Questions about my first batch

[Milk Machine]

I made my first batch of 100% Olive oil liquid soap. After diluting my paste I separated the nearly 3L of soap into 6 different jars to experiment with different EOs & FOs. In one jar I had around 470g soap to which I added 8g geranium EO. That soap has turned into a thick gel like jello. Can I just add a little more distilled water to thin it out a bit? The same thing happened with another jar with lavender EO but slightly less thick. And also one with Lavender & Patchouli EO has some jelly clumps in a pretty thick (but not too bad) soap. Can I still dilute these? In my next batch should I just make it thinner to begin with and let these EOs thicken it to "normal"? Also, is it normal for a 100% Olive oil Castille soap to leave a slight film. My recipe also uses glycerine in equal weight of the lye. My friend tried it and said "it isn't washing off" referring to the oily feeling leftover. I don't mind it myself. Thanks!

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Hiya @Milk Machine! I see you're off and running! Good for you!

In addition to the info in this thread, there are some things you need to know about making 100% olive oil castile soap.

is it normal for a 100% Olive oil Castille soap to leave a slight film.

The film indicates that there isn't quite enough dilution water.
Read about dilution rates in this thread:

My recipe also uses glycerine in equal weight of the lye.

That's strange. That's a new one on me and I've seen just about every recipe for LS out there since 2004 when I first made it.

It would help troubleshoot if you could post the calculator printout of your recipe. 3:1 Water to KOH ratio is typically what most LS'ers use. So I'm really curious to know where you got that recipe?

When making 100% Olive Oil LS I use Carrie Petersen's formula. It is NOT recommended for newbies because of the high heat and the toxic fumes that result if it's overheated.

Carrie Petersen's Glycerin LS


It takes all of 2 minutes to go through all the stages of soap before your very eyes until it is done. Exciting!!! After allowing it to rest for one full hour, it tests neutral with phenolphthalein drops as demonstrated in the video. At that point it is ready for the Dilution Phase -- although I often recommend waiting a day or two to assure that the paste is fully saponified or it may become cloudy.

As others will tell you, to be safe when subbing glycerin for water in LS you can use part water and part glycerin -- 50/50 or 35/65 or whatever. First dissolve the KOH in water; add the glycerin to your oils. The key is the high heat that glycerin + KOH generates.

HTH

 

[Milk Machine]

Hiya @Milk Machine! I see you're off and running! Good for you!

In addition to the info in this thread, there are some things you need to know about making 100% olive oil castile soap.

The film indicates that there isn't quite enough dilution water.
Read about dilution rates in this thread:


That's strange. That's a new one on me and I've seen just about every recipe for LS out there since 2004 when I first made it.

It would help troubleshoot if you could post the calculator printout of your recipe. 3:1 Water to KOH ratio is typically what most LS'ers use. So I'm really curious to know where you got that recipe?

When making 100% Olive Oil LS I use Carrie Petersen's formula. It is NOT recommended for newbies because of the high heat and the toxic fumes that result if it's overheated.

Carrie Petersen's Glycerin LS


It takes all of 2 minutes to go through all the stages of soap before your very eyes until it is done. Exciting!!! After allowing it to rest for one full hour, it tests neutral with phenolphthalein drops as demonstrated in the video. At that point it is ready for the Dilution Phase -- although I often recommend waiting a day or two to assure that the paste is fully saponified or it may become cloudy.

As others will tell you, to be safe when subbing glycerin for water in LS you can use part water and part glycerin -- 50/50 or 35/65 or whatever. First dissolve the KOH in water; add the glycerin to your oils. The key is the high heat that glycerin + KOH generates.

HTH

I got my recipe from Ellyseveryday.com. I'll attach the soapcalc image. The water (including glycerine) to lye ratio was 2.5:1. I dissolved the lye in water first and then added glycerine to my oils.
I ended up using 2204g water to 864 g paste (i.e. 2.55:1 dilution). Maybe I just needed to dilute more? Some of my sub-batches with different EO/FOs are a great consistency but they all have that slight filmy feeling but maybe that is just the humectant effect of the glycerine? Or it's wrong?

 

[AliOop]

Some EOs don't work well in LS, or only work well with certain combinations of oils. Often a little PS80 is needed to prevent separation, which can make it feel slimy. It's just not as straightforward with LS as it is with bar soap, unfortunately.