Is there anything wrong with this soap I made?

[Saltynuts]

I was not trying to make anything creative here, just wanted to try 100% flax oil soap to see how it came out. See picture below. I mixed oil and lye solution in the glass, then set the glass in a big pot of water on the stove and turned the stove to the lowest setting possible. Water never came close to boiling. I was trying to "hot process", but very low temperature.

Then after it cooked a looong time, and passed the "zap" test, I put the glass with the soap in it into an oven that was pre-heated to the very lowest temperature (170 F) and I actually opened the door to let out some of the heat, put the glass with the soap in it inside, turned the oven light on and the temperature off, and let it sit overnight.

When I pulled it out the next day, it looked very much like in the picture below, even though in the picture below the soap has been sitting there for like 2 extra days.

Does that look right? Other than the top layer the soap below it all looks like its still wet. Shouldn't it have dried after a few days?

Thanks for any thoughts!!

Sorry, that one was not a good shot, here is one showing it better:

 

[Nona'sFarm]

A couple of comments and questions:
1) Glass is known to shatter when used for soap making. So for safety sake, please don't make soap in glass containers.
2) Did the soap reach vaseline stage?
3) I'm curious why you did not pour the soap into a mold? How were you planning on getting it out of the container?
4) What was your complete recipe?

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I know that your walls are covered in balls and that's how you like it, but you really don't have to try every idea that you have! But if you do, you have to provide a bit more information -

What were you hoping to achieve?
Why would your steps get you there?
What was the full recipe? (That's a standard for any sort of troubleshooting)
What was the full process?

These are all the more vital when you're going off piste like this (doing something that isn't usually done)

Edit to add - and heating up soap batter in glass on the stove? I cans see why some people think you are trolling! I hope that you've read back through posts here and it's not seldom that glass is called out for being a bad idea when soaping. So if you've not read posts going back at least a few pages to get a bit of a foundation, I highly recommend it. You can go balls to the walls and read back 10 pages or so!

 

[Saltynuts]

Thank you Nona and Efficacious one!

The glass is laboratory borosilicate glass, capable of handling like 500 Celsius plus or thereabouts. Its a bit over-qualified for soap making.

I do not know if the soap reached vaseline stage, I do not remember ever seeing that. But to me looking at the soap (including in that picture) it looks like vaseline right now. But I cooked it for a looong time, over an hour, at a very low temp, until no zap, so if it should have gone through a vaseline phase I do not see how it could have avoided it.

I just got lazy about not pouring it into the molds, I figure I could just use a knife to get it out easy (when it dries at least, IF it dries I suppose).

Complete recipe was just 100% flax oil, and lye and distilled water using the calculator from the soap making friend website.

Full process - make the lye water, heat the oil in the borosilicate glass beaker that I placed inside a big pan with water on the stove at the very lowest temperature, at the lye water, use a stick blender to blend very well, blend several times throughout the blending process, as soon as the zap test did not zap me in the least take the borosilicate glass beaker out of the water and set it on the shelf to cool. Turn stove off, pour water out of pan and clean pan.

Hoping to achieve - just wanted to see how 100% flax oil soap would turn out.

On the glass beaker inside the pot in the oven filled with water approach - maybe unconventional, but I like doing it this way. I bought a cheap crock pot but it does not work as well IMHO. With the glass beaker surrounded by water the soap gets a very even warming from the water on all sides of it. And I have very precise control of the temperature via my natural gas stove. And all the water lets it so that water will never get too hot if I leave stove on a low setting - the water will radiate heat away pretty fast so the temp evens out at something warm and way way way below boiling.

I appreciate it, and thank your for any further thoughts!

 

[Babyshoes]

The concern about using glass for soap making is not just about temperature.

Lye can slowly etch glass, which makes it more likely to shatter at some point down the line, from a relatively small change in temperature or a slight bump, or for no obvious reason. At that point, you not only have broken glass everywhere, but it's potentially covered in caustic raw soap batter. That is not a safe mess to try to clean up!

Borosilicate glass is somewhat more resistant to etching than soda lime glass, but it still etches over time.

This has been discussed at length on the forum, please do read up on it, as I've just provided a brief summary here.

 

[ResolvableOwl]

Flaxseed oil + NaOH makes a soap that never hardens up, regardless how much water you attempt to boil off. Even if you get it anywhere around the consistency of rubber, it'll instantly dissolve in the first splash of water to deliquiesce into a slimy goo. (Guess where I know this from.)
Moreover it is super prone to rancidity, and the deep yellow-orange colour might even disguise DOS, so you have to rely on your nose to find out.

An actually viable use case for flaxseed oil in soapmaking is liquid soap. You don't care about hardness. Flaxseed oil makes a great LS that can give remarkable lather, with mild skin feel, and an adorable natural smell (somehow reminiscent of caviar IMHO).
Or use it in conjunction with other oils, like here: Zany's Flaxseed Shampoo

 

[Nona'sFarm]

@Saltynuts , I have some genuine concerns about your safety when it comes to making soap. You remind me of someone who gets in a plane and thinks that they can fly it safely because they've watched a few YouTube videos. I am not trying to be mean, but that is the image that comes to my mind. If not handled properly, working with lye can cause serious injury to yourself and others that live with you, including pets. Hopefully, you are following all safety precautions and the fact that you used a glass container was just a misconception of the dangers of using glass in soap making. That is, yes, heat is a consideration, but also liquid lye solutions are one of the few easily available substances that can dissolve / weaken glass.
Best wishes to you with your soap making. I highly recommend that you do searches on this forum and read as many of the SMF posts that relate to whatever you're working on at the time. Many of your questions can be answered that way and you will learn so much that you didn't even realize was/could be an issue. I love that you want to experiment and push the boundaries, BUT you really need to get the basics down first.
I say this in the spirit of helpfulness and a desire to see you succeed.

