Pouring oils cleanly, mixing Palm oil and various other questions(aka tell me I'm not too stupid for this)

[LilianNoir]

*sigh*
I'm starting to think I'm too stupid, too forgetful, too scatter brained to make soap.
It seems no matter how careful I am. How much I review my recipe and instructions. How much time I spent setting up, and double checking...
things go...wrong.

I try to tell myself that I'm still new. That it's not uncommon for things to go sideways sometimes, and that each perceived failure is an opportunity to learn.

But it's hard when it seems to happen more often than not.
Maybe I just need to make soap MORE often? I recently got a mobile kitchen island so I have my own place to make soap(we have a small place and a small kitchen) and that has helped me to make soap every few weeks instead of every few months as I was before.

But I'm not here to moan. I'm here to ask questions to help future attempts go more smoothly.
They don't all cleanly fit into one category, hence the multi question post. So here we go:

1. Pouring oils. Oh man I made a mess today. Between pouring out my fragrance oils and measuring my soaping oils, I managed to get it EVERYWHERE. In the past I used pipettes to measure FOs and I started doing that today, but it was taking forever so I though I'd just pour it out. Welp. It dripped down the sides of the bottle and managed to get everywhere, including underneath the little scale I use for weighing FO/EOs. The oil ruined the plastic on the bottom.It's superficial but still upsetting.
Similarly, when measuring out my base oils, it seemed to get EVERYWHERE. I think I went through half a roll of paper towels. How do you avoid making a mess when measuring and weighing oils?

This brings me to

2. As part of the mess above, I had oils all over my hands (gloves) which in turn of course, transferred to everything I touched. So now spatulas, containers, anything I tried to move, my temperature gun...all now have oil on them.

I swear I'm not messy! And in fact I've watched countless videos of others making soap. They don't have this problem. But I can't seem to avoid it.

Should I weight my oils out first, before wearing gloves? Or just wash my hands after each?

3. Speaking of weighing! My stupid scale turned itself off when I was in the middle of weighing! We had a minor issue with the A/C (of course) that took my attention away for a few minutes and the scale had turned off with some oil in it. Of COURSE I had been adding all of my oils into the same bowl too, so it wasn't like I could just dump out and start over easily. I wound up being able to figure out how much I added but that was another layer of stress. I'm using the Brambleberry scale. Has anyone else come across this? How do handle it?

4. My biggest concern. My palm oil. It was a new bucket and I've never used palm oil that wasn't mixed into others. (I used the Brambleberry pre mixed oils before, or recipes without palm). It was semi solid, and I knew I had to mix it. But it wasn't until later that I realized/remembered you're supposed to melt it first. Is it enough that I mixed the bucket with a spatula first?

Because the entire batch seemed to go sideways(there were several other issues that came up) I wound up adding one of my FO's in a bit later than I wanted to, when the trace was pretty thick and I'm not sure it incorporated fully. I'm hoping it doesn't ooze out, but we'll see I suppose.

I'm just...really disheartened right now. My first batch went pretty well, and my second batch VERY well. But since then... I dunno. I know I'm not stupid. And with some background in chemistry (including biochem) and working in labs,I know how to be methodical and careful. But lately I seem to be screwing up soap left and right.
Thanks for listening. I've learned a lot from the kind folks here. Hoping to keep learning more.

 

[AliOop]

Sorry it's been a frustrating experience for you! Here are a few tips:

1. There is no need to wear gloves unless and until you are handling lye. I often do the heat-transfer method so I make my lye water last. That lets me measure out everything else first, with no gloves on. You could also choose to make your lye water the day before; just cover it with a tight lid in a safe place. That leaves you free to measure everything else without gloves, until it is time to mix.

2. I get out everything I need ahead of time and have it on my soaping table. And I mean everything: mold, colors, oils, scale, SB, etc. I put down an old dish-drying mat to catch spills, rest my stick-blender after it had batter on it, etc. An old towel or freezer paper also work well. Saves so much clean-up time! I also have a rag on hand to wipe the necks of the bottles to take care of those pesky drips.

3. After I measure an oil or any other additive, I move that container to a different counter. That lets me know I've take care of that item. It also gets it out of my way.

4. While you are new, limit the number of ingredients in your soap. Make a soap with 3-4 oils, one color maximum, and one or no fragrance. This will allow you to learn your best soaping rhythm. Once that is comfortable, then start adding in more colors, swirls, fragrance mixes, etc.

5. Most importantly, I've learned not to soap if I'm going to be interrupted. Yes, life does happen and sometimes interruptions can't be avoided. But you can limit those by prepping your lye and your soaping area ahead of time, and then not actually making the soap until you have a nice open window of time.

HTH, and I hope you have some enjoyable soaping experiences very soon! But if not, and I mean this in the kindest way, maybe soaping isn't your thing. If not, that's ok! Personally, I wanted to love sewing, but it just never happened. I never found a "groove" that made it enjoyable. After so much struggle and frustration (even paid lessons!), it was such a relief to one day say, "I really don't find this fun, and my results are dismal. It is ok for me to let go of trying to learn sewing, and to hire a seamstress when I need something altered."

I'm sure some others will have good tips for you here, as well. This is a great group, so if you do want to keep trying, we will all be rooting for you!

 

[cmzaha]

I do have one suggestion, weight your container (tare weight) you are measuring your oils into and write it down. If your scale goes off, you can easily determine how much of the last oil you poured into the container. I would also invest in a scale such as a
KD-7000 or KD-8000 My Weigh KD8000 - Power Adapter Now Included!. These scales are nice because they have an always on feature and I see now come with a power adapter. Although I see the price has gone up a bit since I purchased mine.

As for your palm I never melted my large bucket of palm down but removed my palm from different areas of the bucket. I now purchase palm shortening which does not have to be stirred. When I pour from gallon jugs I just pour slowly. Once in a while I admit I might miss and overpour enough I rerun my lye calculations.

 

[LilianNoir]

AlliOop, those are all great suggestions! What's frustrating for me is, I usually do most of that!
I honestly don't know where my head was today. I usually cover my soaping table with a plastic sheet, and use rags (that I wash) instead of paper towels. I gather all of my stuff ahead of time. I make my lye earlier in the day and let it sit to cool before I soap. I even considered doing heat transfer but since I hadn't done that before, didn't want to add something new into the mix. HAHAHA (Especially funny because I wound up making two on the fly changes anyway).
I wasn't using gloves to prep until my mica decided to go "poof!" when I was mixing it and it got all over my hands. So I though maybe it was time to put gloves on. :/

I even tried to tell myself, at a certain point, not to get upset about what had gone wrong because that mindset would lead to even MORE errors. But <shrug>

This is my 6th batch of CP soap in a year. So def still new. I do love it. I just... wonder at my brain sometimes.

cmzaha, I have the KD7000! It doesn't have a power adapter though.
I did however just find the manual where I can change the auto off setting. hah!

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I hope you can get past being discouraged. I still make mistakes after a year of making soap. Here are some of the tricks and tips that have helped me:

• No matter how hard I try, I know that I won’t remember some of the important details of my recipes. To get around that problem, I use a checklist/form to plan my soaps, review my steps and check things off as I go. it also has places for me to make notes. When I’m done I save the form in a binder.
• I know how much most of my bowls weigh, just in case my scale shuts off.
• If a liquid oil is in a bulky container, I transfer it to a recycled container that makes it easy to pour cleanly. I use a funnel from the dollar store so I don’t spill oil when I’m filling the smaller container.
• When I pour FOs and EOs, I hold a toothpick up against the rim of the bottle and let the liquid flow down the toothpick into the little beaker that is sitting on the scale.

Good luck!

