Epic Fail day!

[Deborah Long]

Yay! Today was my first epic fail! 3rd batch ever and the one that I've learned the most from, of course!
To start off with, I was trying a batch with the same 'safe' recipe, using 4 colors and some swirling. Maybe too advanced? lol
First off, I had my first lye splash! I did have all my safety gear on (being a database administrator means that I am omg-ocd) so just got a teensy bit on my lip which I immediately flushed with cold running water and a little vinegar. Yay - that's one out of the way, I thought!
Then, I got my oils together along with the colors. The colors looked amazing in the containers waiting to be added to the soap and I started to get excited.
Added my lye water to my oils after cooling it a little and adding some sodium lactate. Stick blended until thin trace and divided my mixture into 4 containers.
Poured in my first color - it turned a bland kind of yucky grey (deep purple is what I was going for). Second color looked like a little cloud, no drastic change at all (violet mica). Third color was a bright orange (yellow) and the fourth didn't have color so it was just fine!
Added my fragrance oil - you know, the one that I really liked and thought it smelled all sexy and stuff - yeah, that one.
Stick blended my first color because I wanted it a little firmer on the bottom and noticed that it had gotten actually QUITE thick!
Got it in the mold, added some plain and noticed it was a little gloppy. Tried to shake it in the container, but no go but still was able to easily spread it.
Third color was actually very very gloppy, so I just threw it and the last color in, did my swirl thinking that I had not been working fast enough. Did some swirls on top and set the mold on my microwaved heating pad thing and added some towels to keep it nice and warm and moist and started to do my clean up.
So, I'm standing washing dishes when it occurred to me that I had experienced RICING! Yay! I was so excited, I started grinning ear to ear. I have read what to do with ricing in this forum, but had never experienced it and so wasn't smart enough to just stick blend the crap out of it until it went away. LOLOL

So - NOW what? Am I going to end up with a gloppy mess that I throw away? Truly, this won't be the end of the world, but - there IS that FO that I liked so well! lol

Will it saponify? IS it already saponified? I think I remember reading something about sticking it in the oven, but I'll be darned if I remember where or when or what exactly I should do.
Any help will be appreciated. I am still laughing at myself! (I hope you are at least chuckling, too...)

 

[shunt2011]

If it’s ricing and separated, I would pour it into either a pan or a crock pot and either try to stick blend it into submission or cook it and stick blend to see if it comes together.

I had one that rocked so badly it wouldn’t come together so I put it in a bucket. Took about 4-5 day and hardened enough to toss it

As for colorants are you using colors from a reputable company that are high PH stable? If so, you may have just not added enough.

 

[Steve85569]

First off it is CDO with the letters in correct alphabetical order. As they SHOULD be.

Very glad to hear you're okay. The vinegar can cause an exothermic reaction and BURN you!! Rinse and wash, if it still feels "slick" rinse and wash again. I used to work with lye in bulk and that was the procedure for removing any contact. LOTS of water.

Next - I've been there and I think you'll find that many of us have.
I have learned to not try too many colors with even a "friendly" fragrance.
I have learned that some colors simply do NOT like the lye monster and will morph strangely. I now stick to colors and micas/ clays that are proven to work with soap.
The wonders of hot rebatching are also not a stranger to me. I have made several batches of "yuck" colored soap using that method and now have a crock pot devoted to that endeavor. Thankfully it just sits in the cupboard now.
I have learned to be extremely careful with DW's favorite scents - she loves florals ( especially the ones that Accelorate). Trace ready to pour add fragrance , stir and pour.

 

[dibbles]

Deborah, you crack me up We’ve all been there. It’s hard to say for sure that you had ricing, but if you’ve read enough and seen pictures of it, then it’s probable. I think all will be fine. Maybe just not as beautiful as you hoped. You’ll just have to zap test to be sure. Were you micas purchased from a soap supplier? There are some yellows that will be orange when added but will change to the yellow they are supposed to be. If your purple mica isn’t CP stable, that could be the problem there. When you are attempting multiple colors, it’s best not to stick blend all the way to trace. That will get things moving along more quickly. Try to get the batter just to emulsion. This takes some practice, and there is a good video on here for that. I’ll look for it and add the link.

The last thing I want to mention is don’t use vinegar on a lye splash. This is one of those myths that persist, and can actually be harmful. There are plenty of discussions about that here as well.

 

[Deborah Long]

@shunt2011 So - I think it's far too late to stick blend. It's already in the mold and I *think* it's gelling! lol

@Steve85569 - I poured some vinegar on a paper towel and just dabbed, so no reaction and I had already had my lips under the cold running water in the sink, so I'm fine as froghair but thanks for letting me know about the exothermic reaction! I thought vinegar would neutralize it!

I had researched (yes,CDO!) and double checked everything - nothing would rice or speed acceleration and all would blahblahblah - the best laid plans! lol

So, you think it will be fine to rebatch?

@dibbles - fortunately the vinegar was after sticking the lips in the running water, so all is well and I'll ditch the vinegar next time. I do wash everything in vinegar water, so I'm surprised I've not experience stuff before this.

*sigh* well, just to emulsify, eh? okay, I'll know better next time and will try to avoid trace, then. I can sort of tell when that's approaching if I stick blend really slowly.

