Infusing clays in lye water

[carolyntn]

I have questions about infusing clay in lye water. When I infuse clay in lye water - I will lose some of the lye water when I strain the clay out. Do you think it will be significant? Should I adjust the superfat because I might have a tiny bit less lye (I usually superfat at 5%). Should I soap at full water to account for the clay absorption?
Carolyn

 

[Bubbles Galore]

I just mix clay with a bit of oil and mix in at light trace. :wink:

 

[Soaplady22]

Don't infuse your clay - it has no properties to give the soap but itself. So add at trace, and soap your recipe as usual. The going rate is 1 Tblsp. PPO for a nice slip. Or to use for oily skin.

I put it in a cup and add a bit of soap at light trace, mix well to get the lumps out, then dump that back into my soap pot. It'll work fine.

 

[Fragola]

I have read somewhere about infusing red clay, for the purpose of extracting the color from the clay.

But the talk was about infusing clay in water, and adding lye to the infused water.

 

[judymoody]

There was a tutorial on the southern soapers site about adding clay to your lye water to leech out the color. She then strained out the clay, if I remember correctly. It's available on line as a PDF file. If you google southern soapers + clay, it will come right up.

 

[Maythorn]

I added clay to the hot lye water one time and I think I will do it that way again. As long as the clay is fine and doesn't make little rock specks you can't break up. My white clay didn't as I remember.

 

[carolyntn]

Thank you everyone for your replies. Judymoody it was that precise article which resulted in my question! I have been studying that article with particular interest in leeching color from clay using lye water. Thanks!

 

[paillo]

i add kaolin clay to my lye water for most batches i make -- i never strain out the clay, just use the whole mess -- i always add sodium lactate and tussah silk too, and pop it in the refrig overnight. i often add another clay mixed with a bit of castor at trace, for a swirl or for extra clay benefits...

 

[carolyntn]

Paillo are you using the clay for color?