so is it soap?

[Aseret]

ok im like super pumped after having just made my very first batch of soap,its like in the molds now.only i dont know if its soap lol,it sort of resembles soap but...i used the crock pot HP method and the recipe i was following said to stir to trace then cook 3 hrs checking every 30 min.i stirred to what i thought was trace and after 20 minutes of cooking it was so thick i had to spoon it in the molds.anyone know whats going on??and will it actually be soap?lol id sure like to know.

 

[IrishLass]

When I make HP, I hold off on molding it until 1) it has reached the transluscent 'vaseline' stage, and 2) it tests out tongue-neutral after having reached the vaseline stage.

Three questions: Did your soap reach the vaseline stage? Did you check for zap once it did? And did you cover your HP while it was cooking?

I believe it will still be soap, but depending on if there was still zap when you molded, it may take longer to cure.


IrishLass

 

[Aseret]

well when i seen it was so thick i freaked, i then added my color and FO and stirred, stirred, and stirred and it did sort of look like vaseline. i didnt think to toungue test and yes i did cover it while it was cooking....did i completely fudge it up?

 

[krissy]

zap test, if it is not zappy then yes you made soap but you still need to cure it at least 2+ weeks.

if it is zappy you can let it sit there and cure or dump it back in the crock pot and finish cooking it

 

[carebear]

recipe with actual amounts, please.

but 3.5 hours of cook for a bar soap is about 3 hours longer than any soap I've done with the exception of a castile once.

 

[Aseret]

well good news is i zap tested it and theres no zap,i let it sit over night and it looks like soap.but there seems to be excess oil,not alot,not like pooling just kinda coating the soap,normal?

the recipe called for
19 oz olive oil
3 oz palm kernal oil
10 oz coconut oil
4.5 oz lye in 12 oz water
also called for 2 tblspoons castor oil but i didnt use this.

 

[AmyW]

also called for 2 tblspoons castor oil but i didnt use this.

If you left out an oil, the lye amount HAS to be adjusted. Get familiar with Soap Calc
http://www.soapcalc.net/calc/SoapCalcWP.asp

In this case, you've still got a superfat of about 8% but just leaving out oils without recalculating the lye amount can leave you with a lye heavy soap.

Looking at the numbers in soap calc, if you had added the castor, you'd have a superfat of 12% or so... it's pretty high for an olive oil based soap. Where did you get the recipe?

 

[Aseret]

oooh..well now i feel stupid.after a month of reading everything on soapmaking i could find i felt confident yet i didnt think about that..i guess i got lucky this time but i will definitly take time to check next time.thank u for the site.and everyone for yalls help.i got the recipe from www.netplaces.com/soapmaking i think its from a book by alicia grosso.called the everything soapmaking book.

 

[carebear]

well good news is i zap tested it and theres no zap,i let it sit over night and it looks like soap.but there seems to be excess oil,not alot,not like pooling just kinda coating the soap,normal?

not really normal, no. did it overheat in the mold? did it gel?

 

[Aseret]

oh and as an aside...can anyone tell me if CP is any easier than HP.i chose HP because i read it doesnt have to cure as long as CP and im by nature a very impatient person(im working on it but its not easy lol).i would have done M&P but that just felt like cheating to me.it wouldnt be like an accomplishment...no offense to anyone who does M&P but for me,i started soapmaking for a reason,and M&P just doesnt fit that...

 

[Aseret]

im not sure if it overheated.i would say no because i used a loaf mold and also some individual molds and the idividuals are a little oily as well,even though they set up and cooled off quickly.could using too much FO have caused it because the oil smells really good..and i must admit i sort of just drizzled it in until i could really smell it.

 

[AmyW]

My own nature is extremely impatient. Soap making requires more than I have, but I make it work. What I did at the start was a few batches of CP and then HPed a couple. CP allowed me to learn the basics and then I followed a tutorial (like http://smftutorials.com/drupal/how-to-make-cphp-soap) using the same recipe as I was CPing, just a touch more water.

 

[AmyW]

im not sure if it overheated.i would say no because i used a loaf mold and also some individual molds and the idividuals are a little oily as well,even though they set up and cooled off quickly.could using too much FO have caused it because the oil smells really good..and i must admit i sort of just drizzled it in until i could really smell it.

