mushi but in a weird way

[Erez]

Hi. Ive started making my CP soaps, made already a few batches and they keep getting this transperent gel like layer after getting wet. It's really not fun for the touch and doesn't dissolve well.

I don't take no glycerine out and I use only olive oil. Anyone has any Idea what makes it? How can i take it out?

Thanks

 

[RocknRoll]

How long are you letting it cure before use? A long cure time is best for olive oil soaps especially 100% OO. I have used mine too early (@ 3 weeks) and they tend to be a little "slimey" for lack of a better word and if they stay too wet after use, then they can get that mushy outer layer. I would cure it for at least 8 weeks but I have read that even longer than that is best. Just a thought.

 

[Erez]

Hi. I think I've let it cure for about 6-8 weeks. Perhaps more is needed cause it's winter time now?
Can anyone explain the curing process and what is that slimy layer? Doing the zap taste it aint alkylene at all so what exactly happens there after it's fully reacted?

thanks Erez.

 

[sistrum]

Looks like we need more info to help you out.

How much water did you add? When I make 100% OO soap I use a 40% lye solution.
What was your superfat?
What kind and where did you buy your olive oil? There are still some olive oils in stores that aren't really 100% OO even if they say so on the label.
Are you sure your soap reached trace?
When you measured was it on a good scale and did you use grams or oz.?
Did you add exactly the amount of lye that your lye calc. Told you to?

 

[new12soap]

A pure olive oil soap is a "castille" and should really cure for a minimum of 6 months, a year is better. In that time it will harden and the lather will improve a lot, but it will always be somewhat "slimy" and the soap will soften and get "mushy" if it does not drain well and dry out completely between uses. Even tho it no longer zaps that doesn't mean it is at its best.

I don't understand what you mean by "I don't take no glycerin out", and I don't know why you would want to. Glycerin is a byproduct of the saponification process, commercial soap manufacturers remove it so they can use it in the lotions and cosmetics they sell that you need to buy after their soap dries you out. I would have no idea how to remove glycerin from soap made at home, or to what purpose.

That slimy layer is just water-softened soap. If you do not like pure olive oil soap (and many people don't), try adding some coconut oil, lard, tallow, or palm to your recipe. Be sure to run any new recipe through a lye calculator. That will give you a harder bar with more lather that should be ready to use in 6-8 weeks.

 

[Erez]

mm.. ok. So I'm using a real OO which I know it's origin. I use grams and my lye is 50% water 50% caustic soda, when you say 40% is that for the lye or the water?
my superfat should be about 5%.
I asked for the glycerine because I thought maybe that is what absorbing the water in that way, happy to hear I was wrong.

So your saying that OO needs a year of curing? How does it differ between the types of oil? Is there a table for that?
Can someone shed more light on the curing process, I got the feeling it's bit more complex then just water evaporating out of the soap. Will it happen faster in a dry or hot room then?

thanks

 

[Ravenscourt Apothecary]

I found that making pure olive oil soap is a lot easier if you use hot process instead of cold. I made a batch of pure castille soap that way about a month and a half ago (no other oils added, no water discount, superfat 5%, scented with lavender EO), and am using a second bar of that batch - it is very, very hard and white in color. The lather is probably not at its best, but it does the job and cleanse well. If I am to make pure castille soap again I will definitely do it using hot process, or at least CPOP. Hope this helps!

 

[judymoody]

I have Castille that is nearly 2 years old and it still gets that slimy outer layer. Personally, I'm not a fan.

I recommend that you try 80% Castille with 20% coconut oil and see how you like it. The slime factor should go away.

 

[pamielynn]

all of the above plus a draining soap dish. Let it dry between uses.

 

[cmzaha]

mm.. ok. So I'm using a real OO which I know it's origin. I use grams and my lye is 50% water 50% caustic soda, when you say 40% is that for the lye or the water?
my superfat should be about 5%.

Your solutions is a 50% which is not recommended for most soapmaking due to impurities in the lye My tech grade lye is 99% pure according to the msds
Lye weight x 1.5 = 40% lye solution
Lye weight x 1.7 = 37% solutions which is what I usually use if I know the eo's and fo's I am using otherwise I go with
Lye weight x 1.8 = 35.7% solution which gives me some working room with colors and swirls

The more liquid added to your soap the more water to evaporate. If you truly soaped your OO. I recently used a bar of Castile I had put away the is over a year old and it was great. Now when I make castile soap I just put away a few bars for long aging.