Need help with HP soap.

[shopkins1994]

Hi Everyone,

I am brand new to soap making and I need some major help. I’m not sure what I am doing wrong. I thought I’d post here to see if anyone can help me. I have looked at some HP soap turtorials and I am trying to replicate what I see.

I am trying to make hot pressed soap in a crock pot. I have tried two different recipes and both have had the same results.

The first recipe is 25% shea butter, 25% 92 degrees coconut oil, 25% avocado butter, 25% mango butter. Total was 16 ounces of oil and I superfatted at 5%.

The second is 10% avocado butter, 15% castor oil, 30% coconut oil, 20% olive oil, 2% macadamia nut oil, 13% mango seed butter, 10% shea butter. Total was 16 ounces of oil and I superfatted at 5%.

I add all oils/fat to my crock pot and melt them. I then add my lye to my water and then pour my lye/water mixture into the crock pot. I then blend with my stick blender. I have read conflicting reports on what a trace is. Some people say a VERY thick custard, others say it doesn’t even need to be thick. For the first recipe I blended for about 10 minutes to a THICK custard. For the second recipe I blended for 2 minutes, and a drop would stay on top. Can someone describe the look of trace. Is a thicker trace better than a thinner trace?

I put the top on the crock pot and cooked 15 minutes and then stirred, and repeated this at 15 minute intervals 3 times (so an hour).

What is happening is that it turns into Vaseline looking and then that’s it. As I continue to cook, the soap near the edges dries out. The mixture never turns into mashed potatoes. One tutorial I read had pictures stating that the entire thing would turn into a gel. Not sure of if they mean a thin gel, like melted wax, or the Vaseline looking stage. When I scoop it out of the crock pot, it is a mixture of thick gelatinous soap and very dry soap mixed in.

This happened to both recipes. I am not sure what I am doing wrong?

For the second batch, the sides were melting and when I went to stir after the first 15 minutes the entire center was hard. I had to mix pretty good to “reliquidfy” the mixture.

Any ideas?

 

[Overthemoon]

It sounds like you are stirring far too often. When I make a batch, I melt my hard oils first, and then add them to my crockpot and liquid oils. Then I mix the lye, and then add the lye water to my oils, and then stir. I don't stir much, just enough so everything seems blended. Reaching trace is not required for hp, although it doesn't hurt.

Afterwards you do not want to stir your soap until is all has the same consistency. Basically, you don't want to stir when it is still liquid in the cent.er Mostly this takes 30-45 mins, depending on how hot you cook your soap. Then you want to stir it a lot, it'll be trying to climb out of the pot, as you stir it, it will morph into the potatoes stage.

This method works for me, all of my many batches but I am sure someone else can give you other suggestions as well.

 

[shopkins1994]

Interesting, so you dont stick blend at all? Just use something like a whisk to reach the same color consistency?

 

[Overthemoon]

Exactly. The cooking process will bring the soap to trace on it's own so it is an unnecessary step. I whisk it by hand just to avoid separation.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

I've made one batch in the slow cooker (crockpot) and I made it up normally and blended with a stick blender to trace and then cooked, no stirring, until it had gelled all the way through (about half hour). It looked like vaseline, then when I stirred it, it became like mashed potato. I add the extra oil into it and put it into moulds. :wink:

 

[Maria]

It sounds like it cooked too long. If it happens again, add some water and stir it in so there isn't any dry pieces and cook a couple more minutes.
I always wait for a heavy trace or it takes way too long to cook the soap otherwise. I also cook on on the stove rather than a crockpot. I have always stirred the soap until it is finished cooking. I never heard of not stirring the soap. Cooking usually takes about 10 minutes though it takes longer if I added more water than usual.

 

[Healinya]

This is from one of my first batches, there is titanium dioxide in this - I wish I could find some pictures without it, but still may give you an idea.

You can see it starting to gel along the sides.

You can see me not knowing that I shouldn't stir it.

