Fixing soap mistakes

[JuneP]

I wrote and posted a long post hours ago, but it got lost in cyberspace, so I'll start again.

I made my first feathered swirl soap with my new recipe, and all seemed to go pretty well other than some lye spill I had to deal with. Even though my new recipe has lard, palm, mango butter and Coconut, it seems that keeping them around the 45% or so level made it workable long enough for me to add the 3 colors and mix to trace, pour and swirl

When I figured it was emulsified, I got my sodium lactate in the mix, meted out 3 equal portions and added my colors, got the soap to a nice medium trace and poured the three colors, and slowly removed my cardboard separators and finished the top. It looks beautiful! My colors are white, purple and a pinkish lavender. This is the good news!

Now for the bad and worse! Mistake one: I kept some of each color to make a fancy top, forgetting that I wasn't going to do that with this soap! So I had a lot more than 1T of each, so much more that I filled two oval guest soap molds. That's the bad, along with the lye spill.

The worst was that I forgot to put in my lavender 40/42 EO and didn't know it until I was cleaning up and saw the little mis en place glass bowl that I had weighed the oil in had a bit more than you would expect if some had slid down form the sides after pouring. Then, when I removed all the newsprint and paper towels that were my work area, I noticed that the EO must have tipped at one point and spilled most of the contents. I now have a lavender scented granite kitchen counter top which is also my soap making work station.

To be sure, that it was omitted, I ran into the garage to smell the individual containers I put in the utility sink to be washed tomorrow. I was hoping that somehow I had added the oil/ but all I smelled was the oils. I have no idea how that little cup could have tilted over to spill most of the contents and then righted itself! But it did!

Now my question and the reason for this thread is for myself and others to post their soap mistakes and see if there are any fixes.

Should I just give the soap to friends and relatives; or can I re-melt it (if this is possible, when can I do that?). My colors would probably melt together forming a pale lilac/lavender. If re-melting is a possible fix, can I use it like a melt and pour? If that's possible, I figure I can add the fragrance oil again and have a bottom that's one color lilac and then melt some white melt and pour, and add some EO to that as well, and make that the topping.

Now if that is possible, can I add some of the colored blobs to the top of the white and do a bit of a fancy topping using the back of a spoon, and then sprinkle a bit of white with a touch of purple glitter over it? Or is that not an option with melt and pour?

Or should I just forget about fixing it and give it away or sell it as a fragrance free soap???

So very much to learn!

 

[cmzaha]

Sorry to say but I do not think you are ready to sell when you do not know the difference between cp process and melt and pour soap. Enough said about that. M&P is made with additives such as propylene glycol & glycerin to make it re-meltable, cp soap will not remelt the same way. You can certainly grate or it your soap is still soft enough you can smoosh it up and rebatch in a crock-pot, double boiler or oven. Just make sure you use a non reactive pot such as stainless steel. With fresh soap you may not need to add in any more liquid or just a little to get the soap melting down. Add in your EO after the soap is melted. This is going to give you a rustic looking soap. If this was a small batch I would keep it and use it, but I really hate to rebatch and dislike the look of rebatched soap
here is one video on rebatching
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7nl3Y0gacc[/ame]

 

[JuneP]

Thanks

Thanks Carolyn. I'll just live with is an unscented. You're right, I don't know how to make a melt and pour soap from scratch, but my first soap was a melt and pour, which I understood to mean a soap that was previously made and aged, so the purchaser just had to melt it, add color and fragrance to have an easily made soap

Going on that explanation, I thought that since this soap was processed, it could somehow be treated like melt and pour - obviously not.

June

 

[Seawolfe]

Some people prefer unscented soap. Or if the colors are nice you can use them as embeds in another soap.

Melt and pour soap is a different animal than cold process soap.
Edit to add, here is one tutorial I found on making M&P from scratch, no idea if it's any good: http://oilandbutter.blogspot.com/2014/02/how-to-make-your-own-melt-and-pour-soap.html

 

[janzo]

June, I did exactly the same a couple of weeks ago, I blame the Lavender EO smell, it makes you relax and chill out too much. My soap was a lovely pale purple colour to match the lavender, anyway my daughter has claimed it as she was looking for an unscented soap for her face. That will be winging its way to UK when it has cured.

 

[JuneP]

My unscented soap

I got the unscented (by mistake) soap un-molded today but it's very soft, too soft to cut, even after an hour in the freezer. I cut off a small end piece to test it and I'm not sure the inexpensive cheese cutter I purchased will be up to the job of making clean cuts, so I'll wait another day before I try to cut it or maybe longer. I'm not sure how long to wait. I did have sodium lactate in there, but it may be that this new recipe of mine is softer because it only has 45% hard oils and the last one had 48%.

