Q re pure coconut oil soap

[hanan]

Hi all,

I made a batch of coconut oil soap yesterday and I think I"ve added to much lye. ):

Firstly I should say that I've discover the soapcalc website just now from reading this forum - thank you so much!! It looks amazing.

Unfortunately I didn't know about it before and I worked it out manually using a chart (which I found somewhere online) to show me how much lye to use. I'm not saying the chart was wrong - it might well be my calculations, who knows. :roll:

But this is what I used:

3400 coconut oil (virgin)
613 lye
1100 water

According to soapcalc (if I've used 'it'correctly) I should have used only:
539g Lye
1292 water

Does that sound more correct?

So, if I've used too much lye on my (huge ) batch of coconut oil soap, will it be too harsh now? Can it be fixed? Should I use it for something other than washing of people perhaps? Or is it just ruined completely?

It actually looks really nice, very white and pretty. It is hard, though I've heard that coconut oil soap is hard.

Thanks,
Hanan

PS I was very happy to find this forum! Not just for my question today but for future interaction

 

[soapbuddy]

3400 coconut oil, is this in grams or????
If it's in grams, you would need 575 grams of lye for a 8% superfat.
613 grams of lye would give you about 1.5% superfat. It's possible that your soap will be lye heavy.

 

[nattynoo]

Ow..another Aussie soaper.
It'd be grams for sure.
Hi!!
1.5% is cutting it fine. Do the zap test in a couple of days & you'll know if its lye heavy or not.
It might be a bit drying too with only 1.5% superfat. Good for the kitchen/laundry maybe.....
A few people on here rec a SF of up to 20% for 100%coconut oil soap.

 

[hanan]

3400 coconut oil, is this in grams or????
If it's in grams, you would need 575 grams of lye for a 8% superfat.
613 grams of lye would give you about 1.5% superfat. It's possible that your soap will be lye heavy.

Silly me - YES - all those measurements are grams.

Ok, so it sounds as though I was way off. I wonder if it was my calculations or a bad chart...

I just found this regarding superfatting: "It also gives you a bit of a "fudge factor". Having extra lye in your soap is a big problem...much bigger than having extra oil." That sounds pretty bad :x

So do you think it could be used for making washing powder or something like that?

Thanks for your reply and help.

 

[soapbuddy]

3400 coconut oil, is this in grams or????
If it's in grams, you would need 575 grams of lye for a 8% superfat.
613 grams of lye would give you about 1.5% superfat. It's possible that your soap will be lye heavy.

Silly me - YES - all those measurements are grams.

Ok, so it sounds as though I was way off. I wonder if it was my calculations or a bad chart...

I just found this regarding superfatting: "It also gives you a bit of a "fudge factor". Having extra lye in your soap is a big problem...much bigger than having extra oil." That sounds pretty bad :x

So do you think it could be used for making washing powder or something like that?

Thanks for your reply and help.

You're welcome.
I would say it's probably ok for washing powder. When people make stain sticks for their laundry that make them with 0% superfat.

 

[hanan]

Thank you. It is disappointing but at least it won't go completely to waste which would be really upsetting.

 

[soapbuddy]

For next time, here are a couple of calcs.

http://www.summerbeemeadow.com/
http://www.snowdriftfarm.com/soapcalculator.htm
http://www.thesage.com/calcs/lyecalc2.php
http://www.brambleberry.com/Soap-Making ... r-W12.aspx

or if you want to buy one to download.
http://www.soapmaker.ca/

 

[hanan]

For next time, here are a couple of calcs.
...

Excellent, thank you. Yup, I'm gonna be very careful next time!

 

[soapbuddy]

For next time, here are a couple of calcs.
...

Excellent, thank you. Yup, I'm gonna be very careful next time!

You're very welcome and it's ok. All of us messed up at one time or another.

 

[hanan]

Yes, I suppose as with many things there is a learning curve.

 

[cwarren]

if your gona use it for laundry soap use a vinegar rinse .. I just learned That

 

[BakingNana]

if your gona use it for laundry soap use a vinegar rinse .. I just learned That

Ya, that's important to keep your washer and pipes from clogging and helping get all the soap rinsed out of the laundry. If you haven't used it before, rest assured there is no vinegar smell whatsoever left in the laundry. I use a 0% SF for laundry soap. Doesn't zap after 2 days (so far, at least....stuff happens!).

 

[hanan]

Good tip. Do I put the vinegar in the little rinse canister so it comes out after the actual washing part? Also, how much would you use? I have a machine that can take up to 9.5kg.

Thanks

 

[cwarren]

I fill mine up to overflow ... Cause I had CRUD in my washer tub.. and was told to use vinegar...

here you can check out what I was told

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/forum/vi ... hp?t=20250

 

[Renesoap]

Overlyed Soap

Why don't you just hot process it into another batch? It's a method I came up with about 12 years ago after I messed up a 10 lb batch for a customer. Make a 2 lb batch of hot process soap, add an extra 2 ounces of your oil (coconut or whatever you want) add 1 lb of your messed up batch to the 2 lb new batch just after trace and before you put it in your double boiler.

When you go to check on your hot process soap about 10 minutes after you start cooking it, the new batch will be beginning to saponify. Mix it up a bit and when you check it again in 10 minutes, the messed up soap should be pretty much saponified into the rest of the batch.

It is going to take a few batches of soap to use up all of your messed up batch, but it's very "save-able".

Sorry this is a bit long.
When you hot process your soap, you can never mess it up. There is always a way to fix it.

Rene