I could use a little help with my CP-soap.

[Captain_Potbelly]

Hello!
I'm new to soap making (it's so much fun!) and i could really use some help. I've tried googling and searching around here, but i can't find any good answers. This might be because english isn't my first language - i apologize in advance if my grammar is messed up.

Anyway!
So! I've tried M&P soap, CP and also rebatching CP and i have a few questions if anyone would like to help out.

Melt and pour: Is there any way to get rid of that awful glycerine-smell? I've tried adding EO, FO, tea etc, yet that funky smell still comes through.
Also: Why is it that my soap turned green when i poured in some tea that was a dark red?
I feel like this soap base is pretty awful, like it doesn't clean very well. Is this my imagination? M&P soaps are pretty, but i do not like them and i do not like making them.

Now on to my real problem:

I made a batch of CP-soap two weeks ago. I'm really impatient and curious - which means I added some things that was not according to my recipe. (You know... what would happen if i poured some of this in?).

Here's the original recipe:
114g water
45g lye
150g coconut oil
75g canola oil.
75g olive oil.

Here's what i ended up with:
114g water + 45g lye
150g coconut oil
73g canola oil
70g olive oil
7g sweet almond oil
11g powdered milk
0,5 teaspoon honey
0,5 teaspoon paprika powder

(told you, curios and impatient)

It took forever to trace, but it happened. Things looked ok, but i unmolded it too fast (all soft and mushy). About half of the soap i decided i was going to rebatch at a later state and the rest of it is still curing (no idea how things are going).

Yesterday when i rebatched i got a bit curious again... I added coconut milk and it really looked and smelled amazing.
After that i was quite unhappy that the paprika powder didn't colour my soap the first time - so i tried again. Almost immediately orange blobs started showing up in the mix. I thought at first that i might have burned it or something and tried to catch these blobs.

Still no colour, so I added more paprika. The moment i did this i realised that these gelatinous orange goo-globs were a direct result of me adding the paprika powder.

I tried stirring for a while longer to see if i could maybe... i don't know melt them? But later i just gave up and poured it in a mold.

What happened here?
What were those blobs?
What do you think of my little experiment? Will i even be able to use the first batch that is now curing?
Why didn't paprika colour my soap? I used alot more than recommended by people with bright red paprika stained sexy soaps.
Should i throw out my rebatch or could it be saved? If it's possible to rebatch is there anything i can do about the colour? It's not pretty. Dark-ish brown with orange goo-ey blobs.

Should i try to contain myself and stick to the recipe?

Thank you so much in advance. I'd really appreciate some answers, because this stuff is keeping me up at night.

 

[marilynmac]

As a beginner who want to improvise everything, so far I have learned:

"stick to the recipe". item by item, gram by gram.

Run every recipe through a soapcalc (soapcalc.net) no matter where you got it.

Keep it simple at first. just a few oils. don't go adding milk or sugar or fruit or FO's or anything else until you know how your basic recipe will behave. No matter how much you want to try it.

I know that MP smell. I played with some MP years ago and stopped because of the smell that gave me a headache. Maybe some of the MP soap base you can get online is better these days .

Watch some soapmaking 101 youtube videos. BASIC soap first. The procedure is pretty simple, but you do have to follow it.

 

[Seawolfe]

Soap making is not like cooking, you can not just swap out oils - you need to run every recipe through a lye calculator no matter where it's from, and if you make any changes in the oils you need to run the new recipe through a lye calculator. This is because each oil needs different amounts of lye for the saponification reaction.

You also need to be careful about the amounts of liquids, or any aditIves. Simple recipes at first will let you learn how additives work.

Are you using a stick blender? The paprika should not have blobbed like that with a good stick blender. Next time try blending it well with the oils before the lye.

 

[Captain_Potbelly]

Hello! Thank you for replying.

I know this... improvising is kind of a problem. I tend to get bored when i'm just standing there, so i get adventurous. So, should i just throw it out? Both the cp and the rebatch? Could it be saved?

I'm using a stick blender, i tried doing just that. In the CP id didn't blob, but it didn't give any colour.
In the rebatch some colour, ALOT of blobs.

What are the blobs?

 

[judymoody]

Hi and welcome!

There are many kinds of M&P base - you might want to try another brand and see if you like it better. The ones sold at craft stores like Michael's or Hobby Lobby are generally not very good.

Regarding CP, I ran your original recipe through soapcalc and it looks fine. However, for a beginner, I'd recommend a batch size of at least 500 grams as small measurement errors can compound quickly if the recipe size is small. Regarding your paprika - a picture would help. I am assuming that when you rebatch it is harder to mix ingredients in thoroughly. You also might try infusing your spices into one of your carrier oils - easier to mix in and usually you get a more vibrant color.

