Olive oil soap need help

[jacquellyne]

I'm making olive oil soap and when I took the loaves out of the molds there were patches of loose oil in the soap and the tops of the loaves had water beads on them. Does anyone know how this happened?

 

[cwarren]

no answer here, I just had a batch do the same.. I just let it sit and it was absorbed back into soap.

 

[Sunny]

I'm not sure why it happens, but sometimes it will reabsorb, and if it doesn't, you can wipe the bars clean with a paper towel. Just make sure to zap test so you can be sure your soap is safe.

 

[jacquellyne]

It's as if the oil reached trace and then came apart again. I read somewhere that if the oil is too low of a temp it will appear to reach trace when in reality it's just getting firm, and then once poured, it may separate again. I will let these loaves sit and take your advice....perhaps the oil will be reabsorbed.
thanks!

 

[fasanis100]

I am not sure, but maybe your percentage of lye to water is too low? Maybe there was not enough lye in the formula to react with the oils and then you have extra oil in the soap?

 

[fasanis100]

Sorry, I meant to say percentage of lye to oil.

 

[Lindy]

If there is a full layer of oil on top then you need to rebatch it.

Temperature is less important than you think, soaping cool will usually allow you to play with fragrance and swirling.

When I make a castille (100% OO) I soap very hot because I want it to come together quickly. I also use a high lye concentration of at least 35% (I actually use 40% often but don't recommend it for inexperienced soapers).

Can you post a pic? If it just feels oily or a few droplets then let it sit and reabsorb as long as it isn't zappy....

 

[Best Natural Soap]

I agree-- I would suspect a mixing issue more than a temperature issue.
Are you using a stick blender? I find that a lot of times, the SB will give me a
"false trace" that when swirled a bit, disappears. My remedy is to SB in short bursts (3-5 seconds or so), and stir for about 10-12 seconds. Then pulse again, and stir. Keep repeating until you reach at least a medium trace.

I usually soap around 109F... as high as 113, and as low as about 90. I know many on here do RT soaping with great results. Given the range of temps that we all have success with, I thinking mixing is more to blame for most separation issues.

 

[jacquellyne]

Hmm...I am using a stick blender and I usually keep it spinning for at least 20-30 seconds at a time. I guess I need to slow it down into shorter spurts and I will alternate with manual stirring. Also, about the lye concentration.....I did calculate for 5% superfat so perhaps this was just too much oil and not enough lye. I'm using 2.7 pounds of oil (I have a 3lb mold) and I put that into soap calc and followed the formula. Any other recipe suggestions? Does OO soap not need superfating?
Thank you all again for your help!!!

 

[carebear]

5% is fine - I often go higher for castile.

olive oil soaps can take FOREVER to trace.

 

[Best Natural Soap]

....but they're SOoooooo worth it!!

Patience, young grasshopper...

 

[jacquellyne]

thanks! I just tried another batch so we'll see what happens tmr! Can someone tell me what to do with the empty bottle that the lye was in? I feel like it can't be recycled - is it technically considered haz waste?

 

[Best Natural Soap]

if you rinse it out really well, (you might also swirl a little vinegar in it to neutralize) it should be fine to recycle-- mine are labeled HDPE category 2 recylable.

 

[carebear]

When I used smaller lye ocntainers I just rinsed mine and tossd them into the recycling bin. No need to "neutralize" what's rinsed out. IMO.

Now I buy in bulk, and once I empty those 50# bags, I slit them open and hose them down in the yard - but even that is likely overkill.

 

[jacquellyne]

Thanks! I will just rinse everything in the yard. How about superfatting calculations? I'm not adding extra oil at trace, but would like to just have everything set from the initial oil measurements. If I'm on soapcalc.com, and I plug in the full amount of oil I'm using - say 2.7lbs (I have a 3lb mold), and leave the default at 5% superfat and 38% water, am I only using 2.7lbs of oil? or do i have to calculate what 5% is of 2.7lbs and add that extra in??

 

[Lindy]

When you're using a calculator like soapcalc it is doing all of the math for you so you can just use the amount given. 5% is just fine for superfat and just use the lye amount as well as water amount given.

Just to confuse you even more - I SB until I reach trace.. The hotter you soap, the faster you reach trace. The thicker your trace the faster the soap sets up initially. The only time I've ever experienced separation was with certain additives and then all I had to do was HP it to pull it back together.

So now you get to take a deep breath, get everything ready and have some fun.

As for my lye containers I rinse them in the sink because it keeps my drains running clear. Draino is mostly lye and it works great....

 

[jacquellyne]

So.....just to be sure I understood you correctly, whatever the lye/water amount is that soap calc gives, I use this, and I am only using the amount of oils that I plugged in (2.7lbs) and don't have to add anything extra. Therefore, the 5% was calculated in with the 2.7lbs when they gave me the final recipe I assume? Thank you so much for the response

 

[carebear]

kinda right. the default amount of LYE will give you a 55 lye discount which pretty much amounts to a 5% superfat. water has nothing to do with superfat or lye discount.

but you will want to reduce the amount of water you use to speed trace (a bit) and the cure period (quite a bit)..

right under "Water as a % of Oils" you will see "Lye Concentration". Click that and change the number to 33%. (I personally use 45% but don't go that high yet.)

 

[jacquellyne]

Great....so I'm going to change the lye percentage and see how this works! thanks so much for the info and support!

 

[carebear]

you are going to change the lye CONCENTRATION percentage.