Lye solution ended up being too cold.....is soap still okay?

[neeners]

So, I was kind of in a hurry today, and was making my lye solution (frozen goats milk and sodium hydroxide), and....apparently I was so worried about overheating the lye solution, I kept it way too cold. b/c I was in such a hurry, I put the lye solution in my RT oils. well, the oils started to seize, but I kept mixing with my mixer until all the oils were incorporated and added scents to it (citronella and peppermint).

I packed it into the mold before it got hard in the mixing bowl. it didn't gel (so far, i'm preferring gelled soaps...)

now, this is only my 4th time making soap, so still VERY new. is the soap still okay to use after a nice long cure time?

 

[neeners]

actually...just looked at the soap, and it's starting to gel! yay!

 

[shunt2011]

I've had my batter get thick but usually it will thin out once mixing. Maybe it was your FO that helped too? Also, looking at your recipe you might want to lower your coconut oil. It's pretty high and may make your soap to cleansing...it would be for me. I never use more than 20%-25%. I would add the difference to your olive oil. Glad it's gelling. I hate when soap seizes.

 

[AmyW]

Once you cut your soap, look for any unusual spots and holes that might indicate bits of lye that didn't incorporate. Did you notice if the lye solution was grainy/had undissolved lye?

First rule of soap making: safety, and that includes taking your time

 

[savonierre]

It should be fine, just check ir for zap as Amy said.

 

[judymoody]

Given your temperatures you probably initially got false trace which looks thick but grainy rather than pudding like. You did exactly the right thing - continuing to stir/SB. Once the chemical reaction begins, the mixture starts to heat up and thins out.

However, I agree that you must check your soap very carefully for lye crystals or pockets. The one time I experienced this problem was when my lye solution was too cold (I had been storing my distilled water in an unheated garage in winter). Especially if using frozen milk, it might be even more difficult to detect undissolved lye.

I hope it turns out well.

 

[neeners]

I cut the soap today, and didn't see any pockets. I was mixing my lye solution for a very long time, and made sure there was no undissolved lye. when I added the lye solution into the oils, I mixed and mixed (with the hand blender...thank god for those!), and just kept going. it did turn into pudding consistency, THEN I added the EOs...mixed even more. it was fairly clumpy when I put it in the mold, but still workable. It took a while for it to start gelling.

I think I got scared b/c the day before I did a batch of regular soap with RT distilled water, and was surprised at how hot it got. I had been working exclusively with goats milk (I have a milking goat at home...).

lesson learned!! ALWAYS check the temp of the lye solution!

Thanks for the input. i'll try to take a picture of it today.

 

[Missmoneypenny]

I ve just attended a one day course run by Melinda Coss and she now advocates just melting the oils together, or even just chopping the solid ones small and mixing to liquid ones, then mixing the whole
E lot with the lye solution whatever the temperature. It seems the whole thing about getting the two components to similar temperatures is not necessary. I was quite surprised. As I m a creature of habit I might just continue trying to match up temperatures.

 

[neeners]

^^ yes I've read that too, but I think the cooler lye solution made the RT oils coagulate like if you put oils in the fridge. i'll take pictures of the soap tonight and post them...

 

[Lidyax]

I soap at room temp most of the time, or I let the lye cool to around 100 degrees and mix with room temp oils. As long as the oils are liquid and not colder than room temp, I've never had seizing problems. All my seizing problems are caused by FO. I live in tropic though, so my room temp is around 85 degrees or more.


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[neeners]

Thanks Lidyax. That's where I am. my oils were nice and room temp, but I think my lye solution was around 60 degrees....

 

[neeners]

here's the cut soap. looks like it's legit, right?

 

[Ancel]

I soap at room temps too, and am also in the tropics, so room temp for both oils and lye is about 85. The only issue I've found is that if my oils are hotter than my lye it speeds everything up, by hotter I mean about 10 degrees or more. Nice soap!


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[Lidyax]

here's the cut soap. looks like it's legit, right?

Looks pretty to me!


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[PinkCupcake]

Pretty soaps! I usually soap pretty cool. My lye solution is usually between 80-90 degrees, and the oils are just warm enough so that the solid oils are liquid. I like it because I'm kind of a slow worker, and this gives me a little more working time. The only problem is that I like my soaps to gel, so I preheat my mold, then after pouring up the soap, I set it on a heating pad and insulate it well.

 

[shunt2011]

Your soap turned out lovely...nice colors and swirl.