Fail at first attempt

[beshaved]

I tried to make a soap with CP yesterday and it failed miserably.

I used 300 gr of palm oil and NaOH per soapcalc recipe.

While I whisked oil and lye for a while and noticed the change in color, I knew that it was time to put the mixture into the mold.

I put the perfume in. It was then the disaster happened. The mixture suddenly changed consistency and harden. It immediately became hard soap.

I frantically poured the mixture into the mold. At this moment, it wasn't liquid any more. I had to pressed down the "clay" down so it would formed within the mold.

When I took it out of the mold today, the mold was too greasy. The grease burned a bit. (Was it because of lye or perfume?)

Can you help me please? Where did I do wrong? I suspected the perfume/ essential oil.

Arief

 

[lsg]

Did you use perfume or essential oil. You are not clear as to which one you used. Perfume is a no-no in CP soap.

 

[Susie]

Also, trace (when you can see where you stirred) is when you know it is mixed, not color.

But, to know that you used the correct amount of NaOH, we need to know how much you used (in weight), as well as how much water you used.

Palm oil is one I would definitely use a stick blender on rather than a whisk. I also would soap really warm to avoid false trace.

 

[Kamahido]

I must also point out that the extremely small batch size makes you window of error quite small.

 

[Seawolfe]

Potential issues I see:
1) really tiny batch - magnifies any measuring errors unless you have a gram scale that measures in hundredths
2) no stick blender
3) completely random scent that accelerated your recipe and turned it into soap on a stick. This isnt uncommon - be very careful with your choices, or use none at all.

Just leave that soap alone for like a month and re-visit. I've had some bad scents also give almost instant greasy rancidness too.

 

[beshaved]

After confirming:
1. It was perfume. I used 9.3 gr.
2. Water 114 gr. NaOH 40 gr
3. Superfat 6%
4. No heat was involved.
5. No stick blender.

I think I have to let it cure for a month and see where it goes.

In the mean time, what is the minimum weight so it's not considered tiny batch?

I really need to learn a lot. I might go and buy a stick blender today.

 

[Steve85569]

I would not try anything less than 600 grams myself. Just because I know how I measure ( heavy on oils usually).

Perfume contains alcohol which will cause problems ( soap on a stick) . Every. Time.

I use a mini stick blender for *most* of my soap making since I tend to over blend with a full size SB. Also leads to soap that goes really fast from liquid to solid.

Welcome to CP soap making!

 

[penelopejane]

Don't use perfume again. You need to used CP fragrance oil or Essential oils from a reputable supplier.

 

[Relle]

I really need to learn a lot. I might go and buy a stick blender today.

Go to the Beginners Section and start reading before making any more soap.

 

[Susie]

Go to the Beginners Section and start reading before making any more soap.

^^^This! You need to go read lots and lots. Then go to YouTube and watch this series-there are four of them, so be sure to watch them all.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yR6ttCSrLJI&t=69s[/ame]

Then you need to go find a lye calculator you like, and practice with it. Try running every recipe you find in the posts through it.

I would not try to save that soap. I would toss it and learn the lesson.

Don't feel bad though. Most of our first batches were not good.

 

[navigator9]

Just a suggestion...for your first batch at least (well, your next batch, since you already have one attempt), don't use fragrance or color or try any fancy techniques. Just make soap. In the beginning, that's complicated enough. Practice making soap first, and then when you're comfortable with that, you can move on to more involved additives and techniques. You need to know that "plain" handmade soap is anything but plain. When it's made well, it's amazing. :smile:

 

[earlene]

Arief, I would definitely agree with Navigator on this. Do more research, read here a lot more and then make some plain and simple soap without any additives at least 3 or 4 times until you are confident that you can do that without any problems. Meaning everything went smoothly without any problems for 3 or 4 times in a row. Once you have successfully mastered that, then try adding only one new additive per batch until you don't have any problems with that additive. And keep detailed notes about each batch. It helps you when you look back to see what worked and what didn't and just in general to refresh your memory about a particular soap.

 

[beshaved]

Thank you all for the inputs. I know that I really need to learn all the basics all over again. I thought that I can easily make a soap.

I will try again later this night!

Arief

 

[DeeAnna]

You are not alone, Areif. Welcome to the club. Making soap is definitely harder than it looks.

As a friend tells me -- Practice makes better!