need advice, new to soap making

[Tina]

Thanks in advance for your input.
I tried making my first batch soap 3 days ago.
It is still very soft ( can make an imprint in it) and has a slight oily appearance on top. I think 1.) it was too cool and seperated?
2.) didn't trace even though I thought it did? :cry:

If my thoughts are correct can it be saved by reprocessing it?
the recipe came from a book I purchased.

I used coconut oil
Olive oil
castor oil
Thanks
Tina

 

[ToniD]

If you post the recipe amounts of oils, lye and water it will help to determine what might be going on.

 

[carebear]

I'd suggest reading millersoap.com - you can find most answers there, to lots of questions you didn't even know you had!

 

[krissy]

if you used mostly Olive oil then it will take a while for your soap to get hard. also it will depend on if you gelled or not. ungelled can take a bit longer to get hard enough to unmold. if i were you i'd let it sit for a few more days and then feel it again.

dont jump to rebatching until you are sure that the batch is messed up. rebatching is not always easy and leaves you with (usually) uglier soap. it seems like you used mostly OO and that is why it is not hard enough yet. give it time...

 

[soapbuddy]

Welcome!
How warm were your oils and lye when combined? How much did you superfat?

 

[Tina]

the recipe I used was from a book. I tripled it .
I ended up using :
3 oz castor oil
21 oz coconut oil
18 oz olive oil
11 oz water/ 4 oz honey
6 oz lye
it has been 2 weeks and you are still able to indent the top with your finger.

The temp of the lye was 100 when I combined them. The book made no mention of checking the temp of the oils ? I have since seen it mentioned in other things I have read. Is that were I went wrong?

I am thinking pitch it and start over ?
Thanks for all your help !
The book I have is Basic Soap Making written by Patsy Black, published by Stackpole books. I liked the step by step photos in the book.

Tina

 

[Tina]

Also the tripled recipe called for 15 oz water ... adding the honey was my brain child.
That is what I get for being a devient!

Tina

 

[Bubbles Galore]

You probably used to much honey. I work in grams and am trying to remember my ounces. 1 tablespoon of honey per pound of oils is enough.

 

[Tina]

well, I ended up dumping it all back into a pot and melting it down. Stirred it for a while and it started looking like the "spray type" foam insulation. popped it all back into the mold and covered it up.... next day it was nice and hard , ready to cut! I had added pumpkin pie spice to this while it was melted . Smells like Thanksgiving in a good way Soap looks good.

Thanks for all the help. I think it never really traced. I had made a different batch while waiting for this originally to setup . The second batch traced within minutes . What a difference

Tina

 

[Dennis]

Welcome and glad it all worked out for you.

I am happier every day that I found this forum and read so much before trying my first batch.

 

[reallyrita]

Tina: either it was beginner's luck or you are on your way to being a good, intuitive soap maker. When you get a recipe from a book, always check it out on soapcalc.com or one of the other oil/lye calculators. And yes, you used way too much honey for that size batch...but a good save. Fasten your seatbelt....this is going to be a great ride, and additive too.

 

[AZ Soaper]

And when you double or triple a batch always run it through a calculator. Better safe then sorry. Glad it turned out ok!