Itchy after using homemade soap

[tespring]

But still wear your eye protection even with the stick blender. :?

I have gotten splashed in the face with my stick blender and it was the reason I went to a face cover instead of wearing just eye protection, the soap went up on my cheeks and in my mouth, thankfully, it only burned a little after rinsing. I would recommend not only eye protection, but a whole face mask for people that use a stick blender and a regular blender, this also helps from breathing the fumes. We really have to be safe in each of the different varieties of making soap, lye in the face is not fun. This is especially true for people that are short like me with normal height cabinets.

 

[SudsyKat]

Just a comment on the "floaters". They look like a little "skin" forming on top of the lye solution. I've been getting them lately and I also think they're just small amounts of soap forming from the small amount of oily or soapy residue that might have remained on the lye spoon or in the lye mixing container. I find that if I clean my container and utensils very meticulously, I don't get those floaters.

 

[PrairieCraft]

Uh-oh, I might be a dirty soaper. I usually just rinse the lye pitcher with really hot water and call it clean.

 

[soapbuddy]

Uh-oh, I might be a dirty soaper. I usually just rinse the lye pitcher with really hot water and call it clean.

Just as long as you didn't clean it with soapy water, you should be fine. I only rinse my lye pitcher out with water, since it doesn't get used for anything else.

 

[carebear]

Uh-oh, I might be a dirty soaper. I usually just rinse the lye pitcher with really hot water and call it clean.

Just as long as you didn't clean it with soapy water, you should be fine. I only rinse my lye pitcher out with water, since it doesn't get used for anything else.

ditto

 

[Bubbles Galore]

Uh-oh, I might be a dirty soaper. I usually just rinse the lye pitcher with really hot water and call it clean.

It's when you start chucking soaping spoons and other stuff into your jug that you have to wash scrupulously.

Being a dirty soaper does sound a bit naughty though.

 

[BakingNana]

Cool thread. Prairie, you crack me up!

Re: straining the lye...I strain when I am pouring from the container of 50% lye solution that has silk in it, so the blob of silk doesn't splat through. I found these really neat paint strainers at the hardware store. They are small disposable paper cones with a sort of cheesecloth-like bottom. They cost about 3 cents apiece so I don't feel so bad tossing them after 1 use.

 

[krissy]

Cool thread. Prairie, you crack me up!

Re: straining the lye...I strain when I am pouring from the container of 50% lye solution that has silk in it, so the blob of silk doesn't splat through. I found these really neat paint strainers at the hardware store. They are small disposable paper cones with a sort of cheesecloth-like bottom. They cost about 3 cents apiece so I don't feel so bad tossing them after 1 use.

i thought the blob of silk was supposed to be in the soap, all dissolved though?

i add my silk to the water then i stick blend the heck out of it until it is a pulpy layer on top of my water, then i add the lye. by the time i am ready to soap, the lye has dissolved all of the silk except there is this film on top that i thought was some of the silk. am i doing it wrong? :shock:

 

[carebear]

When I used silk I would joyt it into the water then pour the lye right on top of it. Stir til the lye dissolved then leave the spoon in the container weighingnthe silk blob down. When it was time to use the lye I would stir and use. Even if there was a silk blob in there still, it never showed up on the soap.

 

[BakingNana]

When I used silk I would joyt it into the water then pour the lye right on top of it. Stir til the lye dissolved then leave the spoon in the container weighingnthe silk blob down. When it was time to use the lye I would stir and use. Even if there was a silk blob in there still, it never showed up on the soap.

Neat methods. I'm lazy, tho. I don't like to mix lye at the time of soaping if I don't have to. I just have two jugs of 50% solution. One has a BIG blob of silk in the jug that I just leave in there. After sitting for a few days, the solution is thick and, ummmm, silky. Lazy, huh? If I want a batch with silk, I just use the solution with the silk in it. If not (vegan soaps) I just grab the plain solution jug. I can usually pour the silk one just fine into the pitcher I'm weighing, but when the jug gets low, I use the disposable strainer to get the last of the solution out without plopping out the blob. Holy cow, does that make any sense?

 

[guavaman]

15 days later...

So it's now about 20 days since I made the soap and time for an update... I tried it again on a limited area and again was plagued by uncomfortable irritation hours after using it. I don't think the soap is going to get any better. Something must have been wrong with the proportions. I'm thinking soapcalc's numbers for olive oil aren't accurate for pure Extra Virgin olive oil? (It doesn't specify when you choose olive oil.) Otherwise, I have no idea.

I'm considering heating the soap up until it's malleable, throwing it in the blender, and adding some lemon juice or some other mild acid which could counter any residual lye base. Not sure what else to do. Add more oil and wait a few more weeks?

As a first try, this wasn't too encouraging. I'm going to try CP olive oil soap next, but I'd REALLLY hate to go all in and cure something for 3 months only to have irritating soap after all that wait. Maybe I should up superfat to 10% on soapcalc just to be safe...

 

[soapbuddy]

Instead of adding lemon juice at this point, which could make it more irritating, why don't you shred it, rebatch it and add more oil? How much did you superfat originally? Is it possible that your scale was off or you calculations? SAP value of olive is around 184 - 196, so it won't matter whether you used pomace or extra virgin olive oil.

 

[guavaman]

How much did you superfat originally? Is it possible that your scale was off or you calculations? SAP value of olive is around 184 - 196, so it won't matter whether you used pomace or extra virgin olive oil.

Superfat was 5% (the default settings on SoapCalc.net). Not sure about the scale. It's brand new, digital, and pretty good quality so I doubt it's off (quite sensitive too).

Well, instead of lemon juice I crushed up a bunch of vitamin C tablets, heated the soap up, and added some water to dissolve. I tried it yesterday and it seems like its less irritating (didn't wake up in the night with an itchy or burning sensation), but still not perfect. I can still feel minor itchiness and or sharp pointy sensation at times on the areas washed in the soap. I'm gonna try melting it down and adding yet more C. Hey, vitamin C is supposed to be good for the complexion, right? Hehe.