Hi. I started making soap late January, making 4 small batches over the next few weeks, each one slightly different so that I could compare the results. As I have no plans to move beyond soap that we like for us that I can also give to family/friends as presents, I did not want to invest in lots of different oils, colours and EOs (see, I am using soap talk!). So far only the first batch has reached its 6 week point and is ready to try, a 100% olive oil with Lavender EO and it is great. I regularly check all 4 batches. The first three are fine and have hardened nicely, but the fourth is still a bit soft. It ‘gives’ when I squeeze it, cheese consistency? Ok, so for No.4 I used exactly the same recipe as No.3. I used 100g coconut oil, 354g olive oil with 62.97g lye and 149.82g water and one teaspoon sodium lactate added to the lye solution, but for No.4 I also added 1 tablespoon of honey and 1 tablespoon of powdered oatmeal. The honey was mixed with a small amount of the water and then added to the cooled lye solution and allowed to cool again until the same temperature as the melted oils and combined. The oatmeal was added at trace. All my soaps have gone into a warm cupboard initially before unmoulding and putting to cure in a cool room. With No.4 I also wrapped it up in a towel as I had got the impression it would be better with the extra heat raised by the honey? Although No.3 has set well, No.4 is still soft. Will it harden? How long is that likely to take? Did I do something wrong? Some people talk of putting it in the fridge initially and some of heating initially, should I have cooled it? I have to admit that I struggle to understand the chemical nuances of soap making, probably another reason why I want to keep things simple. I have access to lots of olive oil and I am a beekeeper, hence wanting to use honey.
New soapy with soft honey and oatmeal query
- Thread starter Miffybear
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amd
1 TBSP honey is quite a bit for 454g oil batch. Typically when I make honey soaps I add 30g (approx 2 TBSP) honey to 2000g oils - but I also know I'm a bit conservative as honey makes a softer soap. Your soap is probably fine, it's just soft due to the large amount of honey.
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amd
Depends on what you mean by soft. Is it squishy or just leave slight finger indents?
I thought the "norm" was more like 1 tsp per lb, but confess I might be confusing the recommendation with another ingredient. I had to play with my recipe quite a bit to find a good spot for my recipe where the honey contributed to the lather but didn't make the soap too soft. [side note: I sell, so I did not want there to be a huge difference between non-honey soaps and honey soaps for how long they last for the customer]
I thought the "norm" was more like 1 tsp per lb, but confess I might be confusing the recommendation with another ingredient. I had to play with my recipe quite a bit to find a good spot for my recipe where the honey contributed to the lather but didn't make the soap too soft. [side note: I sell, so I did not want there to be a huge difference between non-honey soaps and honey soaps for how long they last for the customer]
I am really grateful for the response from and, but I was hoping to be inundated with suggestions in order to widen my options and find something that suited me. Is there anyone else who can contribute? I am feeling lonely here!
I use 1TBS honey PPO, and I've made a number of Oatmeal Honey soaps.
Honey is a humectant and doesn't like letting go of water, and oatmeal also absorbs water as the soap heats up and takes a while to let go of it, so Oatmeal Honey soaps can take a while longer to dry out than other soaps.
How old is this soap at this point?
Honey is a humectant and doesn't like letting go of water, and oatmeal also absorbs water as the soap heats up and takes a while to let go of it, so Oatmeal Honey soaps can take a while longer to dry out than other soaps.
How old is this soap at this point?
Not very old, but just not hardening like the previous soap made with the same oil amounts. Made 11 Feb and came out of mould on 23 Feb. When you say ‘a while’ how long roughly? Are we talking weeks or months? Do you start the curing countdown from making or unmoulding?
I count from unmolding and cutting. If you've heard of or worked with soap dough, soap can remain soft and pliable indefinitely if it doesn't get a chance to thoroughly dry out.
ETA: how big are the bars? The bigger the bars, the longer it takes them to dry out.
The bars are small. I used a 6 individual bar mould and the cut them in half, so roughly 4cmx5.5cm. Only a beginner so no other experience beyond the four batches I have made. What was puzzling me was that the batch before, which had the identical basic recipe, has hardened fine, but this batch with the added honey and oatmeal still has a softness about it.
I'd give it another 2-3 weeks before worrying about it. If it's still cheese consistency in another month, then I'd start worrying if a measurement was off. It will probably always be more soft than your "regular" soap, and certainly more soluble.
If you're looking to up the longevity so future batches aren't as soft, up to 5% beeswax may help and be in keeping with the product your looking to create/promote. You could also look into plant butters (Cocoa, Kokum, Mango seed, Shea), Soy wax (hydrogenated soybean oil), or stearic acid to increase longevity even more, so the added solubility of the honey isn't as much of an inconvenience.
Correct. I usually count it as an oil because it does have a very small sap value and because it factors into the volume better.