 

[LilianNoir]

I hope you can get past being discouraged. I still make mistakes after a year of making soap. Here are some of the tricks and tips that have helped me:

• No matter how hard I try, I know that I won’t remember some of the important details of my recipes. To get around that problem, I use a checklist/form to plan my soaps, review my steps and check things off as I go. it also has places for me to make notes. When I’m done I save the form in a binder.
• I know how much most of my bowls weigh, just in case my scale shuts off.
• If a liquid oil is in a bulky container, I transfer it to a recycled container that makes it easy to pour cleanly. I use a funnel from the dollar store so I don’t spill oil when I’m filling the smaller container.
• When I pour FOs and EOs, I hold a toothpick up against the rim of the bottle and let the liquid flow down the toothpick into the little beaker that is sitting on the scale.

Good luck!

I;ve been keeping a soap notebook, and making notes when I soap. This time I printed up the recipe I was using and made notes there to transfer to the notebook later. I like the idea of checking things off.
I think once I have a set of "regular" recipes, I'll put them in plastic so I can check off and make notes with dry erase markers. Hmmm.

I really, REALLY need to add the weight of my mixing containers to my notes it seems.

Toothpicks!! Omg. I'm so dumb. I have some chopsticks I bought for swirling and thought about using those to pour but didn't want to waste three of them. (I was mixing/blending my FOs). It seemed like I lot to waste. I can't believe I didn't think to use a toothpick! >.<

This is why I reach out and ask you all.

 

[AliOop]

AlliOop, those are all great suggestions! What's frustrating for me is, I usually do most of that!

@LilianNoir Sounds like you have some good basics down already! I love @cmzaha 's suggestion to write the container weight on the container. And now that you've changed the auto-off feature, you are gold there.

Sometimes I just have to remind myself that slowing down to ensure "mise en place" is always worth it. When I'm cooking, I can get away with a bit of this, and a bit of that, and lots of improvising. That doesn't generally work out so well when I'm baking or making soap! So I have to put on my big girl panties and start each soaping session the right way if I want to enjoy it ... AND make nice soap.

 

[LilianNoir]

Ok new friends, what do you think of this.
In order to help my broken brain out a bit, I've created a "before you start" checklist to go over every time I make soap. I'm putting it in a prominent area at my soap station, and a copy in my soap notebook(where I keep notes on batches)so that I have to see it when I start to soap.

What do you think of this list? Anything you would add or edit?

 

[Rogue-Soaper]

I do have one suggestion, weight your container (tare weight) you are measuring your oils into and write it down. If your scale goes off, you can easily determine how much of the last oil you poured into the container. I would also invest in a scale such as a
KD-7000 or KD-8000 My Weigh KD8000 - Power Adapter Now Included!. These scales are nice because they have an always on feature and I see now come with a power adapter. Although I see the price has gone up a bit since I purchased mine.

As for your palm I never melted my large bucket of palm down but removed my palm from different areas of the bucket. I now purchase palm shortening which does not have to be stirred. When I pour from gallon jugs I just pour slowly. Once in a while I admit I might miss and overpour enough I rerun my lye calculations.

Great tip. I write the weight of my container on the recipe, just in case I forget it.

 

[TheGecko]

1. Pouring oils. Oh man I made a mess today. Between pouring out my fragrance oils and measuring my soaping oils, I managed to get it EVERYWHERE. In the past I used pipettes to measure FOs and I started doing that today, but it was taking forever so I though I'd just pour it out. Welp. It dripped down the sides of the bottle and managed to get everywhere, including underneath the little scale I use for weighing FO/EOs. The oil ruined the plastic on the bottom.It's superficial but still upsetting.

Similarly, when measuring out my base oils, it seemed to get EVERYWHERE. I think I went through half a roll of paper towels. How do you avoid making a mess when measuring and weighing oils?

I hold a toothpick against the side of the FO bottle which directs the liquid down the toothpick. You can use a pipette, a chopstick, a spatula.

2. As part of the mess above, I had oils all over my hands (gloves) which in turn of course, transferred to everything I touched. So now spatulas, containers, anything I tried to move, my temperature gun...all now have oil on them.

