Drops of lye on top of soap

[andrewedmondson]

This is my second attempt at making soap.

The first time I used an electric mixer and it cured too fast, resulting in pockets of lye.

This time I used a whisk and quickly got to a medium trace. But as you can see from the photos there are drops of what I presume is lye on the surface. The cut surfaces show the soap is OK inside.

Can I just clean off the top? Or should I rebatch it and try again with less lye?

I already used less lye than the recipe.

I included some oxide colouring and lavender essential oil.

A small corner fell off and I washed my hands with it. Seems fine.

Thanks

 

[lionprincess00]

First, lye pockets occur when you have undissolved lye and not from curing times, trace times, or how long you stirred it. You get lye crystals on top when too much lye was used and or not dissolved fully (and it works it's way up usually ). Second, did you run your recipe through a lye calculator to make sure you aren't using too much lye? You can't guess or use less because you think it needs less. You need to go to a soap calculator and plug in the numbers to make sure it's safe.

If you post the recipe, we are more than happy to take a look for you and see what's going on with it.

Finally, have you zap tested the tops? I'd get a pinky wet, touch the edge of the part in question, and lick the pinky. IF, however, you KNOW it's pure lye crystals, then I'd toss it and not zap it.

Lye pockets and crystals undissolved can not be rebatched through melting, adding oils etc. It needs to be tossed.

It's a lovely blue, hopefully it's soda ash. I can't be certain from the photos what it is.

 

[new12soap]

Agree with everything lionprincess said, you MUST use a good lye calculator, and measure accurately.

Using an electric mixer does not change cure time, cure is what happens after the soap is made and it ages, usually for 6 weeks or more.

It's possible those droplets on the surface of the soap are just glycerin or fragrance, but you need to zap test to know if your soap is safe. Touch a drop, then touch it just to the very tip of your tongue. If it stings or feels like it is sort of biting you back, your soap is lye heavy. It's a bit of a jolt. If nothing happens and it doesn't taste like anything, then your soap is safe and you just need to let it sit somewhere out of the way for a few weeks.

Please post your recipe and process so we can better help you.

And get a stickblender. You can get a new one for $15 or find one at a thrift store or garage sale for less. A hand mixer or a whisk will take you forever!

 

[shunt2011]

Hello and welcome to the forum. It would help if you posted your exact recipe and then we would have somewhere to start to help you troubleshoot. Are you sure it's lye and not just EO seeping out of it? Did you zap test it?

 

[DWinMadison]

How old is your lye and has it been exposed to humidity. Once it clumps it will never fully dissolve. Also, you must always add lye to water. Never water to lye.

 

[DeeAnna]

It's more likely glycerin or possibly fragrance oil. It should absorb back into the soap if you give it a bit of time. To confirm, very cautiously zap test a droplet, as Princess suggested. I think you're going to taste a sweet flavor (glycerin), or a pungent but not zappy flavor (fragrance), or both.

And on that note, you said, "...The first time I used an electric mixer and it cured too fast, resulting in pockets of lye...."

Did you confirm it was lye? When a soap is not properly emulsified before molding, the lye usually (not always, but usually) migrates to the BOTTOM of the mold, so the soap will be zappy (lye heavy) on the bottom and not zappy (fat heavy) on the top. When pockets happen, it is more likely that your soap was saponifying fast enough to overheat. Warm, expanding gases in the middle of the soap opened up a cavity where a variety of liquids (fat, lye, water, fragrance, glycerin, etc.) could accumulate.

I'm not saying I would keep this soap as-is if this happened to me -- I probably would rebatch it just to be on the safe side -- but it would have been educational to figure out what the pockets really contained.

 

[KatieShephard]

I had soap a few weeks ago that had droplets all over the top. I was given the same advice...to zap test it. I think it was glycerine weeping out because there was no scent..I was too scared to zap test it. I waited a few days and it absorbed back in. I zap tested the soap since, and it was fine. Give it a few days and see what it does.

 

[andrewedmondson]

Thanks everyone for the advice. Such a helpful bunch of people.

The drops have now dried to a powder coating. They taste mildly of lye. I tasted them when they were liquid and they were more strongly lye. The bottom does not taste of anything except soap.

So it looks like the lye was mainly reabsorbed or evaporated. Is that possible?

Here is the recipe, from Soap Crafting book by Anne-Marie Faiola, in ounces:

3 lye
7.26 water
4 palm oil (replaced with avocado oil which has a higher lye requirement)
4 coconut oil
14 olive oil (I used pomace)

I added some aquamarine oxide (too much for my liking, so strong) and some lavender oil

I made half the amount too, and used a 1 litre milk carton as a mould.

All of the ingredients are new.

I used slightly less lye than recommended and will use even less next time. I'll also calculate everything in grams for greater accuracy. I have just used an online calculator and see that 3.12 of lye is recommended, which is more than the above recipe.

I'm going to make a few more batches with different colours and fragrance and eventually make some of my own moulds. Definitely addictive.

 

[Sonya-m]

Just ran you recipe through Soapcalc and if I've worked it out based on half the recipe at the default SF of 5% this is how it would look. You did use half the lye amount too I assume? Someone with much more knowledge than myself might be able to shed more light on why it seems lye heavy

 

[shunt2011]

If your soap was lye heavy you would get a zap not just a taste. You didn't poste your exact recipe that you used so there is also the possibility you mis-measured or your scale is off. You said you refigured it in soapcalc with the change so everything else should have been okay. So, with that I would just let it cure and see how you like it after 4-6 weeks. Also, going forward, follow your recipe exactly as printed. Using less lye will only likely give you a higher superfat. I too only measure in grams for the most accuracy. I also wouldn't make anything smaller than 1.5 to 2 lbs at a time as there is much more room for error.

 

[andrewedmondson]

Thanks. Yes this is what I get if I input Coconut 76. I originally put in Coconut, fractionated. I've just checked that I bought Coconut 76, hence the discrepancy.

I'll make another batch and try the new amount of lye.

Getting there.

 

[DeeAnna]

"..The drops have now dried to a powder coating. They taste mildly of lye. I tasted them when they were liquid and they were more strongly lye...."

I agree with Shunt -- you don't get a "mild" taste of lye. Even in low concentration, lye gives a sharp zap that is unmistakable.

If the droplets were really truly lye when wet, the lye has been converted to soda ash now that time has passed and the droplets are dry. You're tasting the metallic, somewhat bitter taste of soda ash (sodium carbonate, washing soda) and thinking that's a zap. If the ash bothers you, you can plane or wash it off. Give the soap a good cure and use it.

 

[andrewedmondson]

OK thanks, good advice.