Is this true?

[new12soap]

When you mix or store your lye make sure you are using heat and chemical resistant plastic. Heavy HDPE or PP (code 2 or 5 on the bottom).

YES THE LYE CAN HURT YOU!!!

A heat burn and a chemical burn both hurt like the devil at the very least and can be very serious at worst. Even at room temperature the lye concentrations used for soap must be handled VERY carefully. ALWAYS wear eye protection, gloves, long sleeves, and shoes when soaping (and no, pants are not optional either!), you want your skin protected from splashes. I buy inexpensive chemical resistant gloves at the hardware store. If you do get a splash rinse immediately with cold running water.

Lye can be handled safely, don't be afraid of it, but understand it and respect it.

Yes, soap can be used as soon as saponification is complete, as others have said the best way to test it is the zap test, but it takes anywhere from 24 hours up to a week. It depends on your recipe, temperature, gel, a lot of things. Even though it is safe I have always found any recipe to be very harsh when used right away. Cure is NOT just about water evaporating.

Take a deep breath and make some soap!

 

[Dorymae]

Thank you, Earthen

So the lye can't hurt you at this point?

Lye can still hurt you. Lye is an extreme base, like acid is an extreme acid. Hot acid is very dangerous, but cold acid can be just as dangerous.

If you do splash lye on you wash it quickly with running water. Just water and be sure it is all rinsed away.

Always wear gloves and eye protection when making soap. After 24 hours, after the soap has hardened you can handle the soap without gloves, but be sure to wash your hands well afterward. Handling small amounts this way won't hurt you, however if you handle several loaves you will find your hands may get red, dry and sore if you don't wash them or wear gloves.

 

[lillybella]

ok so after 24 hours the lye can't hurt you?

Can you tell I'm hung up on this? :grin:

Thank you SO MUCH Earthen & New :clap:

 

[Seawolfe]

Freshly mixed lye can burn you with temperature and chemically, pre-mixed (master batched) lye can still burn you chemically. Just wear gloves and sleeves and goggles around it, and just let the tap slowly run water into the containers after you pour the lye into the water or soap. All lye containers or drops can be made safe with simple dilution.

While you can use soap safely right after it stops zapping (usually after it hardens nicely and you've cut it - 24-72 hours), it is much much much better after 4-8 weeks. Go ahead and test this for yourself. Have you ever made beer or wine? While you CAN drink it right after bottling, nobody recommends that. Better to let it rest a while and it becomes much better.

 

[Earthen_Step]

ok so after 24 hours the lye can't hurt you?

Can you tell I'm hung up on this? :grin:

Thank you SO MUCH Earthen & New :clap:

The original quote you had is talking about after mixing the lye with oil. While you mix and by the time you get to full trace, from what I have read you are above 90% done with the chemical process. After that happens it continues the next 12-24 hours and your soap is now soap. After all of that and you are ready to cut, it is safe to touch. It's still not the most gentle mild soap in the world but it shouldn't hurt you -- as long as you are not lye heavy. If you use a calculator and have an access of oils with a superfat % you should be good to go. I would not go below 3% superfat, especially if you have a cheaper scale. I go 5% or higher with all my soaps and cure for 30+ days, usually 60+.

Here is the calculator I use, and many others here.
http://soapcalc.net/calc/SoapCalcWP.asp

 

[Dorymae]

ok so after 24 hours the lye can't hurt you?

Can you tell I'm hung up on this? :grin:

Thank you SO MUCH Earthen & New :clap:

It is okay to clarify, after 24 hours of being mixed with the proper amount of oil the lye can't hurt you. To be sure it is totally safe, after 24 hours zap test by putting your tongue on the soap. (Yes really) if you get a zap, like a mild shock- but a shock! Then the soap is not ready and you should wear gloves to handle it. If it just tastes like soap or there is a tingle then you are good to go. Zap is unmistakeable, it is not a tingle and although it doesn't hurt it is uncomfortable and immediate.

 

[IrishLass]

Is this true?
The curing process is just allow the soap to dry out, giving you a nice hard bar.

As the others have said, this is only partially true. While evaporation is taking place to make the bar harder and longer-lasting, residual chemical reactions are still going on inside the matrix of the soap post-saponification/post-zap. These micro-reactions help to improve the soap's lathering abilities, and also help to drop the pH a little and mellow things out so that the soap becomes gentler over time (as bubbly and gentle as the parameters of your particular formula will allow).

