My First Attempt...

[Badger]

So, my first attempt at CP soap was not a great success and I am not sure what went wrong. The only thing I can think of is it might have been the tap water was too hard. I bought distilled water and promptly forgot to use it. The soap does not cut, it crumbles and shatters... I have no idea if anything of it is salvageable. It is still giving a mild tingling when I do a zap test and that is after two days. I am not sure if my scale is inaccurate or I measured something wrong... but I at least got a feel for how things were done.

I will be trying something easier and more difficult next try... I will use just one oil, but will also play with color and fragrance with it.

And here is the pic of the partially cut, crumbled mess...

 

[melstan775]

My guess is lye heavy. That would be why it still zaps and maybe why it crumbled. You did weigh your ingredients, not measure them right? Also did you line your mold? If its a Pringles can aluminum reacts badly with lye.

 

[jcandleattic]

Yep, sounds like it's a bit lye heavy.
I have a reverse osmosis filtration system for my tap and I am still leary of using it. I will when we run out of drinking water (I never drink from the tap, we always buy from a windmill that is filtered pure water) but otherwise I will soap with the drinking water, because our tap water is so hard.

 

[Badger]

Yeah, I did weigh my ingredients instead of measuring them. I am not sure how I ended up lye heavy unless the scale is off (which is possible sadly, I did not buy a great scale and should have spent more money to get a better one and the fact that I spilled oil on it before measuring my lye likely did not help it at all).

 

[hlee]

Oh no. Sorry your first one didn't work out so great but don't give up.
I had great luck my first few but have also had a few not so great ones.
I think I'm up to about my 20th batch and though I have not had the crumby problem I have had others.
The soap I made last night is oozing fragrance from the top. I think it overheated as I used some chocolate for color and forgot that would heat it up.
Hang in there and try again!

 

[Shannon_m]

This is EXACTLY what happened to my first batch. It's lye heavy. Make sure you go over your calculations and make sure your recipe calls for NaOH and not KOH. (that was my mistake..)

BTW - It is salvageable as a laundry soap. Don't throw it away..

 

[Sammi_552]

Oh Badger I'm so bummed for you. I hope your next batch goes better!

 

[lizflowers42]

You can only go UP from here Badger Shred it up and make laundry soap out of it or shred it, put it in a crock pot with additional oil and a splash of liquid and rebatch it. Don't let it go to waste!

What recipe did you end up using?

 

[ruby61]

It probally was the water or lye heavy.

 

[Badger]

I used the second one I posted in my recipe post when I asked for suggestions. I am not discouraged yet and learned through the process, so I am happy I was wondering about making laundry soap and I am glad I will be able to salvage this and use it for that Anyone have recipes for how to use it? ;-)

 

[Moonshea Botanicals]

"If first ya don't succeed, try, try again!" LOL *shakes her pom poms* (Was in Kickline, kinda like a second string Cheerleader)

 

[danahuff]

Your next batch will be great. We all have made problem soap. Heck, the soap I did in my video yesterday was a disaster! I am not totally sure what happened, but I suspect false trace (which is ironic because I discussed false trace in the video). Anyway, I feel your pain! We all do!

 

[chicklet]

Just think of how much you've learned! I went back to look for your recipe and did find a post where you were saying how much oil you were going to use, but I didn't see the lye and water amounts posted. It might help to figure out what happened if you post the whole recipe you used. You are definitely not alone - sometimes people forget to add certain ingredients, some get mixed up when they weigh, etc. Getting used to setting the scale back to 0 every time I added oils to the pot was kind of tricky for me. Get back on that horse and make another batch - I'm sure it will be great.

 

[Shannon_m]

I used the second one I posted in my recipe post when I asked for suggestions. I am not discouraged yet and learned through the process, so I am happy I was wondering about making laundry soap and I am glad I will be able to salvage this and use it for that Anyone have recipes for how to use it? ;-)

I found this on SoapQueen.com

Whoops! Something went wrong while making a batch of soap so to be on the safe side, you test the pH level and discover it’s lye heavy. Don’t toss the soap just yet! Laundry soap is a great way to use up a soap that may have otherwise gone to waste.

1 Cup Baking Soda
½ Cup Washing Soda
1 Cup Shredded soap (a meat grinder or a vegetable grater work for this task but wear gloves if the soap is lye heavy

 

[chicklet]

I've used that mixture for laundry detergent before - it works great. I shred my soap using a box grater or cheese grater, then I let it air dry a few days like that, then I run it thru a food processor to make a fine poweder. More steps than necessary,of course, but just letting you know.

 

[lizflowers42]

I use 1 cup shredded soap, 1 cup Borax, and 1 cup washing soda. Then with each wash a scoop of generic oxy-clean from Kroger to help with brightening. Home made laundry detergent does not have the optical brighteners that store brands do.

Your soap is a nice pretty white soap though!

 

[Badger]

Thank you all for the suggestions, I will see if I can find the baking soda and washing soda at the grocery store. Maybe something for me to do tomorrow... Also, thank you all for the encouragement, I appreciate it and it is nice to know that I am not the only one that has screwed up batches

 

[Cherry Bomb]

Awe Badger! That stinks!!!!! I am sorry that happened but I am glad it was a learning experience for you. Your next batch will be awesome! I just know it!!!! I did the lather recipe from soap queen my first attempt and it was great! Easy and nice. This time I have a new recipe and I'm gong to try color!!! Good luck on your next batch!!!!!

 

[chicklet]

And not to go against some of the good advice you've been given (which is exactly what I'm going to do but hopefully I'm doing it respectfully): I wouldn't make an all olive oil batch just yet. One of the most exciting parts about making soap is actually using it. You're going to have to wait a long time before that olive oil soap is ready to use. Or you'll use it too soon and will hate it. Just using one oil might be a little more simple to make, but it's really not tricky to use 3 or even 4 oils. I had read about people forgetting to add oils (like maybe they measured it out but left it in the microwave or something) so I started doing this pretty early in my soap making and I still do it - I have my recipe on paper and I check off each oil with a pen after I add it to my soap pot. Also, and you may already do this, I push the button on my scale to measure everything in grams instead of in ounces. When you measure in grams you can get so much more accuracy. Just a couple more things for you to think about as you plan your next batch.

 

[melstan775]

Do you have hard water? If so add 1/2 cup to 1 cup of borax to your laundry formula, it really helps soften the water. Excited to see what you do next, isn't it your weekend plan to make soap? Shannon made a great point about making sure you're using Noah in soap calc so double check and let us know what you do next!