And yes, if you want to get creative - don't change out your oils at the last minute! But adding small amounts of honey or spices isn't unsafe. It may make your process exciting and unpredictable, though.

 

[Susie]

Blobs are paprika that has made blobs. It happens when you add dry spices to liquids. And they slip through the stick blender without getting broken up, especially if you did it during the rebatch.

I hate to say this, because I hate to throw anything away, but I would toss the rebatch. It is going to have those blobs, and I have yet to find any way to get rid of them. And it is not suitable to make into laundry soap due to that, also. If you just have to try to add dry spices to the soap when you are this new, try adding a small amount at the time into the melted oils and stick blending before you add the lye solution.

You will need to let us know how the other portion did, but I think it is going to be a problem also. When you rebatch, you put everything that is in the mold into the pot for the rebatch.

Now, how to avoid this in the future:

Soapmaking is both a science and an art. The science part is the amount of oils to the amount of lye. You put into the soap EXACTLY what you put into the lye calculator. Period. If you change an oil, you recalculate. Every. Single. Time.

The art part is that you can use infused oils in place of the oils in the recipe, i.e. I infuse 28 gm of paprika into 180 gm of olive oil by simmering it in a double boiler set up, then pour the colored oil off and using that for part of the olive oil the recipe calls for. How dark it is is determined by how much you use.(throw the paprika away, and only use the liquid oil)

Or you can use micas to color soap, or many other methods. You can make different colors and swirl, LOTS of art possibilities.

But you can NOT improvise the recipe once you calculate it. Not and know that you are going to get a good, safe, usable soap.

Learning how to make good soaps is just like learning any other new thing. You start with the basics, then practice, practice, practice. Start with no more than 4 oils, no scent, and no colors. Then once you get a good bar of soap, you can start tweaking it.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Aye, science is big part of soaping.

Adventurous is fine, but like any good adventure you need to plan a little bit more or you stray in to foolhardiness. Waking up one morning and deciding to walk to the South Pole that very same day will likely end badly. Planning is needed to make sure all goes as well as it can and soaping is no different in this respect.

Plan what you are going to do and then stick to it. If you can't stand the waiting without playing with it, try something else to distract you from just throwing things in or you will likely end up with similar issues again.

 

[Captain_Potbelly]

Hi and welcome!

There are many kinds of M&P base - you might want to try another brand and see if you like it better. The ones sold at craft stores like Michael's or Hobby Lobby are generally not very good.

Regarding CP, I ran your original recipe through soapcalc and it looks fine. However, for a beginner, I'd recommend a batch size of at least 500 grams as small measurement errors can compound quickly if the recipe size is small. Regarding your paprika - a picture would help. I am assuming that when you rebatch it is harder to mix ingredients in thoroughly. You also might try infusing your spices into one of your carrier oils - easier to mix in and usually you get a more vibrant color.

And yes, if you want to get creative - don't change out your oils at the last minute! But adding small amounts of honey or spices isn't unsafe. It may make your process exciting and unpredictable, though.

Thank you for replying!

Unfortunately i've only found 3 suppliers of M&P soap in my country and they all sell the same brands. It's really, really expensive too! It's actually cheaper to buy it from the UK and pay £14 shipping fee...

Oh. Thanks for the advice. That never crossed my mind. I thought it was safer to make a smaller batch, in case i ruined it.

I'll get back to you with pictures!

 

[Captain_Potbelly]

Blobs are paprika that has made blobs. It happens when you add dry spices to liquids. And they slip through the stick blender without getting broken up, especially if you did it during the rebatch.

I hate to say this, because I hate to throw anything away, but I would toss the rebatch. It is going to have those blobs, and I have yet to find any way to get rid of them. And it is not suitable to make into laundry soap due to that, also. If you just have to try to add dry spices to the soap when you are this new, try adding a small amount at the time into the melted oils and stick blending before you add the lye solution.

You will need to let us know how the other portion did, but I think it is going to be a problem also. When you rebatch, you put everything that is in the mold into the pot for the rebatch.

Now, how to avoid this in the future:

Soapmaking is both a science and an art. The science part is the amount of oils to the amount of lye. You put into the soap EXACTLY what you put into the lye calculator. Period. If you change an oil, you recalculate. Every. Single. Time.

The art part is that you can use infused oils in place of the oils in the recipe, i.e. I infuse 28 gm of paprika into 180 gm of olive oil by simmering it in a double boiler set up, then pour the colored oil off and using that for part of the olive oil the recipe calls for. How dark it is is determined by how much you use.(throw the paprika away, and only use the liquid oil)

Or you can use micas to color soap, or many other methods. You can make different colors and swirl, LOTS of art possibilities.

