Failure sucks - and can I save it??

[SudsyKat]

I've had more than my share of soap failures lately - it's disappointing, but I'm trying to stick it out. When I first started, I had like 20 successful batches in a row - I was invincible. I used milk cartons, by the way - they seem to have the perfect amount of heat retention. Anyhow, since I've started using different types of molds, I've had a lot more failures - it takes a lot more experimenting to get it right.

So, this weekend, I made a goat's milk, oatmeal and honey batch scented with Wild Mountain Honey (from Peak). It was a 2 pound batch in a wooden log mold. I'm guessing it just had a serious overheating problem because within 5 minutes, oily liquid started to seep out and the next day, I had a log of soap with about 1/4 inch of icky oily liquid on top.:shock: I poured off the oil and let the log dry. I cut it and it looks and smells decent. I'm not sure what the liquid was, but I'm wondering if the soap's okay to use. Has anyone had experience with this type of problem? I'm wondering if the oils that came out of the soap have thrown off the oil/lye balance to the point where it would be lye heavy? The soap was superfatted at 7%, so that might make up for the lost oils...maybe. I can't do the zap test because every time I've tried it all I get is a gag reflex and the horrible taste of soap in my mouth.

Next time, I'm going back to the WSP silicone mold for this soap - and maybe using a tad less honey and goat's milk. Sigh. I hate failure.

 

[soapbuddy]

Honey will heat up your soap. It sounds like yours overheated. If you don't want to check for zap via the tongue method, get yourself some pH testing strips. It could be ok or it could be lye heavy. It's hard to say without testing.

 

[busybee]

Hi there, I had exactly the same thing happen to me the other day and in just over 6 months of making soap it has never happened before. I used the same recipe etc that I have been using for a while now. My guess is that it was the new FO that I was using as it seemed to heat the mix up as soon as I added it in to the oils and started mixing the lye in. I mixed by hand with out using the stick blender and it went to glob in seconds. Very, very disappointing. Good luck with your next batch.

 

[judymoody]

If you get separation, don't throw out the oil layer on the top. Save it in case you want to rebatch. Without it, there's no way to tell how lye heavy your soap might be.

 

[busymakinsoap!]

Ive had it with one batch of OMH - first and only time it has happened. The only thing I did differently was that I added the milk to the oils before I added the min water lye solution.

Now I add the milk at trace. Mine didnt overheat, it was in the freezer and barely warm, it just seperated. I didnt add any FO.

I poured the whole slop into a bowl, stick blended and re poured, was fine after that

I think its just one of those things that can happen with gm soap.

 

[SudsyKat]

Thanks to everyone for their replies.

It's too bad I already got rid of the oily later on top - sounds like maybe I should have rebatched. Or, like "busymakingsoap!", I did think about simply stickblending the whole thing and repouring, but I decided against it. Next time (hopefully, there wont' be a next time), I'll try that. As for rebatching, I don't have much desire to try it, so.... I guess I'll just call it a learning experience. I added my GM, honey and oatmeal (and FO) at trace and it looked fine when poured. It's interesting that "busymakingsoap!" had this happen and the mixture wasn't overheating. I wonder why it does this, scientifically speaking, and what the separated liquid actuallly is. Any super scientific types out there have any ideas? In any case, I'll try again and stay away from the wooden molds!