No Quick Results When Using Glycerin For Base

[egirlxx7]

I made a small batch glycerin based soap a few days back. I didn't think it turned out at first and let it sit for a bit in the pot. Then after a couple days of the paste sitting, I diluted it anyways, and I thought it came out fine, I tried the soap, and thought it needed a few more days to get milder.

The reason I originally thought I ruined the batch was that I thought I over cooked the KOH and glycerin, as it was quite thick by the time my oils were melted completely. (I should have warmed the oils completely first)

So after diluting, I thought I would try to lower the pH a bit more , and by adding borax solution, I believed now its truly gone and I ruined the batch.
(even though the cooled and hardened soap past did not run turn pink with phenol, nor did it bite)


So I put that aside, and tried again last night. with the same, but this time i did not over cook the glycerine and KOH, I cooked for several hours,

I know that when using Glycerin it speeds up trace, and cook time, but I did not find that happened with me either times I made the soap with glycerin, I did not get to the translucent stage, and after SB for quite a while, I didn't want to burn out my SB. (So I just proceeded to do the full cook)

I cooked the paste all night on low. The soap still bites, and the hot paste does run purple with drops of phenol on it, and I'm certain I've measured correctly.

Not sure where to go with this one right now.

added:
I also did 2 dilutions one with 1oz paste with 2oz water, and another with 3oz water as this has a high amount of OO, both were clear, but still turned pink with phenol

 

[lsg]

Just turn off the crockpot and let the soap paste sit covered for two or three days. I think you will find that it will get milder.

 

[IrishLass]

Olive oil is one of the slower saponifying oils, so I agree with lsg- just let it sit for longer.

I've made 4 batches of the glycerin-based liquid soap so far, and I find it to be very forgiving, so don't give up.

When I make mine, I mix the glycerin and KOH together at room temp, then bring both to a simmer over high heat (stirring all the while) until all the KOH is dissolved. If things look like they are starting to boil over at any point during that time, I remove from the heat until things settle down and put it back on the heat alternately until all is dissolved.

Then I immediately add the dissolved, hot KOH/glycerin to my pre-melted oils which are sitting in my pot on low heat, and whisk only until the 'flying bubbles' stage (i.e. the point where you begin to see little bubbles floating in the air around your head from your pot- usually about 10 minutes of whisk-time for me). I don't care what the soap looks like at that point, although it's usually quite liquidy in case you're wondering- but once I see the bubbles floating in the air I immediately remove the soap off the heat, cover and let it sit undisturbed to do its thing on its own while I go about my business. Usually, when I check on it 6 hours later or so (or overnight in one case), I've found it has reached the paste stage and tests out neutral.

I really like the glycerin method because I've found you don't really have to cook it or babysit it beyond the 'flying bubbles' stage. All 4 of my batches have turned into neutral paste all on their own when left to sit covered at room temp. I'm sure if I had used a stickblender instead of a whisk at first that it would have gone quicker for me, but all I had was a plastic stickblender and I didn't want it to melt, so I used my stainless whisk instead. I've since bought a stainless stickblender, so we'll see how it goes next time in comparison.


IrishLass