more. You shouldnt get zapped often or test multiple times. For CP I would probably zap test at 1-2 weeks. For HP, I zap when I'm pretty certian its done. Most of the time it is.

 

[Seawolfe]

When I wonder, I zap test - it's quick and easy and why not?

 

[kchaystack]

There's a lot of debate around zap testing, some say it's the best way to test and some say it's crazy to put it in our mouths when there's so many precautions around lye safety. So is zapping really okay to do?

And for those who do zap, when and how often do you do it? Do you keep testing until the sting is gone? Or can you just test when it's cured so there's a less than likely chance it'll burn?

Well I think there is no debate around this board. There are one or two who refuse to zap for whatever reason, but i think most of us will zap test.

Second, I never stick my tongue on a bar of soap. I wet my finger with some water, rub it across the face of the soap, and then tap it on the tip of my tongue. If it zaps, I rinse my mouth and finger.

 

[snappyllama]

I zap test every batch and <fingers crossed against the jinx that I'm giving myself> haven't experienced zap yet. Of course, I also hadn't had a completely failed batch, until last week when I must have put double the water into a Castille recipe. That was a learning experience that unfortunately I didn't have time that week to correct so... I chunked a batch for the first time.

 

[Earthen_Step]

I mostly zap test new formulas. And to be perfectly honest, I like to see how they taste -- some are pretty good. I have yet to have any soaps zap, but it's fun to see how different oil blends taste.

*I don't eat them, just a taste
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1354417/Tempestt-Henderson-19-consumes-bars-soap-week.html

 

[Obsidian]

When I first started soaping, I tested all my soaps. Now I generally only test new recipes or if there seems to be some kind of problem.

 

[hmlove1218]

I agree with everyone else. When I was new, I tested every batch for zap. Now that I'm more experienced and know my recipes, I only zap test if the soap turned out different than usual. I zap tested a batch last week because the fragrance accelerated, the soap started weeping, and it was a little crumbly upon unmolding. All was well, but I'd rather risk a little uncomfortable tingle than someone's skin.

 

[DeeAnna]

I zap test when I'm curious or I see something odd. I sometimes compare the zap test with phenolphthalein indicator drops just for grins, but I never use phenol-p as my definitive answer. As a chem tech who used to do a lot of acid-base titrations using phenol-p indicator, I cringe when I hear about people who drop phenol-p indicator directly onto a sample of soap and think the resulting color gives them reliable information about their soap.

 

[soapmonster]

Thanks for everyone's reply! Sounds like zapping is pretty norm across the board. And it sounds like the best thing to do is to just get some experience, which I am definitely in the process of. I might try my first zap test later on this week.. def true, rather zap myself than hurt others later down the road.

 

[DeeAnna]

Honestly, a decent cure can cure even a moderate amount of zappy-ness. The usual advice for a lye heavy batch of soap is to rebatch and add more fat, but a decent cure can be just as effective. If a soap is zappy right at first, I'd give it some time and retest before leaping into rebatching. Most people who try this are pleasantly surprised at how well procrastination works to solve the problem. :shifty:

Kevin Dunn did some tests of soap that had up to 5% excess alkalinity (aka -5% lye discount). After a couple of months, the excess lye had disappeared and tested just as mild as soap made with a positive lye discount. Other folks here on SMF have done their own less-scientific tests and have had the same experience.

In the infamous "superlye" soap thread about 1 1/2 years ago, we had a mixed bag of results depending on the recipe. Soap made with a low lye solution concentration (around 15% or so) and a whopping 40% excess lye would cure out to be skin safe in roughly 8 weeks. Soap made with a large lye excess of about 20% BUT using a normal amount of water (a lye solution concentration of 28% or so) did NOT cure out to be skin safe.

So there's obviously some limits to what curing can do, but I no longer worry about a slight lye excess -- I just give the soap some time to cure.

 

[Susie]

I am like most folks, I used to zap test every batch. Now I only test when something is new(the recipe), or different(the results).

 

[not_ally]

I am with Earth, I like to zap test just b/c it is fun. Never had it tingle after a day, though.

 

[SplendorSoaps]

I don't zap test every batch, but I will if I've used a new recipe, or if something unexpected happens.