I only wear gloves when I'm handling lye. So I go bare-handed while getting set up, measuring my scents and oils/butter, pre-mixing colorants. But once the lye comes out, the gloves go on and stay on until I'm done wiping out my dishes. I also keep dry and damp rags handy.

3. Speaking of weighing! My stupid scale turned itself off when I was in the middle of weighing! We had a minor issue with the A/C (of course) that took my attention away for a few minutes and the scale had turned off with some oil in it. Of COURSE I had been adding all of my oils into the same bowl too, so it wasn't like I could just dump out and start over easily. I wound up being able to figure out how much I added but that was another layer of stress. I'm using the Brambleberry scale. Has anyone else come across this? How do handle it?

Get a Sharpie or other permanent marker and weigh all your containers and write the weight on the bottom. It's saved my butt when my scale turned off or I lost track of what I had put in the bowl. I could the weigh the contents, subtract the bowl weight and go from there.

4. My biggest concern. My palm oil. It was a new bucket and I've never used palm oil that wasn't mixed into others. (I used the Brambleberry pre mixed oils before, or recipes without palm). It was semi solid, and I knew I had to mix it. But it wasn't until later that I realized/remembered you're supposed to melt it first. Is it enough that I mixed the bucket with a spatula first?

I have a 35 lb pail...I just give it a good stir and portion out a few pounds to melt and use.

Just wanted to add that I bought a rolling kitchen island for soaping. I holds all my soap equipment (except for molds) and all the ingredients that I use on a regular basis. I bought shoe-box size containers from the Dollar Store that I keep my Cocoa and Shea Butters, Coconut and Palm Oils in...I just refill them from my inventory in the garage. I have a large plastic cutting board on top...it has a lip around the edge and sits on a non-skid mat. The island sits against the wall next to a plug in for my blender which is hung up with a Command Hook (BEST IDEA EVER). My recipe is clipped to the wall in front of me and ingredients are listed in order that I had them. I have a golf pencil on a string and can mark off each ingredient as I add them. Because my island holds everything I need, I am able to access and put away everything as I go along and keep my work surface free of clutter.

Oh...and I have two shelves above for colorants and scents. And I have three spray bottles filled with vinegar (neutralize my lye solution container and spills), alcohol (sterilization) and a Dollar Store degreaser (clean of oil messes).

 

[cmzaha]

Ok new friends, what do you think of this.
In order to help my broken brain out a bit, I've created a "before you start" checklist to go over every time I make soap. I'm putting it in a prominent area at my soap station, and a copy in my soap notebook(where I keep notes on batches)so that I have to see it when I start to soap.

What do you think of this list? Anything you would add or edit?

View attachment 46571

It looks like a great checklist. If I had to use one of those I would never soap again. I tried the toothpick trick once when pouring a small amount of fo, yup, the toothpick went in the bottle. I went back to using a pipette if using a tiny amount.

 

[Quilter99755]

I wish I had @TheGecko's set up, but space doesn't allow me that luxury. I do have a tub that holds everything that I may need for soaping: containers for water, oils, stirring implements, scale, immersion blender, etc. Since everything goes back into the same tub after cleanup, I wouldn't need that part of your checklist.

I print out my recipe for whatever soap I am doing that day. It includes any additives, colors and EO/FO's. Then that goes into a sleeve protector. As I measure the oils and other ingredients I check them off with a dry erase marker. I have enough containers that each oil, lye, additive has its own container. Once I see that everything is measured and sitting in a nice row, I erase the marks. Then as I am mixing things together (like water and lye) or putting things in the pot (oils or additives) I check them off again...this time with a line through the item. That way there is a glaring omission when something does not go into the pot and I can see it easily. Before I did this, mostly it was my EO/FO that I forgot to add.

As I am soaping, I have a notepad and pencil handy for any thing I feel the need to write down. That will go onto the back side of the recipe when I am done. When all the soaping is done and my soap in on my drying rack, the recipe goes into a notebook with all the marks erased. That way if I want to duplicate the soap for any reason, it is ready for another batch of marks for me to make on the sheet protector.

