Newbie Troubles

[Hux]

Hi! I've played with MP soaps a few times, and while fun, I wanted to take it a step further, so I tried CP for the first time last night.

I've tried to read as much as I can online, but I still think I've managed to do something wrong.

The recipe I used was:
12.8 oz Coconut Oil (76 deg)
8 oz Palm Oil
8 oz Canola Oil
10.9 oz water
4.3 oz lye
(all measured by weight)

I mixed the lye into the water and let it cool to about 115 degrees, and had the oil warmed to 115 degrees as well. I slowly poured the lye solution into the oil and stirred. After about an hour of stirring, it started showing signs of looking thicker, and after about 1:45, it reached trace. The ambient temperature was around 80 degrees, so I do think it really reached trace rather than the oils firming up again.

I poured into the molds, covered them with cardboard, and then placed a blanket on top.

In the morning when I got up (about 12 hours later), the soap was fairly firm but I could make a mark with heavy pressure, but the soap didn't pass the "zap test."

It's been another 14 hours, and the soap is much firmer now. Heavy pressure does not make an indentation, but I can scrape at it with my finger nail still. It still does not pass the zap test, nor does the soap seem to want to come out of the mold. I used plastic molds, and did not put plastic wrap, which may have been a mistake.

I'm interested in any helpful input, insight or direction at this point. Should I let it continue to sit? Did I somehow put too much lye? I know I was precise with the weighing of it, so if anything, it would have to be the calculation being wrong or something?

Please help!

 

[Lindy]

Hux let it sit. Hand stirring is a nightmare - get a stickblender and your life with soaping will be so much better. Now when you say it doesn't pass the zap test ~ does it just taste bad or does it zap like a 9 volt battery? If it just tastes really icky - well that's soap - if it really is zappiong (your recipe checks out just fine) then let it sit for a few days and try another batch. Just use a stickblender this time.....

HTH

 

[Hux]

The stick blender arrived today, but I was really eager to make an attempt yesterday, so I endured the hand-stirring yesterday.

As far as the flavor of the soap....There's a distinctive soapy flavor to it, but there's also a very definitive tongue-tingling battery-licking sensation to it. :-(

Thank you for the input, too.

 

[Bunny]

She's right, let it sit another 24 to 48 hours. Heck, it's new soap, you're going to be able to dent it with your fingernail for a L O N G time (weeks).

Unless you use a LOT of really hard oils, you will always be able to dent your soap with a fingernail, but that's OK. Soap is in fact much nicer to use when it's not rock-hard. Those softer oils add nice things to a soap recipe that you can't get from all hard oils.

You did use the high end of the water recommendation, but I'll tell you a neat trick: Use a 33% lye solution so your soap won't be so soft for so long. To easily get a 33% lye solution with any soap recipe, just take the number of your lye amount and double the number... that is the amount of water to use. Example: if your recipe calls for 5 oz. of lye, use 10 oz. of water (that's 1 part lye / 2 parts water...an easy 33.33% lye solution). This is a good rule of thumb for most all recipes.

Once you get a stick blender, your soap will trace much faster, so keep that in mind. I use a stainless steel whisk a lot of times, instead of my stick blender, especially if the recipe traces fairly quick (if the recipe is real high in hard oils).

If you let it sit for aother day or so and you still can't get it out of the mold, put it into the freezer and let it freeze. You should be able to pop it out of the mold after that. After you get it out of the mold, let it sit on paper towels until it is completely thawed again, then peel off the paper towels, cut it and stand the bars on end to dry out good.

 

[Guest]

If it is still zappy after 24 to 48 hours you could shred it and use it for laundry soap .

Kitn

 

[Hux]

After checking it this morning and still finding it zappy, I had just about given up, figuring I'd come home tonight and start all over again.

To my surprise, when I got home after an evening out, the soap was not zappy at all. It's still too soft to get out of the mold, so I'm going to check again tomorrow morning and try the freezer trick if that doesn't work.

I've decided I'm not very satisfied with the molds I have -- does anyone have a link to a site on how to build a mold that they have been rather satisfied with? I've seen a few sites out there, but none of them have seemed extra special.

 

[ChrissyB]

If your soap did not go through the gel stage then it will take longer to "unzap" and longer to firm up.
Leave it for a couple of days and it will be fine.
You did great for a first timer!

 

[xraygrl]

Hux,

Have you seen the tut posted here:

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/forum/vi ... php?t=7168

I made my molds this way, the size I wanted. Molds really don't have to be anything special, just functional. You can make them with hinged sides, without hinged sides, ones that completely break down, vetical. Whatever your heart desires.

I made resusable liners for mine with mylar which is plastic sheeting used to make quilters templates. It can be found in any fabric store (Like JoAnns if you are in the US). Just make sure you get the one that says heat resistant. I love that when I want to make soap, I just pop my liner in grease it up and go. When the soap comes out, I just wipe the liner down with warm soapy water and it's ready to go for the next time. Now that to me is special!

If you give us some idea of what you think you would like to make, maybe we could point you in the right direction.

 

[Hux]

Those videos were extremely helpful, thanks! I'll definitely have to give that a shot.

Basically, I'd like to be able to make a good number of bars at the same time. For the batch I'm making today, I'm recycling a box I received some supplies in. The box is 11x8.5x5.5, so I've lined the inside with wax paper, and I'm going to fill it to 2.5" high. I figure this should yield 22 bars. I'm thinking of using apple-cinnamon tea in place of water. Has anyone ever tried a tea like that? (I've heard of people doing green tea.)

My partner's mother runs a wonderful charity for cancer patients. The charity owns a retreat in the mountains which cancer patients can stay at for a weekend up to a week to get away from everything and focus on healing.

I had been making MP soaps and gave her some as a gift. While we were talking about it, we thought it would be such a nice thing if every time they had a guest, there was a few bars of fresh, natural, handmade soap awaiting their arrival. My hope is to come up with a few good recipes and make them in large quantities, at least 18 bars or so per batch, so I can keep providing the charity with a steady supply.

My first batch didn't come out of the molds so well. It left a thin layer behind in some places, and the edges were a bit crumbly:
close-up of the bar surface
5 of the bars

I took a vegetable peeler and shaved a layer off each side. On the ones where the edges crumbled too much, I took a bit off the corners, giving it sort of a beveled edge. They definitely have a very "hand crafted by a guy" look.
all of the bars

Overall, for a first try, I'm very pleased with the outcome, and now I'm trying to find patience in waiting for it to cure.

 

[ewenique]

You can use herbal type teas in place of water, but it usually turns the soap brown. The lye seems to destroy any color the tea makes.

 

[xraygrl]

Hux,

If you would like to try hot process, there is basically no cure time, just maybe a week of drying time. In hot process, after the soap reaches trace, you cook it either in a crockpot, oven, or double boiler. After the cook all of the additives are put in like scent, color etc. The soap has a different texture too it, it is a lot thicker than cp at the end of the cook, and it's more like glopping into the mold than pouring, but it still makes very nice soap. Some people don't care for the texture, but with practice hp soap can be very smooth like cp.

the molds in the link can basically be made whatever size you want, you just have to figure out your demensions.

BTW, I think it's wonderful what you want to do with your soaps. I think that with chemo lots of people develop sensitivities, so I would definitely suggest at least a couple of varieties of castile type soaps, or bastile, which are mostly olive.