But you can NOT improvise the recipe once you calculate it. Not and know that you are going to get a good, safe, usable soap.

Learning how to make good soaps is just like learning any other new thing. You start with the basics, then practice, practice, practice. Start with no more than 4 oils, no scent, and no colors. Then once you get a good bar of soap, you can start tweaking it.

Thank you for replying!

Oh. That's too bad. Could i save the rebatch for personal use or is it unsafe? The paprika blobs might sting if it's unsolved?

The other portion - the original CP that's still curing is not looking too well. I'm not really sure what it is supposed to look like though, but it's been 2.5 weeks and it's still really soft and mushy. Kind of like play-dough.

About infusing paprika: I tried adding it to a small amount of oil first, really just out of curiosity. It smelled horrible, kind of like vinegar. If i did an infusion would this smell be transferred to the finished soap?

I'll make a new batch tomorrow. I'll try my hardest to contain myself and stick to the recipe...

 

[Captain_Potbelly]

Aye, science is big part of soaping.

Adventurous is fine, but like any good adventure you need to plan a little bit more or you stray in to foolhardiness. Waking up one morning and deciding to walk to the South Pole that very same day will likely end badly. Planning is needed to make sure all goes as well as it can and soaping is no different in this respect.

Plan what you are going to do and then stick to it. If you can't stand the waiting without playing with it, try something else to distract you from just throwing things in or you will likely end up with similar issues again.

Thank you for your advice! I'll start over from scratch tomorrow. I'm looking for a good beginner's recipe right now. I managed to get ahold of some palm oil (there's one supplier in my country, impossible) so yes! I'm having a good feeling about this!

 

[Susie]

Thank you for replying!

Oh. That's too bad. Could i save the rebatch for personal use or is it unsafe? The paprika blobs might sting if it's unsolved?

The other portion - the original CP that's still curing is not looking too well. I'm not really sure what it is supposed to look like though, but it's been 2.5 weeks and it's still really soft and mushy. Kind of like play-dough.

About infusing paprika: I tried adding it to a small amount of oil first, really just out of curiosity. It smelled horrible, kind of like vinegar. If i did an infusion would this smell be transferred to the finished soap?

I'll make a new batch tomorrow. I'll try my hardest to contain myself and stick to the recipe...

The paprika should not sting, but it is going to rub off on your skin. Your choice, though. The smell does not transfer to the soap. How much paprika to how much oil did you use? And how did you infuse it?

 

[Captain_Potbelly]

The paprika should not sting, but it is going to rub off on your skin. Your choice, though. The smell does not transfer to the soap. How much paprika to how much oil did you use? And how did you infuse it?

I decided to throw it out anyway, it didn't smell very good.

I'm not quite sure, it was kind of an improvise. But it did figure out why the paprika did not color my soap. I bought it and thought that it was nice and powdery already - i did not process it further with a mortar and pestle.

My first batch was really soft when i wrote here last, i thought i'd might have to throw it out. But just a day or two after it hardened. It looks OK now, it's not pretty but i think i might be able to use it.

I've made some new soaps recently (only improvising on one recipe out of three) and i was wondering why it's been so hard to dissolve the lye and why it takes forever to trace - when the recipe says a couple of minutes with the stick blender.

I realized today that the lye i've been using is not 100% NaOh. This is what it says on the label:
Sodium hydroxide, sodium chloride, Sodium stearate.

It does not say how much it is of each. I'm wondering how much this will affect my final product. What do you think?

What if when i've measured up say 125g i get 100g of NaOh and 25g of the other chemical junk? This is so very annoying, all my soap may be with alot of excess oils in proportion to the amount of lye.

 

[Captain_Potbelly]

Hi and welcome!

There are many kinds of M&P base - you might want to try another brand and see if you like it better. The ones sold at craft stores like Michael's or Hobby Lobby are generally not very good.

Regarding CP, I ran your original recipe through soapcalc and it looks fine. However, for a beginner, I'd recommend a batch size of at least 500 grams as small measurement errors can compound quickly if the recipe size is small. Regarding your paprika - a picture would help. I am assuming that when you rebatch it is harder to mix ingredients in thoroughly. You also might try infusing your spices into one of your carrier oils - easier to mix in and usually you get a more vibrant color.

And yes, if you want to get creative - don't change out your oils at the last minute! But adding small amounts of honey or spices isn't unsafe. It may make your process exciting and unpredictable, though.

Hello again!

