My first batch turned out a little funny...

[pjones]

OK, So I found a recipe online for a honey oatmeal bar that sounded nice so I decided to try making it. This is my first time making soap so I was sure to follow the recipe and directions to a tee. Aside from the weigh scale having a minor melt down half way through I thought everything went quite well.
I reduced the batch down to a 1.5 Lbs portion so that if it turned out to be a dud then it wasn't much of a loss.
I mixed the soap until it hit trace and I poured it into the mould. Immediately I placed the concoction into the freezer to keep it cool as it set. It stayed there for about 20 hours. Out from the freezer it came and I waited 2 more days before cutting the bar. The first cut and I noticed oil coming out of the bar as I cut... Maybe I didn't let it sit long enough. I let it sit for another 4 days and pulled it apart again to find there to be no difference to the liquidity of the inside.
So it has been a total of 7 days that its been sitting now and I'm a little confused as to what would make the soap turn out like this.

The recipe had the following quantities in it:

Olive Oil = 12.0 Ounces (50% of total oils)
Coconut Oil (76 Degree) = 4.8 Ounces (20% of total oils)
Sweet Almond Oil = 2.9 Ounces (12% of total oils)
Avocado Oil = 2.4 Ounces (10% of total oils)
Castor Oil = 1.9 ounces (8% of total oils)
Orange, sweet essential oil = 20.4 grams
Clove Bud essential oil = 13.6 grams
Honey = 1.5 ounces
Almond Milk = 2.72 ounces
Whole Oats = 0.9 ounces
Distilled Water = 5.4 ounces
lye = 3.3 ounces (93.2 grams)

Any insight or even educated guesses are appreciated. I'm guessing I'm going to need to rematch this loaf and give it a second shot but I'm not sure if adding more Lye is the proper solution to this or how much to add if it is.

 

[Obsidian]

That happened because the soap got too hot while it was gelling. Anything with added sugar can cause high temps and it seems honey is one of the worse.
It will need rebatching but the only thing you need to add will be a bit of water. Make sure you get all the oozy oils in the crock pot and cook it on low.

 

[pjones]

WOW, Thai is rather quite impressive. I was almost certain that the deep freeze would be overkill But I guess not. I was quite close to leaving it on the back porch thinking that that would be cold enough (40 Deg. F outside these days)... Maybe pre chilling the moulds would be a good idea for the next batch too them.

 

[Obsidian]

Yeah, prechill the molds then place your batch in the freezer for a few hours or even overnight.

 

[pjones]

I've made my own moulds using 1X4 Pine board. Being that wood is a decent insulator do you think that may be part of the problem?

 

[Obsidian]

Yes, the wood mold had something to do with it, definitely freeze it before pouring your batter.

 

[judymoody]

OK, here are a couple of impressions.

1) definitely overheating and separation - rebatching (everything including the oozy liquid) is the only way to save this.

2) Why? A number of reasons. You've got honey (a heater), you've got almond milk (another heater) and you've got clove essential oil (big old heater). What were your soaping temperatures? When and how did you add your honey?

3) Your fragrance load seems high, especially for the clove. I'd not go more than 1% of my oil weight on clove - it can be a major irritant. So for this recipe, about 7 grams. In general, this forum recommends a maximum EO load of 3% of soaping oils weight - for your total blend. For this recipe about 21 grams. This is a general guideline, specific oils like clove, cinnamon, or mint, to name a few, should be used in smaller proportions.

4) your superfat/lye discount is only about 3%. For safety, a minimum of 5% is better, particularly for a relatively small recipe. You also mentioned you had problems with your scale. At 3% superfat, small measurement issues could mean lye heavy soap.

5) You might want to try single cavity molds next time or a silicone mold that will throw off the heat better than wood.

6) Don't be discouraged. We all have failed batches from time to time.

 

[pjones]

Oh I'm certainly not discouraged. I am a determined little fella. I wasn't really sure how to fix this though so i'm glad there is so much useful help on this forum. I knew that the honey was an excellent heater, I didn't know that almond milk and Clove EO does the same though.
What I have taken away from this so far is that I need to pre chill the moulds and pour it into flat moulds to maximize the surface area to keep the temperature down. Oh, and get a back up scale

I'm not too sure what the exact temp of the oil and lye were when I added them. I mixed the lye outside and it remained there for about 45 minutes while everything else was prepared. The oil and lye were both around 85-90 degrees when I mixed them (they felt close to body temp).

I mixed the lye with the oil first then immediately added the almond oil and honey mixture. The honey was pre diluted in water to help it mix easier. Once it came to trace with a hand mixer I immediately poured it into the mould. here it sat for a couple minutes while I played with it then remembered that it was supposed to go into the freezer (lost in the excitement of making the first batch

In the instructions for the recipe it mentioned that the oil and lye should be close to room temp (around 90 deg.) before they are added so that it doesn't gel. I'm not actually sure what temp is required to reach the gelling stage... Is it different for each oil combination?

Good to know about the quantities for the EO's. It does smell quite strong and I wasn't too sure if it was going to tone down a little as it hardened of if it was always going to be that strong.

I have another recipe that is a cinnamon oat bar that uses cinnamon EO's. I'll check those quantities to see how they compare and adjust if needed.

 

[CaraBou]

Wow, you really jump right in when you decide to do something! That is definitely not a beginner recipe! I haven't soaped with honey yet but I am planning to soon. A beekeeper friend of mine wants me to show her how to soap, of course using her honey. I've read so many horror stories about honey going funny, I figure I better run a test batch so I don't show her the wrong way!

Good luck with your rebatch!

 

[pjones]

Ha Ha, You mean start with a beginner recipe? I don't know... that doesn't really sound like me. I actually thought I was starting easy because I was doing a cold process and not a hot process. I'm learning SO MUCH right now!

I'm curious, now that this has turned into a rebatch does that now make this a hot process soap?

 

[pjones]

I'm thinking I should probably hold off on the Cinnamon Oat recipe that I was planing to do next, it's even more complex and touchy than this one is according to the reviews. Does anyone have a nice recipe for an easy Cinnamon bar with an exfoliant?

 

[Lin]

Don't worry, I jumped right in as a beginner too lol. My first recipe was a modified bastile recipe from soaping 101. Had to modify it because I didn't have everything it called for. Then I just started making my own recipes, but I had done tons of research and had kept a cheat sheet of recommended percentage ranges for oils, referred back and forth a bit to some known recipes with good results, and played with the numbers in soap calc before I finished and made the soap. Now when the soap cures and I get all the recommendations from those who I'm giving it too as well as trying myself, I'll alter my recipes until they're perfect.

I'm a researcher, I don't jump into anything without loads of research so I did tons of that before doing anything.

 

[houseofwool]

I'm thinking I should probably hold off on the Cinnamon Oat recipe that I was planing to do next, it's even more complex and touchy than this one is according to the reviews. Does anyone have a nice recipe for an easy Cinnamon bar with an exfoliant?

I would skip the cinnamon, period until you have more experience. It is really hard to work with. It causes major acceleration of trace. When I hand stir with a whisk, I get trace in under a minute.

It is so hard to sit back and be patient, but a simple recipe is a great place to start. The benefit is that you will know how it behaves and can better determine what caused a problem when it happens.