Runny batch; botched batch? I don't know what happened.

[Nobellius]

Good morning soapers!
Yesterday afternoon I whipped up a batch of Chai Lime soap. (weird, I know. But I really wanted to try chai and I also really wanted to use the lime. Incidentally, I was also low on oils and didn't really want to go to the store, so rather than make two tiny batches, I just did both at the same time.)
I took two chai tea and bags steeped them in about 1/4 cup of hot water, added cold water to meet the recipe (from SoapCalc) and mixed in my lye. That went fine. I heated up my oils, added the lye chai, and when the trace was just barely visible I poured some into a separate contained to mix in the color (green - Something Fabulous brand soap dye from Hobby Lobby), the Lime EO (I know about its phototoxicity, it's ok), and .5 oz of vegetable glycerin. Finished them both up to full trace with the stick blender (individually) and poured them into the mold. A few hours later I went to check it and the green had almost completely faded and it was still pretty runny. Thicker, but not a block of soap. Before work I checked it again: The green was barely noticeable and still runny. Now I am home from work and the green is a light mocha color and it's still runny.
I don't know what happened. I am positive I used sodium and not potassium. Reason being my Na is beads and my K is flakes. Though my measurements were in ounces not grams, they're accurate within .01 ounces. I used all fresh oils. I mean, it traced, I don't understand why I have s'not soap instead of bar soap. I wonder if chai isn't a good substitute for water, but it seems others have done it successfully.
Does anyone have any idea what may have caused this, and is there anything I can do to save it?

See attachments.
Thank you in advance! Hope everyone is having a good Friday!

 

[Genny]

When you separated the batches, you say that that trace was barely visible. Is it possible that it wasn't quite light trace yet & you separated them too early?
Also, how big of a batch is it?

 

[Nobellius]

Well, it had thickened up considerably at that point and there was a small 'peak' left from taking the blender out. After I added the additives to one half, I continued mixing them, separated, for a little bit longer before I poured. I think it may have actually been slightly thicker at that point than it is now lol I mean, could I have jumped the gun a little? Yeah, it's possible, especially since I'm pretty new at this, but I don't think I did.
It was just a pound. I used up the last of my peanut oil and corn oil, added some grapeseed and topped it off with soybean.

 

[Nobellius]

Oh, superfat at 3.5%

 

[Genny]

You weighed everything correctly & correctly calculated everything, right?

If so, then I'd just give it another day or 2 and then check it again. It may just soak up all the extra liquid and turn out fine. Also, 1/2 ounce of glycerin for a 1 pound batch (was it 1 lb of oils or 1 lb total?) is a lot of glycerin.

 

[Nobellius]

I wrote down the weight of the oils as I weighed them and double checked on the scale that they all added up to 1 lb before I even entered the values into SoapCalc, so they should be alright.

I guess I can play the wait and see game; I don't have anything else to do besides work anyway. And I can do both at the same time hahaha! I read somewhere, I don't recall where, that glycerin should be used around 5% weight of oils. Is this false?

 

[Genny]

What are you using the glycerin for?

 

[Nobellius]

Just a little added moisturizer.

 

[Genny]

You really don't need it since hand made soap already produces it's own glycerin. It's a great humectant in lotions, but can be problematic in CP.
If you're looking for added moisturizing, I'd go with a higher superfat and higher conditioning oils & butters in the recipe.

 

[Marilyna]

It's still really pretty and I use those same molds. The green is probably made for M&P rather than CP. See what's in it. Green food color will also morph like that.

 

[Genny]

I have those molds, too I didn't even notice that that's what those were LOL

 

[Nobellius]

Thank you, Marilyina! Those 'molds' are really just some plastic storage bins I got a goodwill for like a buck or two haha The dye just says Liquid Soap Dye, it doesn't say that's 'only for MP' or 'not for CP' or anything like that. The dye itself is FD & C1, FD & C5. Which, btw, means nothing to me lol
Thanks for the tip, Genny. Do you think it's possible that there's just too much glycerin and it's attracting/retaining too much water? I have the dehumidifier running hoping that will help.

