Few basic general questions

[Susie]

I truly do add extremely hot lye solution to solid oils to melt them, then that mixture immediately into liquid oils. It is now the only way I mix my soaps. It just saves a whole bunch of time. But it is a fast trace, and if you use a lot of heat producing ingredients, you have to keep a very close eye out to prevent volcano action.

This is not the first thread we have had that seemed off. And at least this person is polite enough not to demand someone answer them immediately(anyone?) in the middle of the night for us. Or demanding whole recipes including scents and colorants. I know that people get busy and fall into ruts of doing the same thing over and over. Sometimes it is good to stop and look around to find out that you can do something better and/or easier.

 

[new12soap]

I use as little plastic as possible with everything. And I never use plastic when heat is involved. I use glass when I can.

When I made my own masterbatch I stored it in plastic, and now that I buy it from a chem supply company, it comes in plastic. Nice, heavy duty, sturdy, chemical and heat resistant plastic.

Please be aware that even borosilicate glass is vulnerable to extreme temperature changes and can and will etch over time. There have been numerous reports of soapers that used a pyrex measuring cup to mix their lye right up until the cup exploded. Why take the chance? I would never use glass as a storage vessel for lye, far too dangerous if you just knocked it over. You would need something that will contain the caustic safely, have a tight closing lid, that you can clearly label and store in a safe place.

Yes, you can freeze water to use to mix lye. The purpose of freezing milk is to prevent burning of the sugars, the purpose of freezing beer is to prevent volcano when you add the lye. In both methods the lye is added to the frozen substance a very little bit at a time and dissolved completely before the next addition. MUCH more time consuming IMO than just adding lye to room temp water.

 

[CanaDawn]

(fwiw, it was no different when the OP was Jamison on this forum from 2010-2014. I'm a bit more surprised at the questions being asked, after learning how long they've been participating here (and selling). Maybe it's just me.)

OP - I would suggest learning how to run a good search on this forum, as a lot of the questions you have are ones that have been really well addressed by the generous expert soapers on this forum. That way you can decide whose advice you want to follow, and see what has already been discussed over the years. Saves time waiting on the whole topic to unfold again, too, if you're wanting quick answers.

 

[MrDurden]

Soooo....this would be the one with plastic dividers?

There's something wrong/off here. I can't put my finger on it, but it's really unsettling me, combined with the ingredients thread.

I try to use it as little as possible. What is your deal? Are you that board in life?

And I asked about using better quality ingredients. That's unsettling to you? What's unsettling is how few people actually care about putting the best ingredients they can into the products they make.

I don't use this board very often because of the s*** people give others here. It's like a Jr High girl's bathroom. I'm here to learn about soap making. Not having people question every little detail about what I'm doing in life. Get over it, move on. If you don't have input for what I asked then don't reply. You're clogging up my thread with things that aren't relevant to what I'm asking. It's disrespectful.

Soap trolls be gone.

I truly do add extremely hot lye solution to solid oils to melt them, then that mixture immediately into liquid oils. It is now the only way I mix my soaps. It just saves a whole bunch of time. But it is a fast trace, and if you use a lot of heat producing ingredients, you have to keep a very close eye out to prevent volcano action.

This is not the first thread we have had that seemed off. And at least this person is polite enough not to demand someone answer them immediately(anyone?) in the middle of the night for us. Or demanding whole recipes including scents and colorants. I know that people get busy and fall into ruts of doing the same thing over and over. Sometimes it is good to stop and look around to find out that you can do something better and/or easier.

That is very interesting. Thank you for the input. Saving time is what I'm trying to do. This older school method takes more time than it needs to.

So are all your oils in one pot (hard and liquid oils) and you add the near 180 degree lye solution to it? That seems like I could drop 45 mins (guessing) off the time it takes to produce a batch.

And thank you for understanding why I'm here asking my questions. I truly appreciate it. Learning is an ongoing process.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

That is very interesting. Thank you for the input. Saving time is what I'm trying to do. This older school method takes more time than it needs to.

So are all your oils in one pot (hard and liquid oils) and you add the near 180 degree lye solution to it? That seems like I could drop 45 mins (guessing) off the time it takes to produce a batch.

Letting the lye water cool down naturally or in a cold water bath is not really "older school" but is just a different way that actually doesn't work for all people in all instances with all recipes - as Susie pointed out. For those who want to spend a lot of time with colours and so on, for instance, this method is not ideal.

And thank you for understanding why I'm here asking my questions. I truly appreciate it. Learning is an ongoing process.

My issue, one shared by many here from what I read, is that you are asking these questions while selling your soap to people. People who most likely take it for granted that you have at least half an idea of what soaping is all about. If you were one of your customers and you were reading the sorts of questions that have been asked in this thread, would YOU be happy having bought a soap from this person?

 

[MrDurden]

I understand your point that you've already made. And I have more than half an idea about soap making. Soap making is thousands of years old. It's not rocket science to make. How many of us on here are master chemists? There's always something to learn (yes, I'm being extreme with the master chemist reference). I make a great product and had zero complaints with in. People love it. It's hand-crafted soap. We all know what that is like. And I'm sure we've all gotten feedback from people who are use to regular "soap" who absolutely love what us soap makers produce. I give away more than I sell anyway. I enjoy making soap and am very interested in the process and learning more and more about it.

 

[lsg]

I try to use it as little as possible. What is your deal? Are you that board in life?

And I asked about using better quality ingredients. That's unsettling to you? What's unsettling is how few people actually care about putting the best ingredients they can into the products they make.

