Oil Lye ratio is wrong, can I repair it?

[lukelee]

I used 2 kg oil in soap making, but I only used small amount lye which is only for 1kg oil. I realized it after 5 days, the soap was soft and oily.

Can I add extra lye, water and the old soap together and rebatch them?

 

[Hazel]

How much water did you add in the original batch? The problem with it being only 5 days old means you don't want to add too much water because then it will take awhile to set up. Also, the bars might warp as the extra water evaporates. Although, this isn't a big deal since you can still use the soap.


It would help if you posted the recipe.

 

[lukelee]

Thank you, Hazel:
My receipt was: 660g olive oil, 100g castor oil, 300g coconut oil, 149g lye, 402g water
I doubled the oil amount, but I forgot to double the lye and water.

 

[Hazel]

Since you forgot to double the water, then it won't add too much water when you add more lye solution. You can dissolve 149 g lye into 224 g water (be careful because this will be a stronger lye solution) and add it to the rebatch. If you're not comfortable with this much of a water discount, you can use more water up to 402 g like you used originally. You'll want to make sure this is really incorporated into your rebatch. Stir very, very well. :wink: Do you have any sodium lactate? Adding a little SL will help the rebatch be more fluid and easier to stir. If you don't have SL, you can dissolve some sugar into water and add it or add a little wine if you have it. I recommend simmering off the alcohol since this can cause your soap to seize.

Just a suggestion: it's best to enter the amount of the oils into a lye calculator when doubling a recipe. You always want to double check recipes.

Are you going to rebatch in a crockpot or a double boiler?

 

[lukelee]

Thank you, I think I will do it in double boiler. heat up to 60 degree is enough?

 

[Hazel]

60 degrees isn't very hot. When I use a double boiler, I set the control to medium low to ensure the water gets hot enough to cook the soap (becomes kind of translucent in appearance). I checked it once to see how hot the water got and I think it was about 160F. This is probably lower in temp than some people would do it but it works for me. Is your double boiler large enough for the entire batch?

I forgot to mention - lsg (and some other members) mentioned adding a small amount of milk to a rebatch to help it to be more smooth. I'll look for the discussion and post the link if I find it.


eta: Found her post http://www.soapmakingforum.com/f11/goats-milk-rebatch-32878/

You can always use instant dry goat milk powder. I have used the "Instant" dry milk in many rebatches and it does totally smooth out the soap and makes the pouring more fluid. Make sure you use the instant type of dry milk or dissolve your powdered milk in a little hot distilled water before adding to the soap or you will have lumps of dry milk in the soap.

 

[lukelee]

Thank you ,I will try

 

[Hazel]

If you decide to try the dry milk, I'd dissolve it in water separate from what you use for the lye so it doesn't scorch. This means adding a little more water but it's not going to be a problem if you're using the water discount amount. I'm not sure how much powdered milk to suggest for your batch. You might want to wait and see what lsg has to say about it. I'll send her the link to this discussion but I don't think she'll see the PM until tomorrow.

Personally, I vote for wine. Be a happy soaper - drink some while you're simmering some for the batch.

 

[lsg]

My advice is to drink the wine and use the Instant Dry Milk for the rebatch. Here is the link for using dry milk to rebatch. If you have the coarse dry milk, dissolve it in as little water as possilbe before adding to the soap.

http://www.pvsoap.com/instructions_for_rebatch.htm

 

[lukelee]

I made it, it works, thank you guys, thank you Hazel.
but the soap become a bit transparent?

BTW, if I leave the soft soap as it is, and will the soap ever become hard in future?

 

[judymoody]

When you rebatch, the soap often has a more transparent quality. It's part of the process. If you flip your cut bars every few days, they should firm up as the liquid evaporates. But they might also warp a bit too.

I have found that while my rebatched bars will never win beauty prizes, the lather is often very nice.

 

[Hazel]

The slightly transparent look when you're cooking the soap is because the heat is causing the soap to gel. This means it's going more quickly through saponification.

Whoops! Just saw you got an answer.