First time using FO's......

[Soap Bomb]

Hi There,
I am a soap 'newbie' and have been making all of my batches with EO's (and a very small amount at that). I only did those batches because I had to wait two weeks for my FO's. They are all delightful and I LOVE them apart from the no smell thing. Well, my FO's came yesterday and I almost died I was sooo excited. I wanted to get soaping at once but smelled all 40 fragrances and then ended up in bed with a headache!
Well, today I woke up before the alarm and mixed up my batch (16 oz coconut oil, 16oz palm, 16oz OO, 16 oz coconut milk ice cubes and 7 oz of lye), at thin trace I added 2.2oz of mankey farts and it all started to go pear shaped really quickly.
The mixture started to go hard at once and if I would have poured it into the molds then I may have been OK but I really wanted to do my fancy design so I divided it into two cold glass bowls to add color to one and poppy seeds to the other. Well, by the time I molded it was crumbly and the top layer wouldn't stick to the bottom and it seems to be just crumbles in places.
Can I do anything tomorrow to fix it???? Too much FO? I added it at thin trace, as soon as the lye and oils were blended. Will all of the FO's do this?
Thanks in advance guys,
Candice

 

[ChrisShepp]

Candice,

I have never used Monkey Farts (Nature's Garden?), maybe someone who has used it before can comment on how it behaves. Some FOs will make your 'batter' get ina real big hurry when added, but the instant seizing is pretty rare. Usually a soap-on-a-stick moment comes from using FOs that are not intended for soaping (which we can rule out) or from contaminated ingredients. Or from soap gremlins that ruin a batch just because its Tuesday

As far as rescuing the batch goes, I would try to rebatch it. There are about 27 millions articles out there on exactly how to do it, but I find the easiest way is to just chop up the soap coarsely, stick it in a gallon ziplock inside of a second gallon ziplock to prevent leakage, then boil/simmer it in a big stock pot for about an hour. Give the bag a good squish every now and then (potholders, don't forget the potholders!!) until its is fully melted looks like vaseline, then just snip the corner of the bag and pipe it into your mold.

Good luck - I hate to see a batch gone bad!

 

[Soap Bomb]

First tine using FO's

Thank you so much!

I was afraid of rebatching simply because there are sooo many articles and I didn't know what to do. Zip Lock sounds the easiest so far!!

You have just made my day as I was so disappointed to have my first 'disaster' batch but if I can save it the scent is really delish!

Thanks so much for the advice!

Candice

 

[cwarren]

I am awaiting my FO too.. I have read tell the company so they can state that on their site... altho you have gotten me alittle scared now .. LOL I have only used EO .. at this point too

 

[Soap Bomb]

First time using FO's

You know what? I made four more batches today and had no problems. I think what I did wrong was dumped the whole lot of FO in at once and then whipped it. It hardened really quickly. The rest of the batches I added the FO a little at a time and stirred with the stick blender. At the very end I gave it a few short bursts just to make sure, and then molded/coloured. It worked GREAT! Monkey Farts would have too I think if I would have been a little more careful.

The FO's smell AMAZING and Monkey Farts is like a tropical drink!

I can't wait to rebatch.....wish me luck!

 

[reallyrita]

First time using FOs....

Some of the Monkey Farts may "burn off" in the rebatch cook but you should be ok and retain some of the scent. It might just be more mellow than what you have right now. I add my FOs to my melted oils as soon as I get them to the temperature that I am going to soap at...which is usually RT but not always. I think this takes the sting out of them a bit before the lye hits them. If you are at or near trace when you add your FO and it is an accelerator you are off to the races for sure. I think this is a bit controversial and there are probably more soapers out there who do add at trace. I think I steer clear of trouble with my method, but who knows? You might want to try both ways and see which one you are more comfortable with. I think adding to the oils gives you a bit more time. But then, real trouble makers will accelerate no matter what!

 

[Soap Bomb]

First time using FO's

OK, maybe tomorrow I will try adding to the oils. If there is a chance of stearing clear of trouble I would rather go that route.

I have been peeking at the MF's soap and I think I may get away with it. I will know when I cut but it seems to have stuck together OK. I wonder if I could cut it now, only eight hours or so....maybe I should wait until tomorrow. It isn't really hot anymore.

Do I really have to wait 24hrs do you think?

 

[Mackie]

Monkey Farts FO

Dear Soap Bomb,
I always do research before I commit to buy FOs or EOs. I have not personally used Monkey Farts, but have been advised that it has some acceleration and discolours to a pale yellow,so you might want to whisk rather than use a stick blender.

 

[carebear]

Re: Monkey Farts FO

Dear Soap Bomb,
I always do research before I commit to buy FOs or EOs. I have not personally used Monkey Farts, but have been advised that it has some acceleration and discolours to a pale yellow,so you might want to whisk rather than use a stick blender.

Interesting. I've used monkey farts from a couple of suppliers with no acceleration at all. I researched it before I bought as I refuse to work with fragrances that do accelerate and saw no mention of it happening on the Scent Review Board. Do you know what supplier has problematic Monkey Farts?

 

[Soap Bomb]

OK, I made another MF batch (MF from Natures Wonder) and I didn't stick blend, I just stirred it for a while. It did thicken up very quickly but not so much that I couldn't use it properly. It does tint a yellowish/brownish like a mashed banana but I really like that. Pop some poppy seed is and it looks like the mashed banana you put into banana bread.

Anyway my batch is delish! I don't do any research, I just roll with the punches and impulse buy so I would imagine this won't be my first trip to the SMF message Boards!!


Candice

 

[Bubbles Galore]

I haven't had acceleration or discolouration with Monkey Farts. I also add FOs & EOs to the oils these days. I like that much better. :wink: