I usually do hot process, thought id try cold, it came to trace and i poured into plastic heart molds, it didnt get hard for days and now is crumbly, is it wasted or can i rebatch? what did i do wrong, i followed inst. carefully , measurec correctly, made sure both oils and lye were 90-110. :cry:
newbie to cold process, help!
- Thread starter honor435
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honor435 said:
Does it "zap" you when you put touch your tongue to it? If not, you should be able to rebatch. If it does, it's not skin safe although you may be able to use it up for laundry and cleaning.
Can you post your recipe with percentages and lye amounts?
Okay....I looked at your soap recipe and first thing I saw was a lot of hard oils.....I like to keep my total hard oils to around 60% (but that's a personal preference)
But what concerns me most is the fact that 4 oz of lye gives you a 15+% lye discount. Are you sure it shouldn't have been 4.5? I'm wondering if that isn't part of your problem.
But what concerns me most is the fact that 4 oz of lye gives you a 15+% lye discount. Are you sure it shouldn't have been 4.5? I'm wondering if that isn't part of your problem.
Cattleyabubbles
Well-Known Member
How much (if any) did you discount the lye in your recipe?
jcandleattic
Well-Known Member
honor435 said:
Do you not run your recipe through a lye calculator? You should ALWAYS do that, even if the recipe is out of a book. One typo and you're hosed.
Also, are you sure your scale is accurate and that you measured correctly?
(I'm just throwing ideas out there -)
Cattleyabubbles
Well-Known Member
Lye discount, it's reducing the NaOH (lye) you use in your recipe, so that some of your oils/butters aren't saponified by the lye, so lye discount is basically superfatting. ITA with, jcandleattic, run recipes even from online sources and books thru a soap calculator so you know what qualities your soap will have and exact amounts for your lye and water ppo (per percentages of oils).
Cattleyabubbles
Well-Known Member
Regarding the cheap modes; find out what temperatures they can withstand if they're candle, candy or soap modes, I don't want to see you wasting your $$ if they would have the tendency to melt on you even with CP. I would be careful rebatching a soap recipe that has potential for lye not being properly saponify. You can rebatch it but be careful.
Cattleyabubbles
Well-Known Member
I would say that or go lower; cheap plastics sometimes do melt quickly than other plastics especially when doing M&P
Hi Honour,
Okay first thing you need to do is run all of your recipes through a lye calculator - I learned that early thank goodness. After that you can soap at 110 F, room temperature, or high temperatures. The trick is to use your stick blender until you have a strong trace (your soap will look like pudding) and then pour into your molds. As for molds- always check to see if it is microwavable or dishwasher safe. If it is those things then it will be okay to soap with. Make sure you don't use metal molds as they are usually aluminum and they tend to turn into rumbling volcano's. As for batch that isn't hardening - yes you can rebatch it and for that you are not going to want to add any more fluids. Grate it up and then put it into a pot in your oven at 200 F checking it to stir ever half hour or so. Plan on this being in there most of the day or evening - it will not go all smooth like it was but it will get soft enough to put back into your molds. I would not recommend a fancy mold but rather a loaf mold...
HTH
Okay first thing you need to do is run all of your recipes through a lye calculator - I learned that early thank goodness. After that you can soap at 110 F, room temperature, or high temperatures. The trick is to use your stick blender until you have a strong trace (your soap will look like pudding) and then pour into your molds. As for molds- always check to see if it is microwavable or dishwasher safe. If it is those things then it will be okay to soap with. Make sure you don't use metal molds as they are usually aluminum and they tend to turn into rumbling volcano's. As for batch that isn't hardening - yes you can rebatch it and for that you are not going to want to add any more fluids. Grate it up and then put it into a pot in your oven at 200 F checking it to stir ever half hour or so. Plan on this being in there most of the day or evening - it will not go all smooth like it was but it will get soft enough to put back into your molds. I would not recommend a fancy mold but rather a loaf mold...
HTH