There's another problem that I see with this soap. After it was out of the mold a couple of hours, I notice some spots on the top in the white. That's the only color that had Titanium, so I suspect that I may have added too much, or is something else causing that?

This batch is definitely a big learning experience for this newbie. My first swirl came out great, but the soap demons hit big this time. LOL

My friend Kay has a daughter and grand daughter who are allergic to all scents, so if it cuts and cures OK, I have the perfect people to give some to.

I'm looking forward to making this one again, but I think I'll wait until I can buy some of those commercial separators for my essential depot, larger mold. The cardboard separators worked to a point, but even though it was thick, it bowed a bit and so my white part (the middle) had more soap, and as I got to the top I suddenly didn't have as much white as the other two colors, so the bars after cutting, if I want to expose the design, will only be about 3/4" thick!

Now I know that I should make extra soap if using the cardboard separators, since I can always pour the extra in some individual molds and do a spoon type swirl (I used a chopstick) as I did this time.

June

 

[Obsidian]

You could always grate the unscented soap and use it in confetti soap. Here is one I made awhile back.

 

[JuneP]

Fun soap Obsidian

Love that Soap Obsidian! Is the added, soap cured? Great idea and so well executed! One more thing to try down the line That's a good use for those end pieces we cut off some soaps.

Last week I bought one of those electric graters, so I guess I'll now have to look up the technique.

June

 

[cmzaha]

Your soap came out very pretty June. I would use it unscented and enjoy the pretty soap, afterall the scent only last until it is washed down the drain. I use my trimming and discarded soaps to rebatch into mud superscrubby bars. I am not overly fond of the look of confetti soap, and I am not trying to insult anyones confetti soap, it is just something I am not fond of

 

[snappyllama]

That came out great JuneP!

 

[JuneP]

Cut the soap

Thanks everyone. I did manage to cut the soap tonight. I posted the cut soap picture in the photo section. The cheese cutter worked pretty well. I didn't mark the wood cutting board because I knew these would be less wide than normal, so I measured the 2" first cut and eyeballed the other cuts. And then made another beginner mistake and cut one piece in the wrong direction! I'll keep those pieces! It's been a long day and I shouldn't be doing that so close to my bed time after a very tiring day.

With all the mistakes I'm actually encouraged because I love the colors and the pattern. Also, I really enjoy the whole process of making soap. I get the same feeling cutting soap as I do opening a kiln. So tomorrow I'm going to order a commercial section separator from Etsy and make the next one in my larger mold. Hope I can get the colors the same!

June

 

[Obsidian]

Love that Soap Obsidian! Is the added, soap cured? Great idea and so well executed! One more thing to try down the line That's a good use for those end pieces we cut off some soaps.

Last week I bought one of those electric graters, so I guess I'll now have to look up the technique.

It was cured for a month or so but it was a softer recipe. I use a salad shooter to grate my soap, so much faster then doing it by hand.

 

[JuneP]

mud superscrubby bars

Carolyn, what exactly are mud superscrubby bars. They sound intriguing. Sounds like something that would be useful for all those end cup pieces, etc.

June

 

[Wessam]

You could always grate the unscented soap and use it in confetti soap. Here is one I made awhile back.

Hi.. I love this... did you add the grated old soap to a new CP one at trace?

 

[Obsidian]

Yes, added the grated soap at trace and gently mixed it together.

 

[regansoap]

That is such a beautiful soap - well jell

 

[Wessam]

Yes, added the grated soap at trace and gently mixed it together.

I did it...thanx t your great advice... of course i added it to a much more mild recipe

 

[KimW]

Sorry to say but I do not think you are ready to sell when you do not know the difference between cp process and melt and pour soap. Enough said about that. M&P is made with additives such as propylene glycol & glycerin to make it re-meltable, cp soap will not remelt the same way. You can certainly grate or it your soap is still soft enough you can smoosh it up and rebatch in a crock-pot, double boiler or oven. Just make sure you use a non reactive pot such as stainless steel. With fresh soap you may not need to add in any more liquid or just a little to get the soap melting down. Add in your EO after the soap is melted. This is going to give you a rustic looking soap. If this was a small batch I would keep it and use it, but I really hate to rebatch and dislike the look of rebatched soap
here is one video on rebatching
[ame]

WAHOOO!!! I found it. I've made more than a few (lots) melt and pour/re-meltable soap bases from scratch for my own personal use. Love the way I can add EOs to them since most fragrance oils irritate my skin. I've always assumed it was the additives/solvents that made a soap re-meltable. Today, I went to formulate a make a melt and pour base for a friend and so decided I could wait no longer to confirm just exactly what makes a soap re-meltable. Oh the many posts and blog entries I've read today. Finally, I decided to search for "re-meltable" in this forum instead of "melt and pour" and *poof* here is the answer. THANK YOU @cmzaha!! You are my new best virtual friend. If we could meet I'd make you a most delicious cup of tea.

