new to cold process

[Mindy07]

I love making soap this way. A friend of my mom in another state told her that I am spending too much money and that there is a "cold water method". I looked all over the internet and could find nothing. She has a shop and her customers would ask her if she had lye in her soap and she would tell them "no". since I am new I am reluctant to tell her (thru Mom) that she is wrong and there is no such thing a soap without lye. That even if she sold melt and pour soap she sold them soaps with lye in them. Would I be wrong??
Has anyone heard of a Cold Water Process of making soap Without Lye???
I am getting quite frustrated at spending so many hours of research and finding nothing!!!

 

[Aubrianne]

yeah that doesn't exist.

EVERY soap has lye. You're right,and she needs to stop telling her customers otherwise.

 

[Aubrianne]

well, TECHNICALLY, there is no lye in the finished product.

But still.

 

[Guest]

NO LYE = NO SOAP.... AND THATS NO LYE!

Your mother should stop telling her customers that. This is why so many soapmaker's have issues with explaining what they do.

There is no "cold water" process... stop looking for it.
We have something called RTCP (room temperature cold process)
this is when the oils is not heated and at room temperature..

If you have any questions let me know... Im here.

 

[Mindy07]

thank you! RTCP

that is what I have been doing: Room temp. cold process. except I heat my olive oil for 30-60 sec. in the microwave to speed up trace a little. it really works.
thank you for telling me about the nix on cold water process. its my mom's friend/not my mom--she is the go-between and unfortunately getting in trouble because I keep jumping down her throat!
I was pretty sure that my mom's friend was selling melt and pour in her shop . it is self actualizing to finally find out that I was right
thanks again!

 

[Guest]

No problem, and just because she doesnt put the lye in the soap herself, doesnt mean its not there! tell your mom to tell her, the next time she gets the soap base in (thats if she makes it herself) to look at the ingredients on the soap base.

 

[Mindy07]

rebatching my own soap?

I accidently inverted my own recipe for CP and came up with a 2% superfat. (I put palm oil instead of palm kernal oil and vice versa)
Is there a way I can rebatch this soap and add some more fat somewhere, so that I don't have to throw everything out? it smells so good but I know that once it is saponified it will be too harsh.

 

[Guest]

yeah you will have to just rebatch it and add what your missing.. you could have hot processed it and it wouldnt have came out lye heavy at all.

 

[Mindy07]

rebatching problem

well, i looked at all the suggestions on rebatching and tried one of the methods last night with the lye heavy soap. today it has the consistency of butter.

I used the oven method where you shred your soap and add milk and put it on a very low temp. in the oven,then, when it gets to the consistency of mashed potatoes, add your fats etc. well, I did exactly that..I went back to the lye calculator, refigured my lye:fat ratio and only needed to add 3 oz of fat. I think i must've added too much liquid. when it was finished it was lumpy like mashed potatoes--I don't really think it is very pretty--not like my "naked" cp soaps. but its not ugly either..

Maybe I need to wait a little longer? or maybe I will have to throw the whole thing out..

is there any sure-fire method of rebatching? I have been pretty lucky with cp so far, except for once.


Please comment!

 

[Guest]

Yeah, you put too much liquid in it. You can wait for it to harden, which may take months.. lol... or you can use it as laundry soap or something..
or throw it out.. and start over..
every batch dont always come out right.. the "soap fairies" visit everyone's house once in a while.

 

[Soapmaker Man]

Well, I hate re-batching, but, alas, have done it several times. It really depends on how fresh your soap is as to how much liquid you need to add. I always grate my soap in the food processor before re-batching. I use a crock pot set on low. I add my grated soap and a tiny bit (1 T.) of goat milk that I have dissolved a Tablespoon of sugar in. The sugar helps, I think, with repouring the soap and making it smoother. I melt the re-batch slowly stirring every 45 minutes or so. It can take 4 or 5 hours to melt on low a 3 pound re-batch. At the end, I can add additional scent, remove part and color and do an ITPS or an ITLS. Sometimes I add a ounce of Sweet Almond and sometimes a touch of glycerin before pour. Remember, not too much added liquid and low and slow. Re-batched soap always makes a better soap in my opinion. Kind of like double milled soap. That is how I've done it 7 or 8 times now. HTH!

Paul.... :wink: