It Was Bound To Happen Eventually...need advice...

[Jersey Girl]

Tried to do too many things at once this morning. Making an Easter dinner and a batch of soap kind of at the same time. I thought it was all going well but I was a little stressed out. Did a really nice in the pot swirl with coconut cream fragrance oil and some cocoa as the swirl color. The swirl was really awesome and I put a nice little swirl on the top as well. For a second I wondered why it didn’t fill the mold all the way, as it’s the same amount of oils I always use for this little 2 lb mold. Too much else was on my mind and I blew it off. I went to put it on a heating pad to encourage gel and came back to clean up. That’s when I saw it...my liquid oil’s still in the measuring cup.
I thought about throwing it all in the garbage but I decided to scoop it out of the mold and add the liquid oils. No more beautiful swirls but a light brown color. It seemed to Incorporate well and I even was able to stick blend it a little bit as it was still liquid enough to pour when it went in the second mold. I fancied up the top a little for the heck of it and it’s resting comfortably now. Does anybody have any experience with adding the liquid oils after this type of thing occurs and how it turned out?
The recipe was lard 30%, CO 20%, cocoa butter 15%, PO 10%, OO 20% and Castor 5% ( those were the 2 I added after it was molded the first time. They were only about 9.5 oz total.
Thanks for any feedback.

 

[TheGecko]

Tried to do too many things at once this morning. Making an Easter dinner and a batch of soap kind of at the same time. I thought it was all going well but I was a little stressed out. Did a really nice in the pot swirl with coconut cream fragrance oil and some cocoa as the swirl color. The swirl was really awesome and I put a nice little swirl on the top as well. For a second I wondered why it didn’t fill the mold all the way, as it’s the same amount of oils I always use for this little 2 lb mold. Too much else was on my mind and I blew it off. I went to put it on a heating pad to encourage gel and came back to clean up. That’s when I saw it...my liquid oil’s still in the measuring cup.

I thought about throwing it all in the garbage but I decided to scoop it out of the mold and add the liquid oils. No more beautiful swirls but a light brown color. It seemed to Incorporate well and I even was able to stick blend it a little bit as it was still liquid enough to pour when it went in the second mold. I fancied up the top a little for the heck of it and it’s resting comfortably now. Does anybody have any experience with adding the liquid oils after this type of thing occurs and how it turned out?

The recipe was lard 30%, CO 20%, cocoa butter 15%, PO 10%, OO 20% and Castor 5% ( those were the 2 I added after it was molded the first time. They were only about 9.5 oz total. Thanks for any feedback.

Considering that soft oils are 40% (35% Olive/5% Castor) of my recipe you would think that I wouldn't forget to add them in, but I did. In my defense, I was still tired from the night before and I had started making this particular batch the night before, but instead decided to cover the oils and lye solution and do it in the morning. And I just remelted what was in the bowl, added the lye, fragrance and color and poured it in the mold...a little fuzzy on why I didn't have as much soap in the mold as usual, but wrapped it and stuck it in the garage. Got all the hard oils/butters melted for the next batch, getting ready to measure in my Olive Oil and OH NO! Ran back into the garage, grabbed the mold towel and all, unwrapped it and...too late. It was hot as Death Valley in the summer and almost solid. I don't Hot Process or Rebatch so I scraped it out into a double bag and left it in the driveway.

Nice save. Nothing wrong with brown soap.

 

[Jersey Girl]

Considering that soft oils are 40% (35% Olive/5% Castor) of my recipe you would think that I wouldn't forget to add them in, but I did. In my defense, I was still tired from the night before and I had started making this particular batch the night before, but instead decided to cover the oils and lye solution and do it in the morning. And I just remelted what was in the bowl, added the lye, fragrance and color and poured it in the mold...a little fuzzy on why I didn't have as much soap in the mold as usual, but wrapped it and stuck it in the garage. Got all the hard oils/butters melted for the next batch, getting ready to measure in my Olive Oil and OH NO! Ran back into the garage, grabbed the mold towel and all, unwrapped it and...too late. It was hot as Death Valley in the summer and almost solid. I don't Hot Process or Rebatch so I scraped it out into a double bag and left it in the driveway.

Nice save. Nothing wrong with brown soap.

Well...it’s good to know I’m not the only one! Lol. Same as you, I was like...that’s odd...why didn’t it fill the mold? Distracted/tired soaping not good. Lol. I *think* it will be ok but will definitely be zap testing this one. It smells amazing between the coconut cream fo and the cocoa butter so there’s that.

 

[Chris_S]

Well...it’s good to know I’m not the only one! Lol. Same as you, I was like...that’s odd...why didn’t it fill the mold? Distracted/tired soaping not good. Lol. I *think* it will be ok but will definitely be zap testing this one. It smells amazing between the coconut cream fo and the cocoa butter so there’s that.

If it makes you feel any better i made a batch on Friday and got everything made up tucked it up to bed and about 2 hours later i was writing up the batch numbers for the oils and then i realised that i hadnt added the eo to the batter. i wouldnt normally care but ill be donating these to our amazing front line workers during this pandemic and i cant add or remove anything to the recipe and still legally donate. so i had to do a rebatch first time iv ever done one and i think i fudged that up aswell after 24 hours its still very very very soft and i defo cant take it out the moulds yet wish i had just left it alone now and sliced it and just had an unscented batch for myself to use

 

[Jersey Girl]

If it makes you feel any better i made a batch on Friday and got everything made up tucked it up to bed and about 2 hours later i was writing up the batch numbers for the oils and then i realised that i hadnt added the eo to the batter. i wouldnt normally care but ill be donating these to our amazing front line workers during this pandemic and i cant add or remove anything to the recipe and still legally donate. so i had to do a rebatch first time iv ever done one and i think i fudged that up aswell after 24 hours its still very very very soft and i defo cant take it out the moulds yet wish i had just left it alone now and sliced it and just had an unscented batch for myself to use

I forgot the FO too once and I’ve only been soaping for 2.5 months and now this. Lol. I guess it’s a rite of passage for us soapers! I’m sure it won’t be the last oops for me. I’m still at the point where I get kind of stressed during the process trying to have everything turn out as planned and as we all know...that isn’t always how it goes!

 

[Chris_S]

I forgot the FO too once and I’ve only been soaping for 2.5 months and now this. Lol. I guess it’s a rite of passage for us soapers! I’m sure it won’t be the last oops for me. I’m still at the point where I get kind of stressed during the process trying to have everything turn out as planned and as we all know...that isn’t always how it goes!

Oh yeah defiantly mistakes happen but iv been doing this for nearly 2 years and this has only happened to me once and that was only 10 bars not 52 so i was far more bothered by it this time than I was last time. my rebatch was just the second mess up just hope it does firm up enough wish id just left it all unscented and just used it for myself would of been much easier and tbh it smells lovely unscented too. i left one log untouched if i forget again ill just use it as unscented cba with the faff of rebatching

 

[Jersey Girl]

Oh yeah defiantly mistakes happen but iv been doing this for nearly 2 years and this has only happened to me once and that was only 10 bars not 52 so i was far more bothered by it this time than I was last time. my rebatch was just the second mess up just hope it does firm up enough wish id just left it all unscented and just used it for myself would of been much easier and tbh it smells lovely unscented too. i left one log untouched if i forget again ill just use it as unscented cba with the faff of rebatching

Oh dear! I can imagine your frustration. 52 bars is a lot. I really hope they harden up with a bit extra time. Some batches just need more time. Such a wonderful thing to do for the front line workers.

 

[Chris_S]

Oh dear! I can imagine your frustration. 52 bars is a lot. I really hope they harden up with a bit extra time. Some batches just need more time. Such a wonderful thing to do for the front line workers.

I dont normally make that much but bigger batches make it quicker and easier to sort for the donations. Im in the uk so i have to pay for assessed soaps so this was a prewritten on a chemist did so we could help and donate where possible but also allows us to sell aswell. ah well could be worse i suppose a few people helped out with olive oil because its 60% of the recipe and im also struggling to even find it at the moment just wish i could unmould the ones iv rebatches and leave them to harden on a shelf somewhere lol so i can get on with the next batch thats whats annoying me that i cant do another batch. Thats all i had planned today lol

 

[cedarstar]

I'm sure we've all done it. I forgot half my lye in a batch a few months ago. I didn't realize until it was already in the oven. I scooped it out, stick blended in the lye water and slammed it down. Thankfully all my colors were shades of blues and whites. I ended up with a nice blue soap. But I shredded it the next day and made a bunch of balls. It was supposed to be called frosted snowflake but ended up calling it frosted snowballs. It wasn't what I planned but it sure turned out pretty in the end.

 

[Jersey Girl]

So...here is the cut. Dark rim around the edges. I read this can happen with vanilla fragrances and although this is a coconut cream fragrance oil Bramble Berry says it has no vanilla content. Anybody know why this happens?

 

[DeeAnna]

The soap is changing color by being exposed to air or losing moisture or something. The bar will eventually all turn the same dark color as the rind is now. I've had this happen once with a batch colored with cocoa, but never since. I think it's kinda cool, actually.

 

[atiz]

It really looks very cool! Reminds me of smoked mozzarella or something...

 

[dotgiorgio]

I started wearing the Giorgio perfume when it came out in the early ’80s and it has been my favorite and most often worn fragrance since the ’80s. Sometime around 1992 I met and married, and believe me, it was not ONLY because his last name was Giorgio.

So now I’m into soapmaking. I really wanted to have some Giorgio scented soap and I finally found some Giorgio scented oil. I had a recipe that I wanted to use but it had a couple of kinds of oil that I didn’t have so I ordered them. As things are now, it took about a month to get all I needed, but finally I was ready to go! I am a new soapmaker and to this point, I only make soap for me & my family. Therefore, I was very careful to measure everything and follow the instructions exactly. The consistency was great so I was able to make some swirls and waves. I took it in to my office to let it cool. It looked great! (12 bar slab mold) I was standing patting myself on the back, then went back to the garage to clean up. The first thing I saw was my Giorgio oil still sitting there!! I ran & got my slab of soap, poured it out, added the Giorgio oil, mixed it in and re-poured.

It looks like it will be okay now, just not pretty. Now, instead of patting myself on the back, I am kicking myself.

 

[Jersey Girl]

The soap is changing color by being exposed to air or losing moisture or something. The bar will eventually all turn the same dark color as the rind is now. I've had this happen once with a batch colored with cocoa, but never since. I think it's kinda cool, actually.

Yes! First time I have had this happen too, but just like you said it’s all darkened to the same color and it’s only been several hours! Thank you!

 

[Jersey Girl]

I started wearing the Giorgio perfume when it came out in the early ’80s and it has been my favorite and most often worn fragrance since the ’80s. Sometime around 1992 I met and married, and believe me, it was not ONLY because his last name was Giorgio.

So now I’m into soapmaking. I really wanted to have some Giorgio scented soap and I finally found some Giorgio scented oil. I had a recipe that I wanted to use but it had a couple of kinds of oil that I didn’t have so I ordered them. As things are now, it took about a month to get all I needed, but finally I was ready to go! I am a new soapmaker and to this point, I only make soap for me & my family. Therefore, I was very careful to measure everything and follow the instructions exactly. The consistency was great so I was able to make some swirls and waves. I took it in to my office to let it cool. It looked great! (12 bar slab mold) I was standing patting myself on the back, then went back to the garage to clean up. The first thing I saw was my Giorgio oil still sitting there!! I ran & got my slab of soap, poured it out, added the Giorgio oil, mixed it in and re-poured.

It looks like it will be okay now, just not pretty. Now, instead of patting myself on the back, I am kicking myself.

Oh man.... I think we all have a story like this! I hope it turns out ok.

 

[Jersey Girl]

It really looks very cool! Reminds me of smoked mozzarella or something...

It does look like smoked mozzarella!

 

[penelopejane]

I started wearing the Giorgio perfume when it came out in the early ’80s and it has been my favorite and most often worn fragrance since the ’80s. Sometime around 1992 I met and married, and believe me, it was not ONLY because his last name was Giorgio.

So now I’m into soapmaking. I really wanted to have some Giorgio scented soap and I finally found some Giorgio scented oil. I had a recipe that I wanted to use but it had a couple of kinds of oil that I didn’t have so I ordered them. As things are now, it took about a month to get all I needed, but finally I was ready to go! I am a new soapmaker and to this point, I only make soap for me & my family. Therefore, I was very careful to measure everything and follow the instructions exactly. The consistency was great so I was able to make some swirls and waves. I took it in to my office to let it cool. It looked great! (12 bar slab mold) I was standing patting myself on the back, then went back to the garage to clean up. The first thing I saw was my Giorgio oil still sitting there!! I ran & got my slab of soap, poured it out, added the Giorgio oil, mixed it in and re-poured.

It looks like it will be okay now, just not pretty. Now, instead of patting myself on the back, I am kicking myself.

I used to do this too. Now, since i have lots of friends who want fragrance free soap, I just leave it and remake a new soap with the forgotten FO.

 

[missone]

I had this happen some years ago. (I’m not new to soap making either, 13+yrs) but I loved that look. It didn’t last but it was pretty while it did!

 

[mtinetti61]

I started wearing the Giorgio perfume when it came out in the early ’80s and it has been my favorite and most often worn fragrance since the ’80s. Sometime around 1992 I met and married, and believe me, it was not ONLY because his last name was Giorgio.

So now I’m into soapmaking. I really wanted to have some Giorgio scented soap and I finally found some Giorgio scented oil. I had a recipe that I wanted to use but it had a couple of kinds of oil that I didn’t have so I ordered them. As things are now, it took about a month to get all I needed, but finally I was ready to go! I am a new soapmaker and to this point, I only make soap for me & my family. Therefore, I was very careful to measure everything and follow the instructions exactly. The consistency was great so I was able to make some swirls and waves. I took it in to my office to let it cool. It looked great! (12 bar slab mold) I was standing patting myself on the back, then went back to the garage to clean up. The first thing I saw was my Giorgio oil still sitting there!! I ran & got my slab of soap, poured it out, added the Giorgio oil, mixed it in and re-poured.

It looks like it will be okay now, just not pretty. Now, instead of patting myself on the back, I am kicking myself.

I can't tell you how many times that's happened to me, lol..... sometimes the FO, sometimes the superfatting oil, sometimes both! It always turns out to be a fine soap, though. Good thing you were able to mix before the soap started to harden.

I signed on for 120 bars of beer soap (Guinness Stout to be exact) for my nephew's wedding (they're getting married in a brewery) It had to be done in 4 or 5 5# batches. The first 2 were OK and I used a new FO for the 3rd one, which siezed. I managed to glop it into the mold and smash it down but it is not cosmetically suitable for the wedding. I was so disgusted I almost threw it out, but it turned out to make interesting, organic looking bars and is a great soap, (and so will yours...) AND.... the wedding reception is postponed due to the virus so I have several months to make the soap...