honey in cp soap

[ssstique]

Dear all,
Please accept my apologies if my question has already been discussed elsewhere on this forum.
My name is Marie and I am new to this forum.
I am a novice in soap-making (I have made 2 CP batches so far).
I think I need your assistance because I am not satisfied with what I made so far, in particular the 2nd batch.
I just unpacked a fresh batch of honey soap. I found the formula on internet (http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/tipst ... eyinfo.htm). It smells foul and it has many small dark blotches. I used an orange juice container, and a stick blender to mix. I used no fragrances, pigment or nutrients. When mixing both liquids, the oil was 30°C and the lye 28°C.
The tracing went well and after incorporation of the honey the trace came back quickly. After 24 hours of curing, the batch looks firm and has no puddles of oil on top. But! the smell!
I have not yet measured the PH value. However, it looks like this soap can not be used. I do not know what caused the dark dots (unincorporated honey?).
What could have gone wrong here?
This is so disappointing... :cry:
Many thanks for reading me and for your reply.
I still have a lot to learn :wink: so I'll have a long read on the forum (and be impressed by the beautiful pictures 8) 8) .[/code]

 

[heart of dixie soap co]

honey soap

wish i could be of help, but my honey knowledge is limited. i would suggest going thru the past messages in this forum for info. i know some of the goatsmilk soapers use honey. when everyone comes back from the weekend someone can help you.

good luck,

monet

 

[Black soap n candle lady]

Hello there! Is it possible that you have used too much honey? I have done this before. I had an awful mess but it smelled just like fresh honey and it turned out great. Maybe too much honey was the cause. Good Luck!

 

[pink-north]

I have used honey. I only put in about 2 tbsp per 4 lb batch. I think the trick is to not use too much.

 

[Deda]

I love honey in my soap, but I use honey powder. I usually add about 1tsp ppo. It leaves my soap very pale creamy beige with the slightest honey fragrance and tons of lather.

Edited! 1 Teaspoon - ppo.

 

[Black soap n candle lady]

Ooh honey powder. That sounds so nice. Much better for me to incorperate powders. It seems that I can add much more without dealing with heavy liquids that ooze out. I have switched over to powder milks and powdered wheat germ. It also saves a great deal of money too! I'm gonna try the honey. Thanks for the tip!

 

[digit]

I am no help in the honey question, but welcome to the board! I know several people here do use honey often.

I am also a beginner. I do not understand what you mean by: "The tracing went well and after incorporation of the honey the trace came back quickly." Do you mean that after adding the honey, it got thin and then became thick?

Digit

 

[wendy_m]

I don't know what went wrong with adding the honey, but it sounds like something has spoiled in your soap (maybe the sugars from the honey reacted with some unsaponified oils or the oil was already starting to spoil a little before you used it, and the honey or soapmaking process just amplified the effect.)

If the bad smell isn't strong and the soap is otherwise usable, why not soak some strong smelling spices in a little rum or whiskey and then rebatch using the alcohol as the liquid? The heat of rebatching and the alcohol should be enough to arrest any more spoiling and the spiced alcohol should mask any bad smells nicely.

A bit of rum, cardamom, cinnamon, and vanilla makes for a very nice scent when added to a rebatch. Ginger and white pepper corn smell very good in either rum or whiskey.

 

[pink-north]

If the bad smell isn't strong and the soap is otherwise usable, why not soak some strong smelling spices in a little rum or whiskey and then rebatch using the alcohol as the liquid? The heat of rebatching and the alcohol should be enough to arrest any more spoiling and the spiced alcohol should mask any bad smells nicely.

Doesn't the alcohol ruin the soap?

Also make sure the honey is warmed so it is more viscous and the same (relatively) temperature as the rest of the soap.

 

[digit]

I would think the alcohol would ruin the soap before evaporating. Then again, don't you use alcohol to produce clear soap?

Maybe the scent will dissapate as it cures like goat milk does sometimes. How is it today?

Digit

 

[wendy_m]

Doesn't the alcohol ruin the soap?

Not at all, if the soap has a relatively high glycerin content then it'll soften it somewhat and produce a mildly translucent (but not clear) soap. If you're not used to adding alcohol to a batch of soap, you can steep your spices in it, then freeze it, then pour off the alcohol and make up the volume loss with a bit of water-- it'll have the same scent properties, but won't affect the chemistry of the lipids/sugars in the soap the same way, which may or may not defeat the point of adding alcohol in the first place.

 

[zee]

I have gone as high as a tablespoon per pound. I diluted it in water, then added it to the lye just before I was going to pour it into the fats. I also soaped this at 90 degrees, just because of the potential for overheating. Thankfully I had no problems, it gelled beautifully and I had no problems cutting it.

 

[delta soap diva]

i'm jumpin in a little late, but i just tried using honey in a soap and it didn't go so good. i only used 1tbl for a 4lb batch. i did use goat milk, and rtcp, sort of, my lye was a room temp, i had to heat the oils because i didn't have it pre-mixed. the soap that was on the bottom of the mold has little 'pockets' that look like they were ate away for lack of a better term. did the soap get too hot? it get to full gel. then i cracked the lid because it did seem kind of hot. so i don't know if that was the honey, or the soapmker. :?

 

[Mary's Soaps]

New here, so bear with me if I say something that does not fit in.

I have used honey in several CP recipes without any problems (with and without milk recipes). I add the honey right at trace. I have to check the exact recipe, but I am sure I am only adding 2 tablespoons for a 4 lb batch of soap.

 

[Ilovesoap]

Actually honey is very easy to use even in liquid form. 1Tbl per ppo is the usual recommended amount. You just have to make sure the honey gets incorporated well. I take out some soap that has emulsified and add it to the honey to get it to a consistency that I can work with - then add it to my soap at trace (blending it in well) If you do not incorporate well you will get glops of honey throughout your soap - this is not harmful at all just means you have not incorporated.

The smell could be ammonia. Did you add Goats milk by chance or any kind of milk? That can make the soap small off initially.