Your first batch is giving you lots of lessons to learn from - always measure your fragrance. Too much can cause skin irritation or worse, too little will fade in the soap before it's used. .5oz-1oz per pound of oils used is normal.

 

[carebear]

Oh, HP - sorry I completely blanked on that. Then gel is not relevant since you cook it.

 

[Aseret]

im not sure if it overheated.i would say no because i used a loaf mold and also some individual molds and the idividuals are a little oily as well,even though they set up and cooled off quickly.could using too much FO have caused it because the oil smells really good..and i must admit i sort of just drizzled it in until i could really smell it.

Your first batch is giving you lots of lessons to learn from - always measure your fragrance. Too much can cause skin irritation or worse, too little will fade in the soap before it's used. .5oz-1oz per pound of oils used is normal.

oh i didnt use that much at all.my FO bottles are only 1 oz and i didnt use the whole bottle or anything...i dont know what i did wrong

 

[IrishLass]

i think its from a book by alicia grosso.called the everything soapmaking book......

the recipe called for
19 oz olive oil
3 oz palm kernal oil
10 oz coconut oil
4.5 oz lye in 12 oz water
also called for 2 tblspoons castor oil but i didnt use this.

I've got that book right here in my lap, and yep- the recipe is on page 119. Regarding the ommitting of the 2 tbsp. of castor- in this case it was perfectly okay that it was left out without re-calculating the lye, for Alicia states just a few pages previous to the recipe that all her recipes have a built-in superfat of 5% to 7%. and that adding the extra tablespoons of castor are optional, i.e.- only if you want extra superfatting on top of that. But still- what AmyW said is spot-on about getting to know your lye calculator. Never soap without double-checking, even if the recipe came from a trusted source.

but there seems to be excess oil,not alot,not like pooling just kinda coating the soap,normal?

I wouldn't exactly call it normal, but nevertheless, it does happen to some batches. If there's not a whole bunch of oil leaking out you can just leave it alone and it should re-absorb back in.

oh and as an aside...can anyone tell me if CP is any easier than HP.i chose HP because i read it doesnt have to cure as long as CP

I personally find CP to be much less of a hassle than HP. I only HP if I absolutely have to, i.e. only when I need to soap a real ornery FO that just won't behave in CP no matter what I try. As far as cure goes, I've found that HP greatly benefits from a long cure just the same as CP, especially when it comes to longevity and hardness. Two-week old HP is softer and melts away so much quicker than 4 week old HP. At least that has been the case with mine.

could using too much FO have caused it because the oil smells really good..and i must admit i sort of just drizzled it in until i could really smell it.

The answer is a most definite 'Yes, it could'. When it comes to soap where things need to be precise, one should never just drizzle in something without forethought, because doing so can either make or break your soap. Like AmyW said- always measure your FO because too much can cause skin irritation. Too much can also cause leakage. Every FO comes with maximum usage rates recommended by the manufacturer that one should never exceed. And ditto also to what AmyW said about adding too little, i.e.- fading issues.

oh i didnt use that much at all.my FO bottles are only 1 oz and i didnt use the whole bottle or anything...i dont know what i did wrong

What was the recommended maximum usage rate for that particular FO?

If it turns out your FO amount was within the recommended usage rate for your size batch, it is very possible that it wasn't mixed in as well as it needed to be and is precipitating out.


IrishLass

 

[Aseret]

thank u irish lass u are a wealth of information and i appreciate it.i'll check the usage rate on the FO now,and i definitly learned my lesson about altering recipes and whatnot.i plan on making another batch tonight.im torn between trying CP or tackling HP again(although i dont think my soap totally failed,it isnt perfect and it dont sit right with me,like the old adage says try try and try again).but altogether im still syked and proud that i actually made SOMETHING,lol.Everybodys being so helpful and although for a minute i felt like a numbskull i must say im hooked.Regarding this first batch im gonna let it cure and leave it be,though its hard to not go touch every 5 minutes lol.Hopefully the oil will be reabsorbed...if not though would rebatching help?

 

[Aseret]

hmm the only thing i could find about the FO where i got them from is that they are all super concentrated and .5oz is enought to scent an entire gallon of their unscented soap base.so thats likely the problem huh?wish id noticed that before.but live and learn i guess