Lye Pockets/Rebatching Advice

[ClassicCastille]

Hello and Thanks in Advance for any help you can offer!

I made my first yogurt soap a couple of weeks ago, and long story short, I'm pretty sure there were a few very small undissolved lye flakes in my yogurt and water solution (they were frozen). I believe I just discovered a very small lye pocket just below the surface. I poked it with a toothpick, and there was liquid inside. I'm quite sure my recipe was balanced. There was no fragrance or color added.
My questions are:

1. If the lye pockets are very small, might they absorb during curing?

2. Do I have to rebatch with heat? Can I just shred it, wet it, and mix the hell out of it?

3. I want to retry the recipe, but add the yogurt to my oils. Can I add the rebatch batter to the new recipe batter to make a double batch?

4. The recipe has honey in it, and it was ungeled. Will rebatching with heat mess it up?

Thanks again if you can help with any of these questions. Sorry if my thinking is a little out there - I'm just dreading rebatching the traditional way.
My recipe was 85% Olive, 15% Sunflower, with honey and yogurt. Soaped at room temp and ungeled.

 

[Obsidian]

1. Not really sure, you can wait and see what happens. How big was the pocket and did you try to zap test?

2. Yes, you need to rebatch with heat. Wetting and smashing might work ok but I would worry the soap could fall apart if it got a bit wet in the shower.

3. Really not the best idea, best to keep them separate

4. At worse, the heat will darken to soap a little. Just be patient when rebatching and use low heat


When did you add the honey? If it doesn't get mixed in really well it can make pockets too. Was there any discoloration around your spot?

 

[ClassicCastille]

Thanks for your comment!

I added the honey to my oils snd stick blended. It seemed to settle a bit on the bottom though. It looked normal around the spot.
I did touch the toothpick to my tongue and didn't feel anything, but it was a very small amount. The spot was about the size of the head of a pin.

 

[Seawolfe]

Thanks for your comment!

I added the honey to my oils snd stick blended. It seemed to settle a bit on the bottom though. It looked normal around the spot.
I did touch the toothpick to my tongue and didn't feel anything, but it was a very small amount. The spot was about the size of the head of a pin.

If that was lye heavy even that small amount would zap for sure

 

[ClassicCastille]

Hmmm... Maybe I'll just wait and see. I'm always paranoid about having lye pockets hidden in my bars.

 

[Obsidian]

This is why I never mix my lye with frozen anything, it only goes in water. If I want to use additives like milk or fruit puree, I blend it into the oils.

 

[cmzaha]

As Obsidian mentioned do not mix lye with frozen or at least not without more experience. I do happen to mix frozen gm with lye, but it is a very slow process to make sure all lye is dissolved. I always heat my honey and stick blend it into my warm oils. I do not get any leakage from the honey even when my soap batter cools back down.

 

[shunt2011]

I don't mix my lye with anything frozen either. Water only.