I just bought a set of dry erase markers that have colors. So now I will be able to check off the measured ingredients with one color and cross out with another color without the need to erase my first marks. That is added protection in case I get interrupted between measuring and adding things to the pot. At my age getting interrupted may be as simple as my hubby coming in to ask a question, so I need all the help I can get! LOL

I came late to this forum, but have learned so much. I hope that you can come up with a method that will give you pleasure in what you want to do. Making mistakes is not fun. I hope we can all help a bit to make soaping enjoyable for you.

 

[amd]

I had oils all over my hands (gloves)

Should I weight my oils out first, before wearing gloves?

Yes. The only time I wear gloves when measuring oils is when I handle CO (I have a sensitivity that turns my skin bright red and itchy).

My stupid scale turned itself off when I was in the middle of weighing!

I keep a clean duplicate of my measuring container handy to retare the scale. If I'm measuring a single oil it's pretty easy to figure out where I'm at, if I have multiple things in the container it's bit more math but still doable.

I wound up adding one of my FO's in a bit later than I wanted to, when the trace was pretty thick and I'm not sure it incorporated fully.

Add your FO with the oils upfront and this isn't a problem.

I'm just...really disheartened right now.

I think we've all been there, whether it's from soap gremlins running amuck, a bad FO, or just unexpected results when soaping. It's okay to regroup yourself a bit before starting over, and I think you're doing well to ask good questions. It's not ok to struggle alone. I struggle with patience so a lot of time I'm my own worst enemy (like soaping with oils that are far too hot because waiting for them to cool would be a horrible waste of time /sarcasm), so when that happens and I'm frustrated, I often reset myself by doing something simple - like a plain soap, or a soap that I know behaves well, or pouring a solid color MP embed - just something simple that says "see I can do this". It makes me feel better and I can move on to things with a bit more clarity and calm.

 

[LilianNoir]

Just wanted to add that I bought a rolling kitchen island for soaping. I holds all my soap equipment (except for molds) and all the ingredients that I use on a regular basis.

Yes! I got a rolling island too, and it has helped me to be more organized and have a dedicated space. Since getting the island i've been able to soap more often which helps.
But mine isn't as well organized as I'd like. I don't have my oils in it(I keep those in the pantry) and one of my drawers is not at all organized. After yesterday I determined to better organize it. The way our kitchen is laid out, the only place for it is by the kitchen window so i'm not sure where i'll put my soap checklist and recipe.

I struggle with patience so a lot of time I'm my own worst enemy (like soaping with oils that are far too hot because waiting for them to cool would be a horrible waste of time /sarcasm)

I...wouldn't know anything about that. <looks away and whistles>

I often reset myself by doing something simple - like a plain soap, or a soap that I know behaves well, or pouring a solid color MP embed - just something simple that says "see I can do this". It makes me feel better and I can move on to things with a bit more clarity and calm.

I think that's exactly what I'm going to do. In fact, the last recipe i made before this was one where I did exactly as above, and soaped too hot and it didn't turn out. But it was otherwise an easy recipe. So I think I'll revisit that with just one color and more patience.


Thanks for all the good tips, advice and encouragement. I feel a little silly now for even making the post, but I also am glad I did because there's good stuff here. This is a really great group.

 

[DeeAnna]

You might think, since I'm a mathy, nerdy type, that I'm as cool as a cucumber when making soap, but I'm not. Especially in the first year, I often had to take a break between getting everything ready and actually making the soap. I was so flustered and flummoxed with all the measuring and melting and stirring, that I needed a moment to chill before the real fun started.

Some things I do that help me to keep a sharp mental focus --

I make a recipe checklist with boxes for entering weights for measured ingredients. If there's no weight to enter, I put a tick mark at each step as I finish it.

I put ingredients on the counter in the same order as they are listed in the recipe.

Once an ingredient has been used, it gets put out of easy reach on a separate counter so I'm not tempted to grab it absentmindedly.