 

[TheGecko]

I made my first feathered swirl soap with my new recipe, and all seemed to go pretty well other than some lye spill I had to deal with. Even though my new recipe has lard, palm, mango butter and Coconut, it seems that keeping them around the 45% or so level made it workable long enough for me to add the 3 colors and mix to trace, pour and swirl

When I figured it was emulsified, I got my sodium lactate in the mix, meted out 3 equal portions and added my colors, got the soap to a nice medium trace and poured the three colors, and slowly removed my cardboard separators and finished the top. It looks beautiful! My colors are white, purple and a pinkish lavender. This is the good news!

Now for the bad and worse! Mistake one: I kept some of each color to make a fancy top, forgetting that I wasn't going to do that with this soap! So I had a lot more than 1T of each, so much more that I filled two oval guest soap molds. That's the bad, along with the lye spill.

The worst was that I forgot to put in my lavender 40/42 EO and didn't know it until I was cleaning up and saw the little mis en place glass bowl that I had weighed the oil in had a bit more than you would expect if some had slid down form the sides after pouring. Then, when I removed all the newsprint and paper towels that were my work area, I noticed that the EO must have tipped at one point and spilled most of the contents. I now have a lavender scented granite kitchen counter top which is also my soap making work station.

To be sure, that it was omitted, I ran into the garage to smell the individual containers I put in the utility sink to be washed tomorrow. I was hoping that somehow I had added the oil/ but all I smelled was the oils. I have no idea how that little cup could have tilted over to spill most of the contents and then righted itself! But it did!

Now my question and the reason for this thread is for myself and others to post their soap mistakes and see if there are any fixes.

Should I just give the soap to friends and relatives; or can I re-melt it (if this is possible, when can I do that?). My colors would probably melt together forming a pale lilac/lavender. If re-melting is a possible fix, can I use it like a melt and pour? If that's possible, I figure I can add the fragrance oil again and have a bottom that's one color lilac and then melt some white melt and pour, and add some EO to that as well, and make that the topping.

Now if that is possible, can I add some of the colored blobs to the top of the white and do a bit of a fancy topping using the back of a spoon, and then sprinkle a bit of white with a touch of purple glitter over it? Or is that not an option with melt and pour?

Or should I just forget about fixing it and give it away or sell it as a fragrance free soap???

So very much to learn!

There are a lot of folks who like an unscented soap. I purposely make what I call “Bare Naked” soaps; unscented and uncolored.

I have several “oopses” curing right now...a red, white and blue drop swirl with no Barbershop 1920s in it. A green and brown ITP Swirl with no Cuban Tobacco. A speckled brown with no Coffee House. Some of the soaps will be cut in half and donated to one of our local homeless shelters, the rest will be wrapped and go to a local Food Bank.

One way to make sure you don’t forget to add an ingredient...whether it’s an oil, butter, additive, colorants or scent is to have your recipe set up as a ‘checklist’. Before I started Master Batching, my oils/butters were listed in the order that I added them. For the rest, I had a 1., 2., 3., etc list of ‘steps’ and would check them off as I went along. Some folks set all their ingredients on the left (or right) side of their bowl and then as they use them, they move them to the other side.

You have a few options: 1) Sell as unscented or gift or donate. 2) Grate the soap and make a ‘confetti’ soap a white base and your FO. 3) Rebatch (melt your soap down), add your FO and plop in your mold. Yes your colors will all blend together.

As to your thought of rebatching and adding a layer of M&P...I don’t know enough about either to know if the two layers would stick together. You could try it and see what happens...the worst that could happen is the layers don’t stick together.

 

[Marsi]

You have a few options: 1) Sell as unscented or gift or donate. 2) Grate the soap and make a ‘confetti’ soap a white base and your FO. 3) Rebatch (melt your soap down), add your FO and plop in your mold. Yes your colors will all blend together.

6 year old soap can be a little hard to grate