INSTANTANEOUS seizing!! Recipe woes?

[maloga3]

Okay, here's my recipe and as I was pouring the lye water into the melted fats, both around 100 degrees, the stuff seized while I was in the middle of pouring!! wow, didn't discount the water that much, just to 35%, it was the first time I used stearic acid so maybe that's it?
h20 158.7
NaOH 63.3
Castor 20%
Safflower high oleic 25%
stearic acid 5%
palm kernel hydrogenated 10%
lard 25%
coconut oil 15%
thanks for any input!!!!!!!!!!
oh, the scent didn't accelerate trace, I added it after the batch seized, and its not a total loss, my quick thinking hubbie helped me scoop it into the mold

 

[CaraCara]

It was likely the stearic acid that caused it to seize. Someone mentioned in an earlier post that she heats the stearic acid with other oils then blends it like a lotion, then adds it to the batter. I don't know if it slows down the seizing at all so hopefully she will read and correct me if needed. Your castor oil is quite high at 20%.

 

[judymoody]

stearic, for sure.

 

[maloga3]

yep, thanks...I figured that was what was going on. So, my second batch of the night I reduced from 5% to 2% however same story! Guess one can't use stearic acid when soaping?! shame, it would make a great hardener in my otherwise soft bar recipe-
thanks so much for the confirmation

 

[judymoody]

You can use stearic more successfully if you hot process your soap.

However, your recipe looks like it should make a nice hard bar, minus the castor which is too high. Castor makes a softer and sticky bar at higher % I keep mine at 5% except for shaving soap which is an entirely different beast. If you keep your castor below 10% and divide the remainder between your lard and safflower, you'd have a nice soap.

Sodium lactate at 1% of your oil weight will also contribute to a harder bar.

 

[DeeAnna]

Stearic acid, being that it is a fatty acid and not a fat that contains stearic acid, will react instantly with lye. That instant reaction between the two is what is causing the seizing.

If you want to try a CP method and still use stearic acid, try this. Melt your stearic separately and keep it warm and liquid. Make the soap recipe as normal EXCEPT leave the stearic out of the batter at first. Add your fragrance and any other additives when you normally would -- at the initial mixing or at light trace. After everything else is in the batter, and you are at light trace, add the stearic all at once and mix -- you may have to stir by hand after the stearic is in. Put into the mold and finish as you normally do.

I'm not going to say it won't seize after the stearic goes in, but you are controlling the point at which the batter firms up, so you can get everything else well mixed and ready to make good soap. I don't use stearic acid in soap unless I'm making a shaving soap -- I generally try to formulate a blend of fats that will give me the properties of hardness, etc. that I want. But that's a personal philosophy of mine, not a hard-and-fast rule of any sort. YMMV!

 

[A1will]

What % castor oil would you recommend for a shaving soap?

 

[kanutta]

Thank you so much for the information regarding stearic acid. I tried to make a shaving soap and it seized like crazy! I'm making soaps as a hobby, and my son wants me to make him a shaving soap.

 

[shunt2011]

I would try making theshaving soap HP method. I make a shaving soap with a large quantity of Stearic Acid and HP it in my crockpot or it just won't work. Of course I'm useing 52% Stearic with Potassium Hydroxide not Sodium Hydroxide..

 

[SoaPetite]

Hi all! im a newbie soapie.. But could it be because you have lots of hard oils..coconut, palm, lard and on top you added stearic? I made tallow and coconut soap with other soft oils and it was a hard bar.. Now i bought stearic acid as i want to try not using tallow. I read somewhere that stearic acid is especially useful if you have lots of soft oils..

Correct me if im wrong pls..im a newborn in this great, amazing hobby and also learning as much as i could myself