 

[Genny]

I do think it's too much glycerin. I made 2 pounds of CP with about 1/4 ounce of glycerin in it (I was once told it would help anchor the scent. Didn't work.) and even though the air was very dry here, the batch ended up sweating so bad for a week or so that I had to keep wiping it away with a towel.

 

[Marilyna]

Thank you, Marilyina! Those 'molds' are really just some plastic storage bins I got a goodwill for like a buck or two haha The dye just says Liquid Soap Dye, it doesn't say that's 'only for MP' or 'not for CP' or anything like that. The dye itself is FD & C1, FD & C5. Which, btw, means nothing to me lol
Thanks for the tip, Genny. Do you think it's possible that there's just too much glycerin and it's attracting/retaining too much water? I have the dehumidifier running hoping that will help.

I got mine at Dollar Tree. 2 for a buck! Love them. Hold a 1# of oil batch very nicely (the 8" ones, that is). Spray with Pam and no need for lining. Love that about them.

The dye is probably Blue #1 and Yellow #5. The reason it morphs is because the Blue #1 turns purple in CP and if you mix purple with yellow, you get brownish. They should have specified MP only on the label, but anyway, now you know.

 

[Nobellius]

Well that's a bummer D: haha No biggie, ya live, ya learn.. ya buy more oil and support the economy!

 

[new12soap]

colorants from craft stores are usually meant for MP and are not stable in CP, I don't recommend them at all.

what was your recipe?

 

[Nobellius]

Haha look!
https://www.google.com/search?sourc...96,d.dmg&fp=db8d96ed93be75f0&biw=1366&bih=640
Gosh, that link is a mile long lol

I got mine at Dollar Tree. 2 for a buck! Love them. Hold a 1# of oil batch very nicely (the 8" ones, that is). Spray with Pam and no need for lining. Love that about them.

The dye is probably Blue #1 and Yellow #5. The reason it morphs is because the Blue #1 turns purple in CP and if you mix purple with yellow, you get brownish. They should have specified MP only on the label, but anyway, now you know.

I just want to make one thing very clear.. because it's hilarious.. I had to pay more money for someone's used, donated storage bins than you did for the same thing brand new. Anyway, it seems like those are basically just food dyes based on a google search (not that one ^). Oh well. It's still a good experience in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Marilyna]

colorants from craft stores are usually meant for MP and are not stable in CP, I don't recommend them at all.

what was your recipe?

Some are fine, just look at what exact color is in there. Red 40, Blue 1 (will turn pink to purple in CP), yellow 5, and yellow 6 will all work fine. But pay special attention to the greens like discussed earlier, because it's a mixture of Blue 1 and yellow 5 which will give you brown to red soap. Avoid Red 3 (fades terribly), though you probably won't see that in a soap colorant, but may see it in a food color.

 

[Marilyna]

Haha look!
https://www.google.com/search?sourc...96,d.dmg&fp=db8d96ed93be75f0&biw=1366&bih=640
Gosh, that link is a mile long lol


I just want to make one thing very clear.. because it's hilarious.. I had to pay more money for someone's used, donated storage bins than you did for the same thing brand new. Anyway, it seems like those are basically just food dyes based on a google search (not that one ^). Oh well. It's still a good experience in the grand scheme of things.

Cool! We come up on Google!
Well, don't feel bad for paying more. They're worth it anyway!! I've spent much more on molds that weren't as good as those.
Yes, many soap colorants are the same dyes as food colors. That's why I like to correct the misperception that food colors can't be used in CP soap.

 

[Lion Of Judah]

It was just a pound. I used up the last of my peanut oil and corn oil, added some grapeseed and topped it off with soybean.[/QUOTE]

if these are the only oils that you used then i would wait a little bit longer , maybe two to three days . reason is that they're all soft oils.