Is this soap okay to use? Now with pics!

[orangeblossom]

This is the first time I made this recipe. It's a olive-coconut-palm soap with beeswax added to oils, finely ground oats and honey added at trace.

I did CPOP for the second time ever, this first batch was a different recipe and turned out fine.

This soap is sort of separated, but it looks mostl saponafied. The "white" looking streak along the bottom, is off-whte and saponifed. The top of the loaf is hilly with pools of off-white oily-soapy stuff on top of the brownish soap.

It's not powdery but it is a little oily. I think it looks fine for usage (but not for selling) but I wanted your opinions on the matter.

The only thing I can think of is that I poured the lye solution into the fats at a pretty high temp b/c of the beeswax, close to 150 degrees, which is about 50 degrees higher than I usually pour at.


I can't figure out how to upload a pic!
I finally did.........scroll down to find see the pics.

Any help out there?

 

[CPSoaper]

As long as there is no zap, I would think it would be O.K. for personal use but not for sale. It sounds like from your description that your soap may have heated up too much and the oils separated. My guess if this is the case that it was the honey in your recipe. Honey is a know accelerant. You can always rebatch it too but I would not sell it.

Can you post a picture and your recipe and amounts? That might help to better pinpoint your problem and how to avoid it in the future.

 

[orangeblossom]

I edited my first post because it is a little oily, but thick oily. And not powdery at all.

I'm still trying pictures. I really can't figure it out.

Here's the recipe:
7.25 oz. sodium hydroxide
1 lb. 3 oz. distilled water

1 lb. 5 oz. olive oil
1 lb. coconut oil
14 oz. palm oil
1.5 oz. beeswax

7 T finely ground oatmeal added at trace
3 T + 1 t honey warmed and added at trace

 

[orangeblossom]

I'm trying a picture again.

Yay! I figured it out!

Side view:



Looking down onto top:



Another side view:





Hope that helps!

 

[CPSoaper]

Putting your recipe into the soap calcs gets these numbers:

Hardness - 43
Cleasning - 20
Condition - 49
bubbly lather - 20
Creamy Lather - 23
Iodine - 50
INS 50

These numbers look pretty good. The soap calc numbers are not set in stone but can provide you with some guidelines until you figure out what numbers you like best in your soap. When running the recipe through MMS' calc, according to the amount of lye you used, you did about an 8% SF which can make the soap softer too. From the pictures, it does look like your mixture got too hot. My guess is that the honey caused it to heat up. when using honey, soap cooler, keep a fan on the mold or you can even put it into the fridge to keep it cool.

 

[orangeblossom]

Okay thanks.

I'm still trying to understand SoapCalc. I don't understand those numbers very well......or how to use them to help me. But thanks for looking it up for me!

So next time I should not use CPOP for a honey soap I guess!

Also, I use a wooden mold. For honey soaps, should I leave the top off?

I think I'm going to use it, because I think it looks usable. But when I cut it, I guess I'll watch out for any streaks of lye, but so far, I don't see any.

 

[CPSoaper]

When I soap with honey and my wood mold, I don't use the oven at all and try to not allow the soap to overheat. In time though, you will find what works for you. For me, I soap at RT or around no higher than 100, I do most of my blending/stirring by hand and use my SB as little as possible; and I don't wrap/insulate my mold at all. I will even keep it in front of a fan. When using my Kelsie mold, I will put that mold in the fridge but my wood mold is too big for the small fridge in my shop. So I usually try to use my kelsie when soaping any recipes with milk and/or honey in them so I can utilize the fridge.

 

[orangeblossom]

Okay, so I just reread this thread and forgot to ask: what does "zap" mean?

And I just cut the bars and there are pockets of what I assume to be oil, thick oil that does not move.

This has never happened to me in all the years I've made soap, but then again, this is my first crack at honey soap.

I don't know why, but I still think the bars look usable (for me and my family) but I'd still like some help with figuring this out. I've looked it up in books and online, and still can't figure it out.

 

[soapbuddy]

It's hard to say. The pockets could be; not incorporated lye, undissolved oil or butter, or possibly honey. If it has zap, (it tastes like a zing from a 9 volt battery), it's lye. If that's the case, I would rebatch it.

Irena

 

[Soapmaker Man]

Yea, i think definately got too hot with the honey. Honey is as bad, or worse, than milk to add heat during saponification.

Paul.... :wink:

 

[orangeblossom]

Okay, I hope you all don't think I'm stupid. I kept putting it to my tongue and had my husband do it too. I've never put a 9 volt to my tongue. I felt the slightest bit of tingling after a while and so I asked him to try (he's put a 9 volt to his tongue) He said the same thing only adding "maybe an almost dead 9 volt!"

So what do you think? Rebatch? I've never rebatched. But that's another thread!

 

[CPSoaper]

If you have any doubt about whether it has zap or not, I'd rebatch it.

To rebatch, I shred, grate or cut my soap in small pieces and put it in my crockpot. Some people will put the grated soap in boilable bags and melt it in hot water. I use my crockpot. Depending on how much moisture your soaps has in it will depend on whether you will need to add more liquid. When adding liquid, add smaller amounts (TBS) at a time to ensure you don't get too much liquid in the mixture - too much liquid can cause a longer cure time while the water evaporates or the soap may never really harden up completely.

 

[orangeblossom]

Thanks, that's a great idea.
I think I'll use my crock pot too.
(What's TBS?)

 

[CPSoaper]

TBS = Tablespoons

 

[Soapmaker Man]

When I HAVE to rebatch, I use the CP (crock pot) method too. Just set on low and low it do it's thing, stirring every 30 to 45 minutes. If it is a fresh batch, do as CPSoaper says, do not add any additional liquids. I like to add a touch of additional FO's or EO's, whatever scent I used, to bring the scent back to life. I will sometimes add my FO to a small bit of Castor oil, which will bring the super fat level up a tad, and this rebatch will be a better soap the second time around, guaranteed!

Paul.... :wink:

 

[tangled_panda]

I just learned a new way to rebatch and I love it!

What you do is make like a 50/50 solution of new and old soap.

Like if I am going to make 1 lb for example.

I get my fresh oils together to make 8oz of soap.
Put them in the crock pot and get them hot.
Then I add 8oz of my shredded soap to the oils and let them melt together.
I also use my stick blender a little to help it along.
Then I add my lye/water solution (just enough for the 8oz of new soap)
And process like I would if I was making a regular batch of soap.
I've only made one batch this way but I really like it. . .I'd post a pic but it will spoil part of the swap. . .lol

 

[Guest]

Oh how I hate rebatching lol