My first batch stinks!! help?

[mbeachysoap]

@Melstan775 .. yes you are right, I have learned that the hard way. I was too excited but have learned alot through this forum.. and to be patient..thanks. @Rodeogal .. I used 5% for my superfat and brambleberry I have just learned has one too .. good idea .. thanks. @Green soap .. I will definately wait as the smell is already fading but it is very soft still. I was worried that the chemical reaction spoiled the almond butter. You all have been very helpful and it helps to know I'm not the only one that had the funky smelling soap lol .. maybe I can be good at this in time. Thank you

 

[mbeachysoap]

@Judymoody .. I was under the impression you needed (via you tube videos) multiple oils. My main oil supply is oo and coconut oil (from walmart..lol) and I am glad to hear I can do this with just the two oils (or even just one). Headed out to get the stick blender today.. def waiting it out to see what happens with my "stinky soap".... want to get the CP soap making under my belt before venturing on to rebatching...thanks

 

[marghewitt]

I would do nothing and see if the smell improves as it cures. I have had two batches that smelled aweful on day I made them but smelled fine after several weeks and even when used. You never know. I also never use Extra Virgin Olive Oil (it has an odor I don't like) but just a good regular olive oil.

 

[mbeachysoap]

@marghwitt .. oh thank you lol I dont like the extra virgin oo smell at all .. good to know the regular smells better as I was headed out to buy some not knowing if it did. Not sure if you saw my earlier posts but yes the bad smell is fading. Thanks for your input

so glad I joined this forum

 

[2lilboots]

I love the pomace olive oil. But it does trace a lot faster than using regular oo. I cannot find it at my local wallyworld, I have to order it from soapers choice. Although my boss told me that I can order oils thru them at their cost, so I will be doing that from now on.

 

[LisaM]

Hi Ladies, I also had a question about super-fatting. When you do up a recipe and say you want to superfat at 8% you list in all your oils, and the recipe will calculate how much water and lye and all amounts you need.

Now, in that recipe does the calculater just figure less lye, and you hold out some of those oils you listed to add after trace, and how do you know how much hold out and to figure on adding back in after.

or...

You do up your recipe, the calculator figures it out. Then after trace you decide to add a superfat (that was not calculated into the recipe with the calculator)? and again, how much do you know to put it without ruining your soap or making it too soft or rancid, etc. ????? Thanks

 

[Kansas Farm Girl]

LisaM you can change the SF % in the calculators. It you want 8% rather than 5, just change that. Put all your oils in the pot in the beginning and add your lye water. If you used 8% SF the calculator will figure it out and give you 8% less lye than it would have it you had used 0%. For example, if the recipe called for 10 oz (to make this easy) of lye at 0% SF, it would give you 8% less or 9.2 oz of lye for an 8% SF. There would be enough lye in the soap to react to 92% of the oils, thus leaving 8% of the oil un-saponified. Lye is not picky, it will not recognize that the oil you put in at trace is supposed to be left for your SF, it will eat some of that up too. And it will leave some of your "regular" oils un-saponified also. Putting the SF oil at trace does not mean the lye will leave it alone and ignore it. I put my SF oil with all the other oils and don't have a problem. Saponification does not happen at trace, it happens in the next 24 hours or so while your soap is setting up and gelling if you let it gel, and by then it is too late to mix in other oils. There are formulas that you can find on line to calculate you own SF, but it's so much easier to let the tools do it for you once you understand what it is doing for you.



I hope this helps you understand how SF works.

 

[mbeachysoap]

Ok Im just confused over the super fatting .. I feel stupid, Im so sorry.. but I just dont get it .. how do you know how much oil to add at trace? .. do you deduct the sf % amount from the beginning ingredients (oils) after its entered in the calculator or is this extra oil that isnt used in the ingredients listed in the calculator?

 

[Trxflyer]

Ok Im just confused over the super fatting .. I feel stupid, Im so sorry.. but I just dont get it .. how do you know how much oil to add at trace? .. do you deduct the sf % amount from the beginning ingredients (oils) after its entered in the calculator or is this extra oil that isnt used in the ingredients listed in the calculator?

In Cold Process soap making, you don't add the 'superfats' at trace the way you would with Hot Process soap making.

In Cold Process soap making, the saponification process happens over time not just in the initial mixing process. You don't withhold ingredients or deduct % or amounts. You add all the oils, fats, butters, etc that you have listed in your soapcalc list or recipe, at the same time with your lye water. The lye will saponify over time with all available fats simultaneously. The amount of fats you have greater than what the lye can saponify is your superfat %.

