Not entirely sure what I did wrong

[straberrystark]

I made cp soap for the first time today after taking a class and I think I messed up somewhere. When I added everything together and began blending the mixture had a lot of air bubbles and thickened up super quickly to the point where I had to spoon it into the molds rather than pour it in. For one pound of soap I used 50% olive oil, 30% coconut oil, 20% hemp oil, 2.4 oz lye with 5.3 oz water (got that from a soap calculator online). When I started blending all of these it got super thick super fast. So do these oils just get to trace really quickly or did I mess something up somewhere?

 

[Megan]

Did you use olive pomace? Any fragrance? Other additives? And how much did you blend? In the class did you make a 1 lb batch as well? It won't take as long for a 1 lb batch to reach trace as it would a larger batch.

 

[straberrystark]

Did you use olive pomace? Any fragrance? Other additives? And how much did you blend? In the class did you make a 1 lb batch as well? It won't take as long for a 1 lb batch to reach trace as it would a larger batch.

I used pure olive oil, a fragrance oil, pigment, and calendula flowers, and whisked in the pigment and flowers after I'd blended the oils together. I'm not sure what you mean by how much I blended. I also made a 1lb loaf in the class.

 

[Millie]

Some fragrance oils accelerate trace. Sometimes so much that you get "soap on a stick". You didn't mess up. Congrats on your first solo run

 

[SoapySuds]

Sounds like it’s soap!

Did you let the lye solution cool down before pouring it in? If it’s on the warm side, it can accelerate trace, even a with slow oil recipe.

Air bubbles can happen if you don’t ‘burp’ your mixing stick before blending.

When I used a stick blender for the first time, I was shocked at how quickly any recipe can get to trace and how quickly soap on a stick can happen! Congrats on not going too far!

Lots of things can affect how quick you reach trace, fragrance oils, temperature, the recipe, your recipe should be fine for slow moving oils. Too much colorant can also speed up trace.

 

[amd]

Also different stick blenders will mix soap differently. If you used a different SB than the one you used in class, it may be a higher power and mix faster.
What FO was it? Was it from a reputable supplier? Not all fragrances are soap safe (or soap friendly).

 

[Megan]

I used pure olive oil, a fragrance oil, pigment, and calendula flowers, and whisked in the pigment and flowers after I'd blended the oils together. I'm not sure what you mean by how much I blended. I also made a 1lb loaf in the class.

By how much you blended I mean, did you pulse the blender for a second, or run it for a minute? I think a lot of us over used the stick blender at the beginning. If you made the same size batch in your class though, you would have at least some idea of how long it should take in theory.

Most likely it is the fragrance though. It doesn't sound like the acceleration was too bad if you could still spoon it into the mold, so that's great! Some fragrances are so bad that your entire batch will become solid in seconds. Like Millie said: "soap on a stick"

 

[GreenTeaSoaper]

Congratulations on your first soap!!!

I do agree with Megan, F.O is a lot of the time a culprit.
There is no doubt that F.O/additives/oil blends can change your soap outcome. Figuring that out would come from trial and error.
When I make small 1lb or less batch, I tend to "old skool" hand whisk the entire thing. That is mostly to control the formula as best as possible. Ive had blends that seize up because it reached trace faster with a stick blender. In those cases hand whisking helps.

One of the best things you could do, in my opinion, is to keep a soap journal. Happy Soaping!

 

[KiwiMoose]

I don't know whether you also might want to check what the lye concentration is? I find that if I use anything above 40% it thickens really fast.

 

[CuriousCat]

I used duck fat and had a similar experience..,

 

[CatahoulaBubble]

Also what temps were the oils and the lye? Warmer temps can accelerate.