My liquid soap separated!!

[LidiaG]

@Lidiacgarcia testing with pH strips does not tell you whether the soap is lye heavy. Also, the strips are very inaccurate for even telling you the actual pH of the soap. The more serious issue to me is that by adding excess lye to your recipe, you are adding completely unnecessary steps to the normal LS process. That's fine if you want to play around (as you have mentioned in other posts).

However, it really isn't kind - and is actually quite confusing - to suggest that such experiments are suitable "tips" for newbies. Most folks who are learning how to make LS don't want to waste ingredients when a batch fails. Many also lack the science background to know how to troubleshoot.

@StarsRUs I hope you will continue to work on making LS with the recommended amount of lye for your specific recipe, which should always be run through a lye calculator using the actual amounts of the specific oils you plan to put into the soap pot. Once you have successfully made and diluted some batches of LS, then it can be fun to play around.

Yes! I forgot to make it very clear that I ONLY add the extra lye when I make dishwashing or cleaning soaps, (that's what I make often, lots of dirty dishes here, scents give me migraines) as I found them to be a lot more cleansing. The test strips in my case help me to know that the soap is not gong to be harsh on my hands.
Soap calculators are your best guide for a recipe, everyone should even run recipes that they find online through a calculator before making their soaps.
IT'S UNSAFE TO ADD THE EXTRA LYE FOR SOAPS USED FOR PERSONAL USE!

 

[Zany_in_CO]

The test strips in my case help me to know that the soap is not gong to be harsh on my hands.

I use pH test strips also for the same reason. Not always, but some times.
@AliOop is correct but It doesn't matter to me how "accurate" they are.
"Close enough" works for me!

https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/foamer-soap.81760/#post-876805