 

[mbeachysoap]

OMG! That was my problem .. I watched so many videos I must have got the two confused .. (hot and cold process) so at trace is when I can add the essential oils and fragrances .. not more oils. Wow, I feel like an idiot. Thank you so much. Back to the kitchen! Im so excited now ... Thanks again !!

 

[new12soap]

"Superfat" and "lye discount" are used interchangeably, and even tho they are not identical they are pretty close. Sap values (how much lye it takes to turn a certain oil into soap) are averages. Different calculators will give you slightly different amounts of lye. That is part of why you need to have some superfat in your recipe, to allow yourself a cushion so you don't end up with too much lye. No soap is moisturizing, but yes a bit of extra oil in your soap can help with conditioning and make the soap feel less harsh. A superfat or lye discount just means that you are not turning every last molecule of oil into soap, you are turning most of it into soap and leaving a little bit of oil left over. Depending on what oils you use, how your water is, your skin type and your personal preference, over time you will learn how much superfat you like. I recommend starting with around 5%, that gives you enough cushion to be safe and should be fine for smaller batches.

It does not matter at all when you add the oils. You do not need to withhold oils to add after trace, there is no math involved at all, just plug your numbers into the lye calculators of your choice and make soap. LisaM I would suggest just putting in everything you want into the pot in the beginning.

I make a lot of HP, and I do not add superfatting oils after the cook. Some people swear by it, I have found it makes absolutely no difference IME. Oh, "after the cook" means as soon as the soap is done and you turn off the heat source, whether that is a crockpot, oven, or double boiler. I do not recommend letting the soap cool, it hardens pretty fast. I always cook my soap in a crock pot on low, and I would recommend low for a rebatch. You don't want to scorch the soap. Yes, you can add a very small bit of water or milk to a rebatch soap.

mbeachy soap, I agree with all the advice you have been given to start simple. I don't recommend using corn oil in general (it really doesn't bring anything fabulous to the party and can be prone to DOS), and I buy regular ordinary (non-virgin, non-pomace) olive oil at sams club. It makes great soap.

I have bought top quality fragrance oils, including almond (also one of my faves) from brambleberry, nature's garden, majestic mountain sage, wholesalesupplies plus, and aroma haven.

eta: welcome to the addiction!

 

[mbeachysoap]

thank you so much new12soap!!

 

[Cherry Bomb]

@Judymoody .. I was under the impression you needed (via you tube videos) multiple oils. My main oil supply is oo and coconut oil (from walmart..lol) and I am glad to hear I can do this with just the two oils (or even just one). Headed out to get the stick blender today.. def waiting it out to see what happens with my "stinky soap".... want to get the CP soap making under my belt before venturing on to rebatching...thanks

You do not need multiple oils I just made 100% Castile soap and its made with Olive Oil, lye, and distilled water only

 

[Cherry Bomb]

Also, what about the corn oil? Alchemy and Ashes just did a single oil soap experiment and she found that corn oil took 5 days until she was able to unmold it and it produced an awful smell. Maybe this was it? Here is her link. It is very informative about single oils and their properties.

http://alchemyandashes.blogspot.com/

 

[kharmon320]

Ok Im just confused over the super fatting .. I feel stupid, Im so sorry.. but I just dont get it .. how do you know how much oil to add at trace? .. do you deduct the sf % amount from the beginning ingredients (oils) after its entered in the calculator or is this extra oil that isnt used in the ingredients listed in the calculator?

Just wanted to expand on this a bit more. Many great explanations about SF. When you put your values into a soap calculator (like SoapCalc), you tell it what you want the final SF to be. So, if you tell the calculator 7% superfat, it will calculate the lye and the oils so that you have an excess of oils left over after saponification takes place. You don't need to worry at all about subtracting this amount or adding it back in. The calculator has taken care of that for you. For the sake of argument, you could hold back some oil to add back in at trace, but it won't make any difference with cold process. So, just add all of the oils that the calculator calls for up front and your superfat% should be what you requested.:grin:

I have made plenty of soaps that stink to begin with such as beer soap. Phew!!! That is an awful smell to me for at least 2-3 weeks. Milk soaps also tend to have an ammonia smell to my nose for a while.

ETA: That's what I get for skimming over some of the answers. New12soap said basically the same thing above.

 

[mbeachysoap]

Thank you Kharmon320 .. and thank you Cherry Bomb :smile: