Just finished my second batch and I think there is a problem

[queennikki]

SO I am really new to soap making. I just made my second batch and I tried a new recipe I used 50% olive oil, 20% coconut oil, 20% palm oil and 10% shea butter. The fragrance I added was plumeria which is supposed to accelerate the soap. I think I may have under mixed it but I did use a hand blender. The soap has clear color in some parts with white spots intermixed. I just want to ask what went wrong and also to figure out if it is safe to use.Any Help would be Appreciated! Thanks!

 

[houseofwool]

Please post your entire recipe, in weights not percentages, and your process that way we can troubleshoot.

I'm not seeing anything catastrophic, but would like more information before I hazard a guess.

 

[queennikki]

I used 5.4 oz of coconut oil. 5.4 oz of palm oil. 2.7 oz of shea butter, 13.5 oz of oil ice oil, 3.75 oz of lye and 8.9 oz of water. There was also 1.6 oz of fragrance oil. I let my lye water cool till it was about 90 F and my oils were slightly lower than that. I added them together and mixed till there were no oil streaks but still very loose. I then hand mixed in the fragrance oil and poured it into the mold.

 

[penelopejane]

I think you might have soaped too cool for coconut oil and shea butter. You need to have these melted and very warm if you are using cold lye and cold OO to make sure they incorporate when you mix.

 

[queennikki]

So If they weren't incorporate is it still ok to use or do I need to rebatch it or something?

 

[Barbsbreakingbath]

So If they weren't incorporate is it still ok to use or do I need to rebatch it or something?

Sorry, I made a whole 3 batches to your two, but maybe you want to chech "Hot process hero" on Soap Queen TV? She gives pretty detailed instructions on when and how a soap can be saved by hot processing. She says it has to be 24 hours, though.

 

[earlene]

Does it zap?

How long has it been since you put it in the mold?

Caution: lye can etch glass. I would advise against using your good pyrex (or whatever brand that is I see in the picture above.)

 

[queennikki]

I just put it in the mold 24 hours ago so it hasn't been too long so i didn't check if it zapped yet. I bought the pyrex on sale for this purpose so I am not that concerned if it gets a little dinged up.

 

[IrishLass]

I just put it in the mold 24 hours ago so it hasn't been too long so i didn't check if it zapped yet. I bought the pyrex on sale for this purpose so I am not that concerned if it gets a little dinged up.

Getting dinged up is one thing, and if that were the only problem, that would be okay, but shattering is quite another........

Several soapers who used to use Pyrex have reported that their pitchers/bowls shattered on them while mixing their soap or their lye solution in them, because of the lye having etched the glass enough over time and weakening it to the point that the slightest stress put upon it (such as heat from soaping) was enough to cause it to break.

Glass is pretty strong, but it has it's kryptonite, so to speak, in chemicals that are highly alkaline such as lye, and highly acidic such as hydrofluoric acid, each of which corrode glass over time to the point that it actually changes the chemical makeup of the glass and turns it into a weaker substance. I always say that soaping in glass is like playing Russian Roulette. You never know when it's going to go kaboom.

PP #5 or HDPE #2 plastic, Nalgene, and/or stainless steel are much better options.


IrishLass

 

[Dahila]

I found the way to keep it fluid. In the morning I put the jars with oils into microvawe for 4, 5, 6 minutes, Then take the coffee upstairs, After I finish my huge cup of coffee the oils are perfect temps.
I agree with others that your oils were not fluid.........

 

[queennikki]

Is the soap salvageable or should i just discard it? Also I normally use HDPE but i needed the small ones to do a design on the top.

 

[topofmurrayhill]

Is the soap salvageable or should i just discard it? Also I normally use HDPE but i needed the small ones to do a design on the top.

If it doesn't zap or have lye pockets, it's safe to use.

 

[Susie]

I would not zap test that soap until I had cut it, found no lye pockets, and let it cure a week. Just in case.

When you say you mixed it, did you use a stick blender, or a hand mixer? If the former, then awesome. If the latter, get the former before the next batch. You will thank yourself.

Also, you need not be so very careful of temperatures of the oils and lye water if you are not swirling.

Oh, and welcome to the forum!

 

[penelopejane]

I would not zap test that soap until I had cut it, found no lye pockets, and let it cure a week. Just in case.

When you say you mixed it, did you use a stick blender, or a hand mixer? If the former, then awesome. If the latter, get the former before the next batch. You will thank yourself.

Also, you need not be so very careful of temperatures of the oils and lye water if you are not swirling.

Oh, and welcome to the forum!

Yes Susie
The temperature difference isn't so important but the temp of the hard oils (especially Shea) is when they go into the other oils. They have to be really warm to make sure they won't go solid again when they hit cold oil. I then mixed thoroughly before adding the lye. Isn't that the case?

 

[Susie]

Yes Susie
The temperature difference isn't so important but the temp of the hard oils (especially Shea) is when they go into the other oils. They have to be really warm to make sure they won't go solid again when they hit cold oil. I then mixed thoroughly before adding the lye. Isn't that the case?

That is so. However, most newbies are overly concerned with cooling their oils and lye/water to certain temperatures. This need not be so unless they are attempting to do swirls demonstrated in the videos they have watched. Even people on this forum stress soaping cool in order to do swirls. Newbies have no idea that they don't need to stress out about soaping cool unless they are swirling.

Yes, OP, be sure your oils are completely melted and warm enough to stay that way.

 

[kyliecoast]

The white patchiness could be excess lye, but it could be one of the benign problems too, like soda ash, stearic acid, poorly mixed titanium dioxide or other colours, etc. To be sure that the soap is safe always test the PH. You can buy litmus paper from eBay for under $2 or you can buy a PH meter which is more accurate. I prefer litmus paper for bar soaps and a PH meter for liquid soaps, but the litmus paper under-reports by a PH level of 1 (e.g.: if your litmus paper says the soap is PH 9 it is really PH 10, etc). I hope this helps.

 

[Susie]

pH strips are absolutely useless when it comes to soap, unless you buy the professional lab quality ones and dilute the soap properly. Save your money. Zap testing is free and easy. Just wait a bit in this case.

 

[shunt2011]

^^^
Susie is so right. Save your money and don't bother with PH strips. This has been discussed ad nauseum on this forum. Zap testing is the easiest, most cost effective way to know if your soap is safe or not. I usually wait at least 24 hours or so before doing though.

 

[penelopejane]

I am a chicken and have never zap tested a soap. I just cure for 8 weeks minimum, usually 10. Castile a year minimum.
Luckily I don't make HP soap!