If possible, I put everything into the soap pot up front, rather than hold anything back to add later on. Some fragrances and some designs don't allow that, but many do.

 

[LilianNoir]

Also, amd, your signature made me laugh. "I write on calendars & make lists... [whispers] and I still have no idea what is going on."

i feel a kinship there. XD

 

[LilianNoir]

You might think, since I'm a mathy, nerdy type, that I'm as cool as a cucumber when making soap, but I'm not. Especially in the first year, I often had to take a break between getting everything ready and actually making the soap. I was so flustered and flummoxed with all the measuring and melting and stirring, that I needed a moment to chill before the real fun started.

Some things I do that help me to keep a sharp mental focus --

I make a recipe checklist with boxes for entering weights for measured ingredients. If there's no weight to enter, I put a tick mark at each step as I finish it.

I put ingredients on the counter in the same order as they are listed in the recipe.

Once an ingredient has been used, it gets put out of easy reach on a separate counter so I'm not tempted to grab it absentmindedly.

If possible, I put everything into the soap pot up front, rather than hold anything back to add later on. Some fragrances and some designs don't allow that, but many do.

DeeAnna, I'm so glad you posted. You're one of the folks I look up to and I value your insights and thoughts.
And I very much feel that first line!
I'm a mathy, nerdy, science-y, checklists and research and notebooks girl. In theory, this should be easy. Heck, working in the chem labs was less stressful(but I think also because that was a dedicated space with essentially unlimited supplies)!
And yet, here I am.

I like the idea of putting things down in order, and moving them away after.


You all have actually got me fired up to soap again soon.

 

[DeeAnna]

I think maybe for the science-y types, soap making can be stressful because in chemistry, you do A + B and theoretically get C. In soap making, that's also true, but there's an added esthetic aspect that can easily daunt me, even today.

Also at the beginning of my soap making misadventures, I didn't have any training in the procedures of soap making, and that was stressful for me, just as it would stress anyone else. It's hard to learn a complicated chemical procedure by reading a tutorial -- much nicer to take a class or have an experienced soap making friend standing at your shoulder.

I agree about the luxury of working in a chem lab with a nice hood to whisk away fumes, lots of bench space, everything nicely organized, good equipment, and well-established procedures. In the soap kitchen ... not so much.

 

[Michelle0803]

I have found that making sure I have no distractions really helps. And I don't try to multi-task when making soap.

Before I start a batch of soap, I gather all of my ingredients and set them out. I measure water, lye, solid oils, liquid oils, then additives. I measure in order from greatest to least.

I also measure my hard oils one at a time onto a piece of parchment paper on my scale, then transfer into my bowl. My liquid oils are measured into a measuring cup. doing it this way gives me a little more security if my scale shuts off (which it likes to do for no reason).

After I measure each oil, I set it aside and out of reach. I also do this will all ingredients in order to avoid forgetting what I already measured in the event that I do get interrupted.

While my solid oils are melting I put away everything that I have used and set up my molds and mix up my colorants with a little of the liquid oils which I have already measured.

This has really helped me develop a rhythm and system that works great for me and avoids silly mistakes that I had made in the past.

Good luck!

 

[Becky1024]

Lots of good information on this post! I have also found that the containers the raw materials are in makes a difference in how messy I am. I don’t mind paying a little more if it keeps my work space cleaner. My oils come in gallon jugs. When I pour I hold one hand on the handle and the other with a paper towel underneath the spout. Butters come in gallon buckets. Easy to spoon out. EOs come in pint bottles that are easy to pour. I also hold a paper towel underneath to catch drips.

I do not wear gloves when soaping because like you said if you get oil on a glove it gets everywhere. I do not use them when making lye solution. My biggest near miss when I started soaping was when I got a little lye solution on a glove without knowing it, then adjusted my goggles and had a nice lye burn close to my eye. I soap near my kitchen sink so if some lye water gets on my hands I wash it off right away. My PPE is safety glasses, apron and close toed shoes.