Finished Second Batch of Soap!

[Smauf]

Okay so I just finished my second batch of soap! I did the same basic recipe as last time using palm, coconut, and olive oil, but I multiplied it all by 1.5 because I wanted to make a little bit larger batch (last time I was only able to fill up a little more than half my mold), and added a 1/2 oz of some fragrance oil I got in a sampler pack just for fun :crazy:

One thing I noticed this time around is that as I was pouring my soap into my mold (which is 12 rectangular bar sized molds), the mix started out very thin and runny, but by the time I got to my last molds the soap was very thick and had a hard time coming out of the funnel and left layers (almost like a pyramid or giant mound) instead of smoothing out flat in the mold. I took a soft cake batter spatula and manually thinned the mounds down, and it looked okay. Does anyone else have this problem? Is it because I'm pouring too slow? Did I spend too much time stick blending the mixture? ( I only blended for a minute, maybe a little longer) Or is it because I used a mold with 12 bars instead of a milk carton? (I don't drink milk from cartons) I bought the silicon bar molds because it was cheaper than spending $100 on a wooden mold, but maybe I should next time?

Again any help, hints, or tips would be appreciated for this soap noob here
Thanks in advance!

Also I forgot to mention cleanup this time around was a little harder. I had to wash my mixing bowel 3 or 4 times with soap and water to get the fragrance smell out of it, and my spatula and funnel still have a slightly greasy oily feel to them even after washing several times. Anyone else have this problem or know how to fix it? I feel like it's not clean since it's still oily. Also I used dish-washing soap. Thanks.

 

[songwind]

First off, congrats.

The soap thickening up just means that it advanced faster than you poured. Could have been caused by the fragrance oil.

Plastic utensils and containers really hang on to smells and oils, especially if they were hot. The only way to fix it that I know of is washing in really hot, preferably running water. Sometimes multiple times.

 

[Susie]

It is usually recommended that you have a dedicated set of soaping equipment separate from food preparation equipment. For exactly that reason. If you still have smelly plastics, I would soak in a sink of very hot vinegar or lemon water to see if you can get the oils out of them. Use a hefty cup or so of vinegar or lemon juice to a sink of water. Weigh down the items with a heavy pot lid or plate or something to be sure all sides get soaked.

 

[Seawolfe]

To save my drains I like to wipe up what I can with paper towels, then leave the gear alone until the remaining goop on them turns to soap. Makes clean up a lot easier.
Except my stick blender - I clean that up right away with lots of hot water and soap.

I had a batch that I meant to take only to thin trace (when really it should have just been to emulsion), and I went a little past that. By the end of the coloring and the alternating pours it was gloppy too.

 

[Jeanea]

Welcome to the soap world. Even experts come across this issue. You will learn there are several things that will speed up trace, which is what happened to you. Recipe, temperature, additives, eo and fo can all be contributors of trace acceleration. The more make soap the better you will be at determining which was the culprit. In your case it was possibly the eo. Im sure your soaps will still be great. Just not how you planned.

Speaking of which, we would love to see it.

 

[Smauf]

To save my drains I like to wipe up what I can with paper towels, then leave the gear alone until the remaining goop on them turns to soap. Makes clean up a lot easier.
Except my stick blender - I clean that up right away with lots of hot water and soap.

I had a batch that I meant to take only to thin trace (when really it should have just been to emulsion), and I went a little past that. By the end of the coloring and the alternating pours it was gloppy too.

That's a good idea. I didn't think about the drains. I'll wipe up the soap batter with paper towels next time, that might make it easier to clean. I was just curious if anyone used a different type of soap to wash with other than dishwashing soap, like Oxyclean or something.

As far as using equipment just for soap making, I did buy a separate mixing bowl, stick blender, thermometer, and measuring cups to only be used with soap making. I don't even store them near my regular equipment, I put them in a box and in the cabinet when I'm finished with them.

After doing a little more research into the fragrance oil, the website on which it's sold specifically states that FO in particular does NOT cause accelerated tracing, but will discolor to a light beige in CP soap. So now we know it wasn't the oil. Maybe I blended too much? Would the temperature in my apartment have anything to do with it? I had the door to the patio open when I was making soap and I know it was around 50-52 F outside.

Anyways here's a pic of the batch also. I was a bit messy since I overfilled some molds and used a spatula to try and smooth down others, and did not have enough batter to make 12 full bars

 

[Smauf]

Also I forgot to mention, the temp of the lye and oils was about 140 F. Does a higher or lower temp accelerate tracing?

 

[FlybyStardancer]

Higher temp accelerates (as it helps along the reaction, hence hot processing and CPOP), and lower temps slow down trace.

 

[Smauf]

Higher temp accelerates (as it helps along the reaction, hence hot processing and CPOP), and lower temps slow down trace.

So would you recommend dropping the temp from 140 F to maybe 120F ?

 

[FlybyStardancer]

If you want a long time to work with the batter while it's still fluid, then try to get everything as close to room temp as possible. Mix up the lye water hours before and let it sit and cool down, and let the oils cool down as much as they can without the solid oils re-solidifying.

 

[neeners]

I leave all my soaping stuff until the next day. get a pot of water boiling, and pour almost boiling water into my stuff. then I stick blend it all until the soap goes away (which cleans my stick blender). then that soapy water I put in a big bowl and use that for my dish washing water for the day.

 

[Susie]

You really don't want to mix much higher than 110 if you want liquid to pour. But FO's, EO's, and colorants can all speed tracing(thickening). I would not get overly obsessed about temperatures unless you are doing fancy stuff. I just hold my hand against the containers, and if they feel about the same, and I can leave my hand there a long time, they are close enough. You can always plane and trim bars. I don't, because I only make soap for me and my family. And we can use homely bars just fine.

 

[jkevin]

Before I start I bring some water to a boil dump it in my sink drop utensils in as I am done with them

 

[Smauf]

Thanks for all the tips everyone. I will keep them in mind when starting my next batch!