This is what it looked like after I beat it up.

But it all came together eventually and turned out great.

 

[honor435]

I dont stir mine, at all ,after the first initial trace thing, til its done cooking, 30-40 min. im wondering why you would stir every 15 if you dont have to
lso, you first batch has all hards oils, i would maybe get on soap calc and change that? add some olive oil or liquid oils.

 

[shopkins1994]

Ok so this morning I took 16 ounces of coconut oil and put it in my crock pot. I heated it until it melted. I then put my lye in the water and stirred until dissoved and poured it into the crock pot. I stirred with wooden spoon for about 25-30 seconds until it looked combined. I let it sit there for 15 minutes and I could tell the that bottom was solidifying. I waited another 15 minutes and could see the liquid was solidifying from the sides in. After another 45 minutes it appeared that all of the liquid was gone. I then poked it with my spoon and to my amazement, the solid was only 1/8" thick, and the rest was liquid. I scooped some liquid out and it was very oily. I left alone for 30 more minutes and repoked, and again, 1/8" solids, and about 5/8" liquid - no change. I then zap tested the solids and got zapped. Then I got my whisk out and stirred for 15 minutes and it became a thin trace. I let that cook for 30 minutes and it was like applesauce. Another 15 minutes I stirred and it was like applesauce with the liquid removed. I zap tested and got zapped again. I then run my stick blender through it and it became mashed potatoes. So much so that I could have passed it off as it. This was after 2 hours though, and when I did the zap test I got zapped. There was no way to cook this any longer because it was THICK like mashed potatoes so I tossed in mold and will treat it like CP.

It seems like the lye/water and the oil seperated and wouldn't go through the chemical process until I stirred it to trace.

What am I doing wrong?

My next test would be to add water/lye and blend to trace and then not touch it for 30 minutes.

Healinya, is your last picture what the mashed potatoes should look like? That looks like applesauce consistency to me. Mashed potatoes to me are dry. Is the "mashed potato" look supposed to be dry or wet?

 

[shopkins1994]

Healinya, your second picture is what my second batch looked like before I stirred for the first time. You say in your caption for your picture that you "didnt know not to stir it". Are you saying that that picture is correct, and it will be hard in the middle and you should just let it sit there and cook? Had you not stirred, what would have happened?

 

[honor435]

i sb mine to trace, doesnt matter how thick on hp, then cook for 30-40 minutes, til the ring, starting on the outside, gets to the middle and finally gone, dont stir in between.

 

[krissy]

i sb mine to trace, doesnt matter how thick on hp, then cook for 30-40 minutes, til the ring, starting on the outside, gets to the middle and finally gone, dont stir in between.

i do the exact same thing.

 

[Healinya]

Shopkins - yes, I would call it apple sauce consistency, but it was fully gelled in that last picture and in the mold a minute later. I have had batches gel to mashed potato consistency. I didn't discount the water too much, and I added 1T ppo sugar to the lyewater which helped me get a more pourable consistency. Also, to your question, if the mashed potatoes look 'dry' - I would assume you are starting to overheat it and get it moving into the mold.

Yes to your second q. I can only speak for my crockpot, you may have to keep a close eye on yours until you get the feel of it. I just let that ring get bigger and bigger without touching it. When there is just a quarter size left in the center then I make sure I have my sf oils, color, mold etc ready to go. I try not to stir too much but it's still important to fully incorporate all your addins... the least the better. If you stir too much, you end up getting overcooked piece of soap stuck aloong the sides of the crock. You can scrape those back into the soap and it will be fine, but not always pretty.

Basically, I do the same this as honor and krissy.

 

[shopkins1994]

Healinya,

It worked! I am a soap maker now! I added the lye/water to my fats, stick blended them to trace and left it alone. As soon as the ring moved to the center I stirred it and zap tested and it was zap free. I moved to the mold and had beautiful soap. Now I know as soon as it hits the center it's probably done. Thanks so much.