I don't use this board very often because of the s*** people give others here. It's like a Jr High girl's bathroom. I'm here to learn about soap making. Not having people question every little detail about what I'm doing in life. Get over it, move on. If you don't have input for what I asked then don't reply. You're clogging up my thread with things that aren't relevant to what I'm asking. It's disrespectful.

Soap trolls be gone.

Au contraire! We are one of the more friendly forums on the Internet. If you don't like what someone is posting, put them on your "Ignore" list.

 

[MrDurden]

Au contraire! We are one of the more friendly forums on the Internet. If you don't like what someone is posting, put them on your "Ignore" list.

My scenarios would make me disagree. And I don't come here that often because of how discouraging people are on here. I've been trolled numerous times.

Ignore list!???? I wasn't aware of that. Can they still see what I post? There's a number of people I'd love to block on here.

 

[lsg]

They can see what you post, but you cannot see what they are posting. If you don't get along with another member or are upset by what they post, it is a good option to use. That way you don't get upset by their replies. I disagree about our members being discouraging. They offer valid and valuable advise to those who want to learn. If you get upset when someone disagrees with you, then you are going to be upset in life. People disagree, that is life. If someone offends you, why not just let it go? Going off on a rant about how bad you are treated here won't win friends or influence people for the good.

 

[MrDurden]

It's not a matter of disagreeing. It's a matter of trolling and posting things that have absolutely no relevance to the questions being asked. There's a distinct difference. As for the example of using glass (rather not using glass). That was good information. I have only ever mixed lye in stainless pots.

 

[lsg]

If more bickering is found on this thread, it will be closed.

 

[DWinMadison]

I'm a little nervous about master-batching because I'm paranoid that I'll forget about it and some innocent future human will find it in an archeological dig of my house and drink it. Is that extreme? Seriously, if you master batch lye when can you put a lid on it? Does it have to be fully reacted first?

 

[Susie]

That is very interesting. Thank you for the input. Saving time is what I'm trying to do. This older school method takes more time than it needs to.

So are all your oils in one pot (hard and liquid oils) and you add the near 180 degree lye solution to it? That seems like I could drop 45 mins (guessing) off the time it takes to produce a batch.

And thank you for understanding why I'm here asking my questions. I truly appreciate it. Learning is an ongoing process.

I have my solid oils in one container, then my liquid oils in a separate one. I find that the liquid oils cool the lye solution too much to melt the solid ones quickly. By separating them, I shave a good 20 min off the process. I usually go from mixing NaOH/water to pouring into the mold in about 20 min tops.

 

[jwitte]

I have made some batches of cp soap without the temps being a certain temperature. I did room temp and it worked fine.

 

[cmzaha]

I'm a little nervous about master-batching because I'm paranoid that I'll forget about it and some innocent future human will find it in an archeological dig of my house and drink it. Is that extreme? Seriously, if you master batch lye when can you put a lid on it? Does it have to be fully reacted first?

I store mine in gallon jugs that originally contained a commcial grade dish detergent and comes with a child proof top. I leave mine in the sink with a loose cover until cool and I know there is no leakage. This way I will not forget to put the lid on them. Actually I have never had a bottle leak. Then Lye is written in red and a big red x. I have two young grand kids and both have known since toddlers not to touch anything bottle, jug, bucket etc that has a big red x. I can draw a skull and cross bones but the red x has always worked well. I showed each one what happens to a piece of raw hamburger when dropped in a jug with lye. They do not go near any red x's!! I do also move them out when they are here, but I like children to learn.

 

[CanaDawn]

My issue, one shared by many here from what I read, is that you are asking these questions while selling your soap to people. People who most likely take it for granted that you have at least half an idea of what soaping is all about. If you were one of your customers and you were reading the sorts of questions that have been asked in this thread, would YOU be happy having bought a soap from this person?

That's actually an interesting way to look at it, and clarifies for me my feelings in this thread and the other quite a bit. The responses to your posting this do the rest.

 

[cmzaha]

That's actually an interesting way to look at it, and clarifies for me my feelings in this thread and the other quite a bit. The responses to your posting this do the rest.

EG had a very good answer

 

[IrishLass]

I'm a little nervous about master-batching because I'm paranoid that I'll forget about it and some innocent future human will find it in an archeological dig of my house and drink it. Is that extreme? Seriously, if you master batch lye when can you put a lid on it? Does it have to be fully reacted first?

I mix mine in a PP#5 (recycle code) container, and once it is all dissolved I cover with its lid and let it sit somewhere safe to cool down. Once cool, I then transfer the cooled solution to an HDPE container for long-term storage (a re-purposed laundry detergent bottle with a no-dip spout and cover), which I've marked all over in black Sharpie marker with drawings of skull & crossbones and the words "50% Lye Solution" and "Poison".

IrishLass

 

[MrDurden]

I have my solid oils in one container, then my liquid oils in a separate one. I find that the liquid oils cool the lye solution too much to melt the solid ones quickly. By separating them, I shave a good 20 min off the process. I usually go from mixing NaOH/water to pouring into the mold in about 20 min tops.

I pre-weigh ingredinets and they are in separate containers. So next time I make soap I'll give this a try. Putting the lye/water together then using that to melt the solid oils. Then pour the liquid oils in.

 

[Susie]

I pre-weigh ingredinets and they are in separate containers. So next time I make soap I'll give this a try. Putting the lye/water together then using that to melt the solid oils. Then pour the liquid oils in.

As you are going to be moving your lye solution through all three containers(you must add the lye/solid oil mixture to the liquid oils, not the liquid oils to the lye/solid oil mixture), you need to be absolutely sure all containers are safe for the lye to be in. I bought additional containers to be able to do this method. You sell, so you probably already have plenty.