Messed up my first ever soap! Now what?

[Guest]

Hello everyone. I'm new here (just joined this evening). I made my first, um, I mean I attempted to make my first batch of soap this evening. After I was done and cleaning everything up I realized that I forgot to put one of my oils in the recipe! I was so worried about the whole lye mixing thing that I just missed it. I wondered why it reached a thick trace almost immediately. I poured it into a silicon tray mold that made about 12 bars.

My question is, what do I do now? It won't turn into soap will it? Can it be re-batched and if not, how to I dispose of it?

Thanks in advance. This is really a great forum!

 

[new12soap]

Hi, Sharryn, and welcome

Take a deep breath, everyone makes a mistake now and then!

First, how much oil did you leave out? If it was just a little bit of something, I would say go to a lye calculator and entered all the amounts you really used and a 0% superfat. If the lye amount is less than you used then yes you need to rebatch or it will be too caustic to use. Do a quick search for rebatch methods, and hopefully someone else with more experience will be along soon!

Has the soap set up yet? If it is still soft and liquid-y just dump it all back together, add the missing oil, and stick blend it into submission!

 

[Guest]

I put it in the mold and put it upstairs where the cats and dog can't get to it. I didn't have time to check before work so I'll check when I get home.

I missed putting in 10.5 oz. of coconut oils, which was over 1/3 of the oils for the recipe.

Thanks for your prompt reply! I guess my second batch won't be so stressful. The lye part had me pretty nervous, especially when I had to throw out the first mixing because I splashed cooling water into the lye pan.

It can only get better!

 

[green soap]

You can still save the batch if you rebatch or hot-process.

Wearing glove, grate all the lye heavy soap, put it in a double boiler with the oil you left out. Heat all together until all melted and you will get your soap back. This should take about an hour or so. The soap will take a translucent look when it is ready. I take a little bit of it and do a tongue test. If neutral (no zap) then you can put it into the mold. Usually, scoop into the mold rather than 'pour'. The look is rustic but the soap should be fine.

You can also do this in a warm oven (170F or so) or a crock pot.

Good luck with it.

 

[Guest]

Oh wow, that doesn't sound so bad. At least I won't have to mix lye this time :roll:

Thanks for your help. I really appreciate it.

 

[Fragola]

You are still mixing lye, which is mixed together into your soap.

 

[Guest]

Oh yeah I know that, what I mean is the initial mixing with the water where it gets hot and has to be cooled down. That part scares me. I'm sure I'll become more relaxed with each batch, but this isn't scaring me as much I should say.

 

[Guest]

I forgot to ask, does a rebatch soap have to cure the same as the original batch or is it considered more to be like a hot process soap and can be used once it's hardened?

 

[newbie]

If you HP it, it can be used once it has hardened, as it will no longer zap but it will benefit tremendously with a normal cure of 4 weeks or more. I think people who HP cure it, same as CP.

 

[new12soap]

I do HP and mine is usually very hard and ready for use in about 2 weeks, but it does continue to improve with age.

 

[green soap]

Yes, mine too. 2 weeks is good usually for my HP batches.

My regular recipe CP soaps need 4=6 weeks. Some even longer.

 

[Guest]

Yes, mine too. 2 weeks is good usually for my HP batches.

My regular recipe CP soaps need 4=6 weeks. Some even longer.

Yikes, maybe I should look into learning HP too in case I run low on soap : )

Thanks to everyone for your helpful advice. This is really a great forum!