old lye on soaps (?)

lica · Aug 22, 2021

hi, soapers!

so i made 2 batches of soaps yesterday, everything is the same on both batches, the only difference is i used old lye on 1 batch and new lye on the other.
i just cut both batches, the one with old lye is still soft and look a bit grey-ish on area where it supposed to be white (i put TD) compared to the other batch with new lye thats harder and the color looks prettier.
so my question is,
is the one with old lye will eventually catch up after a few days, harden, and looks like the one with new lye? or this batch is doomed?
i think it will catch up after few days and worst thing that can happen is it have higher superfat content but i'm not sure...
oh, its basic recipe with 40% olive, 30% coco and 30% palm, 30% lye concentration and 5% superfat.
thank you so much in advance

lsg · Aug 22, 2021

I would give it a chance to harden up. The colors may never be as vibrant. I would use the newer lye from now on. You can pour the old lye down the sink drain and flush with a lot of water. It will act as a drain cleaner. I had a batch of lye that was bad several years ago and that is how I got rid of it.

lica · Aug 23, 2021

Thank you @lsg ,
So even tho if stays a bit soft after like 4 weeks, as long as it didn't zap it will be safe to be used?

lsg · Aug 23, 2021

As long as it doesn't Zap, it should be safe to use.

Susie · Aug 23, 2021

lsg said:
I would give it a chance to harden up. The colors may never be as vibrant. I would use the newer lye from now on. You can pour the old lye down the sink drain and flush with a lot of water. It will act as a drain cleaner. I had a batch of lye that was bad several years ago and that is how I got rid of it.

I lost almost 4 lbs of lye to age. I cleaned out every drain in my home.

lica · Aug 25, 2021

Thank you @lsg , my soaps are slowly harden

@Susie thats a lot of lye.
I thought there was no such thing as 'old lye', as long as its not clumpy and it's still hot when it's mixed with water. Oh well...