First Batch, Olive Oil, Smells ...weird...

[bodhisoma]

I did my first batch with approx. 5.25c olive oil and .25c almond oil, unfortunately I read about superfatting AFTER making the batch so the lovely almond smell is pretty much non-existent.

It's been about 28 hours, of course I'm impatient and slid cast from mold early to check it out and while it's reasonably hard (somewhere between refrigerator butter and room-temp), and feels great on the skin, it has this rather ...how to phrase ...yucky odor. A family member has declared it as smelling "like a**."

Is this normal for almost pure olive oil soap? I don't know why but I thought it would be rather neutral.

Will this dissipate as it cures?

Also, how hard can I expect this batch to get and how long should I cure it? I spent about 10-12 minutes mixing with a stick blender and it seemed to achieve trace (lumps forming on surface instead of immediately absorbing back) but this is a very soft block, I'm told that olive oil makes quite a hard soap and so now I'm worried. *sigh

Thanks much in advance.

 

[carebear]

Yea, soap smells odd at first.

If you are measuring in cups, though, you need to take a step back. You need to weigh your oils/fats and your lye. This is serious.

Sweet almond oil has no scent, so I'm not sure what you used. Almond fragrance oils can be incorporated before or after the lye is added and it should still retain its fragrance.

So tell us - what was your exact formula, what was your technique, and what is this almond oil of which you speak?

 

[bodhisoma]

I should have been a bit more specific, sorry about that.

I remembered 5.25 cups and 0.25 cups because I measured the size of my mold (80 cubic inches) and then figured how much oil I needed (5.50 cups). I then poured all the sweet almond oil I had (0.25 cups) and the olive oil necessary to fill the rest of that volume (5.25 cups).

Once I had the requisite volume, I then measured the weights of each of the oils, found the saponification values, multiplied by each of the weights (not volumes) to determine the lye needed, etc etc.

I think I just assumed the almond oil would impart an almond smell.

I'd give more detail but while I did all the calculations while I was getting everything set up, I didn't save the document.

I did, however, video the entire process -- including the measurements and exact values -- I just don't have access to that material as I type this.

So you think the ...uh ..."stink" will work itself out?

Should I expect a hard, soft or something-in-between soap?

And how long should I let this cure?

 

[bodhisoma]

Two photos of the de-molded soap block.

Does that peaking look correct? In other words, does that indicate that it reached trace before pouring?

That's after ~30 hours after pouring.

Does that look sane?

Sorry, feeling a bit OCD, first batch jitters and all...

 

[IrishLass]

From where I'm sitting, it looks like you did pretty good for your first batch! Nothing looks out-of-the-ordinary or wrong. It's a very sane looking soap if you ask me.

From what I can see from the pic of your cut soap, it looks like it didn't go through the gel stage- it has that tell-tale, opaque, 'cream cheese' look to it, which is typical of non-gelled soaps. Your description of the texture- "somewhere between refrigerator butter and room-temp", would seem to back that non-gelled assessment up. No worries, though- nothing wrong with non-gelled soap. Many soapers purposely choose not to gel their soap because they like the more opaque look, among other reasons. It will just take longer to harden up and cure as compared to soap that has gone through the gel stage. If it were me, I would give it at least 6 weeks cure before using or making any assessments on it, apart from testing for zap, which I like to do at about a week or so into cure.

As for the smell- never judge a soap right out of the mold. It's still going through changes. As hard as it is to believe right now, the stink will work itself out. I've had some pretty nasty stinkers fresh out of the mold, but they all cured out fine. And it will get plenty hard, too. Just wait and see. Time is a soap's best friend.


IrishLass

 

[Fragola]

Very white soap for using olive oil.

 

[judymoody]

I think your soap looks great! And yes, it can sometimes smell a bit funky in the short term.

I agree that it probably didn't gel. And soaps that are mostly olive oil take awhile to harden. Next time, if you do a mostly OO soap, you might consider reducing your water amount.

Sweet almond oil has no scent and the scent of carrier oils generally doesn't survive the saponification process. So when you added the SAO probably doesn't matter.

Congratulations on your first batch!

 

[green soap]

It looks very nice! Is it the picture or is it a pale yellow color? Nice! It looks like it did not gel and will be very creamy.

Most (unscented) soaps smell funky at first, give it a few days.

 

[carebear]

your soap looks perfect. the texture, softness, crumbling is due to the fact that it's really not ready yet. in a week it'll look better, and will improve weekly after that. within a couple of months the soap will get really hard, and by 6 months it'll be like a rock.

thanks for clarifying your measurements. for future reference, the amount of oils is typically calculated as the volume of the mold in cubic inches (length X width X height to which you will pour) X 0.4 = ounces (weight) of oils to fill the mold.

 

[bodhisoma]

Awesome, great news all around.

Is it the picture or is it a pale yellow color?

Yes, very pale yellow.

No worries, though- nothing wrong with non-gelled soap. Many soapers purposely choose not to gel their soap because they like the more opaque look, among other reasons.

If I wanted it to gel, what should I have done differently?

And from what I've been reading, soap that has been through the gel stage both hardens faster (but winds up the same hardness as non-gelled soap after a cure) and is more opaque. Is this correct? Are there any other differences in the final product besides these?

thanks for clarifying your measurements. for future reference, the amount of oils is typically calculated as the volume of the mold in cubic inches (length X width X height to which you will pour) X 0.4 = ounces (weight) of oils to fill the mold.

OK, thanks!

----

Last question. OK, probably not, but...

How do I know it's firm enough to cut into bars for further aeration and curing?

 

[bodhisoma]

Ah! I did have one more question, I knew it!!

I tried to get my lye solution to the same temp as my oils, got close, oil was around 120F and lye was around 105F. I then stick-blended the mix for ~10-12 minutes and it did heat up but not near the ~190F necessary to gel (or so I'm told).

Should I have kept my two ingredients around 150F at point of mix to help this along?

Also, I've seen multiple tutorials warn against putting towels under the mold to prevent lop-sidedness in the final product. Because we live in upstate NY and it's F-F-F-FREEEEEEZING, we put two layers under but made sure it was still pretty level.

Still, is it possible that the cold environment blocked the saponification from temping too high?

Thanks again, all.

 

[reallyrita]

Nice looking soap. You are off to a good start. No, you do not have to stick blend until the mixture reaches a certain temperature. I mostly soap with my lye and oils at room temperature or barely warm (I just feel the outside of the containers to get an idea of barely warm). I used to do the whole thing about the thermometers but I gave that up years ago. Saponification will happen all on its own in the mold. Wood molds hold the heat in well and help the gel happen all the way to the outer edges of the soap. I cover my molds with towels and, in the winter, a wool blanket over all. I do not put towels under the mold but the surface I place my mold on is not cold. Try not to peek inside. Soaping instructions often say to let the soap stay covered in the mold for 24 hours before unmolding but I have found that it does not take that long. If I soap in the afternoon or early evening, I usually can unmold the next morning. The one exception is when I choose not to gel. Those molds go in the freezer for several hours and then in the fridge. 24 hours later I let the mold come slowly to a cool room temperature. I unmold when the ungelled soap has hardened up which, for me, can be as long as 3 days later. Gelled soap can come out of the mold the next day. Sometimes I will let it harden up out of the mold before cutting...usually another 24 hours. With ungelled soaps I wait until they don't feel like butter before cutting. The cutting goes much more smoothly if I just wait a few days after unmolding. Have fun!