Help please!

[Lindi]

Hi all,

I would really appreciate any advice anyone can offer here: I've been making soap for around a year now and most of the batches turn out great, setting overnight and hardening properly within about 48 hours. However, every third or so batch takes weeks to set and has a slightly more rubbery/elastic texture to it. It still works fine, but takes so long to be ready, by which time it has largely lost its scent. I'm not sure what I am doing wrong though, as I use the same recipe and technique every time!

2 possibilities are that my scale (not an electronic one, just the old school type) is not accurate enough and quantities are therefore incorrect, or that my stick blender is somehow letting in too much air (I THINK I'm starting to see a pattern that the faulty batches have more bubbles in them)? Please let me know what you think of my theories or if anyone has another idea of what I am doing wrong?

Thanks so much!

Lindi

 

[honor435]

you could try using less water, it will get hard faster.

 

[Soaplady22]

When you say that it takes "so long to be ready" how long are you talking about? And yes - a SB can incorporate air if you don't keep it completely submerged.

 

[IrishLass]

Are you using the same recipe for each batch, or are the recipes, water amounts, etc. different in your batches that take longer to set up?

IrishLass

 

[Mouse]

I learned really fast to buy a good quality digital scale. I had an old school analog one for several months when I started out, and it just wasn't accurate enough. You will find that it's worth the $20 and up for a new scale than to waste hundreds and thousands of dollars in precious soaping materials only to get an end product that you aren't satisfied with.

 

[Lindi]

Thanks guys, I think I may indeed need to invest in a decent scale! Yes, all the recipes have been the same and water quantity is fine for those batches that work, so I reckon it's my equipment that's the hassle...!!! Soaplady, the "so long" ones take weeks. The successful ones are literally ready in 2-3 days.

 

[judymoody]

Are some of your soaps gelling and others not? Gelled soap sets up quickly (12-24 hours after gel) while ungelled can take a few days or more, depending on the mix of oils.

Is your soap recipe high in olive oil? If so, you might want to reduce your water amount.

 

[Padamae]

I just replaced my scale I got my newone at soapequipment.com. I used it twice now and had much better luck. For years my first one worked great but I started seeing a trend that some of my soaps were not turning out as well as they used to since. And the scale had been recently dropped. And it was the only change the recipes were the same. And I tested it. It wasmu old scale would not display the same amount twice for the same cup I was using as a test.