I am surprised that my loaf seems to be gelling - at least when I peeked at it! Maybe my colors will come back??

So, if it IS ricing (or was) will it still be okay to use as soap?

 

[shunt2011]

If it hardens up like soap should it should be fine. Just be sure to zap test it. Fingers crossed.

 

[dibbles]

Here you go Deborah! This is a video made by newbie about stick blending to emulsion. It's particularly helpful if you are a visual learner.
https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/stickblending-to-emulsion.60618/

 

[msunnerstood]

Gosh, I thought the title was epic FALL day and I was expecting to see Fall scents or soaps lol.
I had one of those days too. Hope you are able to save the soap.

 

[Deborah Long]

@dibbles - thanks ever so much! I'll watch it tomorrow!
@msunnerstood - too funny! lol
@shunt2011 - I've never done a zap test. When should I do that? Tomorrow?

 

[C0hrisLynn]

I had the same problem trying to mix a "blue" layer into a soap. It turned a horid gray in my batter and I ended up adding a ton of extra colorant and finally purple and it ended up curing a dark purple. I think it was honestly from the olive oil I had in my recipe, which was a very greenish color. I don't know though. And ya ricing and seizing sucks! I've only done a couple of CP soaps because I've been making hot process while I learn about CP more, so it's good to know how to fix these things!! I'm just glad you had your safety stuff on and you didn't get a bad burn from that lye.

 

[Obsidian]

Did your soap take on a grainy look or just get thick? It really sounds like acceleration from the FO to me.
As far as the purple going grey, that's common. Purple can be unstable, always check the reviews on colorants to make sure they work proper in lye soap.

Ricing and accel shouldn't affect the outcome of the soap. Just make sure it passes a zap test, if it does then it's its safe to use.
I generally wait a week before testing, give it time to fully saponify

 

[Deborah Long]

@dibbles - that video was awesome! I totally get it! Like most, I learn best by doing and experiencing - hands on. Just wish I didn't have this pesky job so I could soap more! LOL

Did your soap take on a grainy look or just get thick?

Hmmm - grainy? maybe not actually grainy, but more like clumpy? I'll go back and look at the ricing volcano post. Maybe I can better define it afterwards...

 

[Deborah Long]

@Obsidian - Well, no, it didn't look anything like that, nor any of those pictures, actually! Poop, now I have yet to experience it! LOL

Next time I have an icky issue, I'll take a picture, since words are obviously failing me at this point! (not usually something that happens to me! lol)

 

[Obsidian]

Lol, no need to be in a hurry for gremlins to appear. I've not really had ricing yet, one very minor case I didn't even try to fix.

 

[cmzaha]

What were you using for colorant? I did not see mention of using mica. As for purples some cp safe (high PH) colorants will go gray and morph to purple so you have to be careful that you do not get it to dark. Blue 1 food coloring will turn gray then a very pretty purple. You need to purchase Colorants and micas that are high ph stable.

I will agree with Obsidian that it sounds more like acceleration that ricing. Ricing will look just like grains of rice and many times it will separate. Most of the time it can be stick blended back into submission but it it cannot be it is best to dump in a pot and hp it. This is why if I am using a fragrance that I suspect may rice I wait to color the separated batter in case I need to pour it into a crock pot and hp. This way I do not end up with any poop looking hp soap. You can also test your fragrance in a small vial with some of your lye solution and a few drops of fragrance, shake and see what it does. If it clumps up you know it will accelerate and if it turns out a grainy mess you will have a good idea it is going to rice. I used to have one fragrance that would rice so severely it would take up to an hr to get it to come together. I would stick blend, put a lid on it, let it sit and repeat the process until it quit separating then would have to pour very quickly as it would set up like hp soap. That is my way of handling ricing instead of dumping it in a crock pot. The soap in the mixing container will go through gel and usually stay together. Actually the same procedure will work for soap on a stick if you cover the container and let it start gelling

 

[Deborah Long]

@cmzaha - I used a violet mica, annatto for some yellow (it turned the most beautiful shade of orange, however) and alkanet for a deep purple which is now deep gray. The violet mica looked great in the sunflower oil that used to mix my colors, but once I added it, almost nothing happened - the beautiful violet shade just disappeared.

The soap DID gel! I've cut it and it looks fine right now - some rather ugly color, but I think it will end up being usable. We'll see in a week when I try the zap test for the first time! lol

I think my swirls would have looked awesome had the violet showed up! I have some nice grey swirls in my soap! LOL

 

[Steve85569]

Some of us are a nice shade of grey...

 

[Obsidian]

Any chance the violet mica is from BB? Theirs disappears in CP.

Annatto is beautiful but it requires a light touch. I need to get more, its a great colorant.

Alkanet is so dang touchy. I usually always get grey but sometimes it turns back to a lilac. I won't use it or indigo anymore, I want predictable colors.

 

[Deborah Long]

@Obsidian - Why yes, yes it is! And it did!
So, what did you replace Alkanet with? I would like something more dependable, also! lol

 

[Obsidian]

I'm using lavender and orchid micas from BB. Both are PH stable with great color. The lavender is more on the pinky side while orchid is more of a bluey tone.

I really wanted the queens royal purple but it was out of stock when I ordered last.