Here's the pictures. The brown one is my disgusting rebatch and the other picture is the original one. (I can't believe how hard it is to cut soap, they just get smaller and smaller)

 

[navigator9]

I'd say you learned a valuable lesson......save the curious and adventurous impulses for later. First, get yourself some 100% lye. You can't make soap if you don't know what you're working with. Then get some coconut, palm and olive oils. Go to soapcalc.net, and play with the percentages of each of the oils until you get something that looks good to you. Maybe that will satisfy your urges to experiment. Then make some basic soap. Even basic handmade soap is amazing. (when made correctly) Practice the technique until you're comfortable. Once you have the basics down pat, then experiment to your hearts content. Try one variable at a time, then if something goes wrong, it's easy to figure out what it was that caused the problem. Soapmaking ingredients aren't cheap, you don't want to keep throwing your efforts in the trash. Good luck!

 

[Susie]

I decided to throw it out anyway, it didn't smell very good.

I'm not quite sure, it was kind of an improvise. But it did figure out why the paprika did not color my soap. I bought it and thought that it was nice and powdery already - i did not process it further with a mortar and pestle.

My first batch was really soft when i wrote here last, i thought i'd might have to throw it out. But just a day or two after it hardened. It looks OK now, it's not pretty but i think i might be able to use it.

I've made some new soaps recently (only improvising on one recipe out of three) and i was wondering why it's been so hard to dissolve the lye and why it takes forever to trace - when the recipe says a couple of minutes with the stick blender.

I realized today that the lye i've been using is not 100% NaOh. This is what it says on the label:
Sodium hydroxide, sodium chloride, Sodium stearate.

It does not say how much it is of each. I'm wondering how much this will affect my final product. What do you think?

What if when i've measured up say 125g i get 100g of NaOh and 25g of the other chemical junk? This is so very annoying, all my soap may be with alot of excess oils in proportion to the amount of lye.

We need some of the scientists to step in here, because I don't know what that other stuff is. Just don't use the soap(or give it away) until you do hear from the sciency folks.

 

[CaraBou]

Sodium chloride is ordinary table salt, and sodium stearate is the salt that is produced when stearic acid reacts with NaOH (such as occurs when palm oil meets NaOH). So neither of these two compounds will harm your soap. But you're right Captain, there's no way to tell how much lye is present, and your soap will have more free oils than what you intended. Look for pure NaOH in the drain cleaner aisle at a hardware store. Just be very sure nothing else is listed on the ingredient label.

Good luck to you, and I hope to see more of your soapy adventures here on the forum

 

[Captain_Potbelly]

Sodium chloride is ordinary table salt, and sodium stearate is the salt that is produced when stearic acid reacts with NaOH (such as occurs when palm oil meets NaOH). So neither of these two compounds will harm your soap. But you're right Captain, there's no way to tell how much lye is present, and your soap will have more free oils than what you intended. Look for pure NaOH in the drain cleaner aisle at a hardware store. Just be very sure nothing else is listed on the ingredient label.

Good luck to you, and I hope to see more of your soapy adventures here on the forum

Thank you very much!

This explains why it's been so hard unmolding my soaps...
I've found pure NaOH which i'm going to try out today. My soapy adventures hasn't even started yet!!

Although my kitchen is getting smaller. There's about 5kg of soap in my kitchen... I had to get rid of some china.

 

[Susie]

OK, I have an adventure for you! Go build you a soap curing rack that will hold at least that 5kg of soap per shelf, and at least 6 shelves. I just know you are going to need that space if you are already getting rid of china! (someone is probably throwing a hissy fit about the china!)

 

[Captain_Potbelly]

OK, I have an adventure for you! Go build you a soap curing rack that will hold at least that 5kg of soap per shelf, and at least 6 shelves. I just know you are going to need that space if you are already getting rid of china! (someone is probably throwing a hissy fit about the china!)

Oh dear lord. That's quite an adventure... I cannot build anything. But I'm actually wondering what i'm going to use, because now i'm curing my soap on metal racks - and one turned out to be aluminum. This wasn't one of my brightest ideas.

Here I go with some questions again!

I just recieved a parcel from Asia. I found really cheap EO on ebay and was really pleased with this bargain. When i smelled them they all smell like fabric softener, except the coconut one which smells like burned cookies.

I'm thinking these aren't real essential oils, but some chep kind of fragrance. Is there any way to test this?

 

[marilynmac]

The fabric softener-like scents are probably Fragrance Oils (FO), not Essential Oils (EO). You can still use them in soap if you don't mind the smell. That will be an adventure for you, because some FOs can cause a riot in your soap batch.

eta: the test? you did it. With some, you just know that they are artificial.