 

[TheGecko]

This is exactly why you are a danger.

 

[Janewoc17]

Dear @Saltynuts,
I researched soap recipes and techniques for nearly two years, and took an in person soap making workshop before attempting my first batch using a kit and tutorial. The Soap Elders here are a wealth of information, but that in no way reduces your responsibility to do your own research so that you learn what questions to ask. This is a resource of information not a how-to tutorial. Lye mishandled can cause serious injury, and blindness. Soap making is a skill that takes focus, care and thoughtfulness. I am concerned that your current approach may well cause harm to yourself and others. Please take a step back and do more homework.

 

[Ugeauxgirl]

After you've cooked soap until it no longer zaps, there is no reason I can think of to put it back in the oven. CPOP is when you put cold process soap in the oven after pouring to make sure it reaches full gel, but there is no reason I know of that you'd want to do that to fully cooked HP soap.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

@Saltynuts you are of course free to try what you want, but as you can see the end result would have been clear from just asking. I don't mean that people shouldn't experiment, but maybe save it for things which aren't very easily answered. It's like "what happens if I put a pizza in the oven at double the temperature for half the time?" - I don't need to do it to know the answer. I could do it, but it would be pointless to do so.

And also, a full recipe includes the amounts used, not just which oils. It is possible that some results come from a mistake somewhere (eg using more or less lye than needed) and that can only be found out by knowing what and how much you put in to the pot

 

[Clicquot]

@Saltynuts thinks that they can fly it safely because they've watched a few YouTube videos. I am not trying to be mean, but that is the image that comes to my mind.

or they stayed at a Holiday Inn last night.

 

[SoapDaddy70]

Why is everybody wasting there time interacting with this person? They are not playing with a full deck.

 

[SavonP]

I’m new here as well and I will be totally honest and admit that I was tempted by all the cool and pretty designs we all see on YouTube and Instagram. But past experience of learning other things has taught me to learn the basics well and then use those skills and knowledge to get creative and experiment. I read, watched good quality tutorials. I’ve yet to make my first soap, but I know about various oils, why I would use certain combos, and why not.
yes, it’s important to do the practical part, but it’s also important to know a bit of the processes and science. Now, because if my research, I realise I do not know everything to make the perfect, prettiest bar, but based on what I’ve taken the time to learn so far, I know enough to not try to make100% flaxseed oil bar or not even to try layering oils. You come here for advice, so try to follow what you’ve received. Thus can only make your way to get to do what you want so much faster. You’re slowing yourself by your present actions.
Please try to learn and read a bit more before putting together whatever comes to your mind. Or put your ideas in here and take advantage of the excellent advice.
Try some reliable easy recipes and move on from there. Soap making101 on YouTube has great tutorials for beginners.

i don’t know how to link websites to the forum but if you go to Spruce crafts website, they have a post called “21 Creative handmade soaps for Beginners”
There’s some quite nice ones.

There’s a book by Jan Perry that’s great for beginners with recipes. Do a few of these, practice and keep learning, then be on and be more creative and experimental. Good luck.

 

[AliOop]

For those who want some scientific information about alkali-induced corrosion of borosilicate glass, here is an interesting web page that I have bookmarked for fast responses to the never-ending claims that borosilicate glass is "completely chemical resistant" and "doesn't etch":

https://bx.dedietrich.com/en/solutions-products/borosilicate-glass-properties
TL;DR version: borosilicate is highly acid resistant, but far less resistant to strong alkali solutions, especially at higher concentrations and temps.

EDIT: I did see a 2018 patent application for a newer borosilicate that is more alkali-resistant as well as UV resistant. So it is possible they've come out with that. I doubt it is affordable for the average soapmaker, nor do I understand why any soapmaker would want to use even the most alkali-resistant glass, rather than something less prone to breakage when dropped or knocked over.

 

[SavonP]

Trinity of oils ~ starter formula

Here’s a set of beginner recipes from the forum to get you started.

 

[artemis]

I'm going to be the oddball here, in that
I jumped into Soapmaking without doing a year's worth of research or buying a bunch of books. I found a recipe and tried it. I learned how to use a calculator and made up my own recipes and tried things for myself.

So, clearly I'm not going to tell you to stop doing that. But, while I was doing all that, I also lurked around the forum and learned what was dangerous or ill-advised. It was like having a cheat-sheet.

I would encourage you to keep trying new things, but to search the forum whenever you have a new idea and see what other people have already learned. It just saves time and money and supplies in the end.

 

[Hope Ann]

I'm going to be the oddball here, in that
I jumped into Soapmaking without doing a year's worth of research or buying a bunch of books. I found a recipe and tried it. I learned how to use a calculator and made up my own recipes and tried things for myself.

I don't think you're an oddball. I only studied a couple months before my first batch, didn't buy any books until a couple years in, and rarely watch videos. I did however stalk this forum A LOT, along with other groups, so I had good basic recipes to start with. I frequently do searches on anything I'm interested in and take notes. I saved a lot of money and time as it helped me learn good formulation concepts. This forum is a treasure for new soapers if they take advantage of it.

Hope

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

The only reason why I studied as such is because the first recipe that I found used coffee as the liquid and my wife doesn't like the smell of coffee (not that it would have had too much of a coffee smell of course, but I didn't know that) so I got to thinking how does a soap recipe work so that I could replace it with something else.