I kind of liken the soap curing process to the ripening of the oranges on the trees in my back yard. They're perfectly edible enough to pluck and eat in late December, but if I hold my horses and wait until January/February to start picking them, they are incredibly much sweeter and juicier, and much more delightful to eat.

Needless to say, I wait until January/February to start using my oranges....and by the same token, I wait a good 4 to 6 weeks before using my soap. I've found that my 1 week old soap can't hold a candle to my 4-6 week old soap.

As I often say- one can use their soap as soon as it doesn't zap, but since it's so much better in a few week's time, why would one want to?

Do I wash or wipe out the lye pitcher after I mix the lye?

I just rinse mine out well with tap water. I don't even use soap on it since lye solution is a type of cleanser in its own right.

Can I mix the lye up a day ahead of time in a plastic picture? Can I keep the top on the pitcher or will it explode?

Yes-. I do this all the time. I make up a large master-batch lye solution in a plastic pitcher made of PP#5 plastic (you can find the recycle code in the triangle on the bottom of the plastic) and cover it until it cools, then I store the cooled solution safely for months and months at a time in a tightly covered HDPE plastic container (actually, a reclaimed landry detergent bottle with a drip-proof lip).

Like xraygrl said, just remember to weigh everything, including the empty container and cover, before and after mixing the solution so that you'll know how much water has evaporated during mixing and can replace it if need be.

Be aware , though, that not all plastic is safe to use with lye. The best plastics to use are nalgene, polypropylene #5 (PP#5), and HDPE #2, though HDPE #2 is only heat resistant to 190F (which is why I only use it to store my cooled-down solution instead of mixing the solution in it).

Stainless steel is also very good.

Try to stay away from these plastics: PETE #1, or Polystyrene (PS, #6), which are not heat or alkali resistant. I used PETE #1 once and the lye solution ate away at my container and leaked out.

Also, as the others have said, it's best to steer clear of glass.


IrishLass

 

[MarisaJensen]

I have only made Hot Process soap....... OK , I did a search and discovered that soap is safe to use 24 - 48 hours after making, BUT needs several weeks to cure to get harder and perform as a soap should. Wow...maybe I should make me some CP soap!

You still have to cure CP should be cured as well. Both HP and CP should be cured for a nice bar.

Technically you can use your soap if it passes a zap test but the soap will be so much better after several weeks of cure.

 

[lillybella]

All this valuable information & great tips - Thank you ALL so much!

 

[JuneP]

Question about master lye batching water amount

Irish Lass, and others who master master lye batches. How do you handle the problem of having to account for added water in colorants, TD, etc?

June

Yes-. I do this all the time. I make up a large master-batch lye solution in a plastic pitcher made of PP#5 plastic (you can find the recycle code in the triangle on the bottom of the plastic) and cover it until it cools, then I store the cooled solution safely for months and months at a time in a tightly covered HDPE plastic container (actually, a reclaimed landry detergent bottle with a drip-proof lip).
solution in it).




IrishLass

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Irish Lass, and others who master master lye batches. How do you handle the problem of having to account for added water in colorants, TD, etc?

June

Most people master batch a 50% lye solution - I don't think anyone would use a 50% solution alone in soaping, that just isn't enough water. The extra water needed can be added in as plain water, milks, infusions, colours and so on.

 

[IrishLass]

Ditto what the good Gent said.

Although I make a 50/50 lye solution as my master-batch, I add enough other liquid to it to dilute my solution down to anywhere between a 28% to 40% lye solution (depending on my formula) when I actually go to make my soap.

Sometimes I use some of that extra water to mix with my colorants, but mostly I've been using vegetable glycerin for that purpose as of late.

In any case, though, the amount of extra liquid needed to mix with my colorants is so miniscule in the bigger scheme of things that I don't even include it as part of my liquid calculations.

IrishLass

 

[SpringLily16]

You still have to cure CP should be cured as well. Both HP and CP should be cured for a nice bar.

Technically you can use your soap if it passes a zap test but the soap will be so much better after several weeks of cure.

Thanks so much for the info....a person can ALWAYS learn new things every day no matter how old you get. What a wonderful sharing forum!

 

[lillybella]

50/50 lye solution as my master-batch

This must be advanced!

This is the best group! Thank you all.