Soap still soft after sitting over night

[kjeffers004]

Good morning. Wondering if I can get some insight on this recipe. I made a soap last night. It’s been about 12 hrs. I covered it and wrapped with a towel. This morning it’s still hasn’t really hardened. I touched it and some stuck to my glove.

Not sure if I’ve done something wrong with the recipe. I’ve made soaps with high OO that have hardened a little more than this one over night. Thanks!

 

[GemstonePony]

Welcome! There are a lot of factors that influence how quickly soap hardens. Even with identical formulas and ingredients, there will still be some variation in hardening time from batch to batch. 12 hours is still early. If it hasn't hardened in a week, then I would maybe start wondering about the batch or look into adding hardeners to future batches. As long as your soap looks emulsified, I would let it do it's thing and check on it in a day or two.
Also, please introduce yourself in the Introduction forum so we can get to know you and where you're at in your soaping journey a bit better.

 

[AlexanderMakesSoap]

Except for salt bars, I typically don't check my soaps till around 24 hours, so I don't even know what's normal for a 12 hour wait. I'd just give it a bit more time and see. Your recipe looks like it will be somewhat soft, but should harden (unless some measurement went wrong!).

 

[Todd Ziegler]

You have a large amount of olive oil in your recipe and it looks like you have added some different clays to it as well. Olive oil in large amounts can be slow to harden and 12 hours is just a start for the hardening time, especially with 45% olive oil. The clays could also be slowing it down as well.

Have you used clays before? Also with high OO I wouldn't worry until about 3 days have passed.

 

[DeeAnna]

Your batch is under 16 oz of fats, so I'm betting it did not warm up much due to its small size. I agree with the others to have patience -- the soap will firm up with time.

When you make your next batch, you might want to compensate by adding some warmth and/or covering the mold(s) with a towel. Cooler temperatures will slow the rate of saponification, and the soap will stay softer longer.

There are "rescue" methods that essentially warm the soap in the oven so the soap reaches its gel temperature (the temp at which soap changes from a solid to a pasty or liquidy form). That will help firm up an overly soft soap as well.

But just giving the soap some extra time in the mold will also work.

edit: I see you also used 3% sodium lactate. Most people use that to promote a harder soap, and it can be helpful, but as you're finding out, it's not a surefire solution. That's kind of how it goes with soap making.

 

[Zing]

Patience, Grasshopper.

 

[mutinyintl]

Any update?

 

[kjeffers004]

Any update?

Hello it finally came out of the mold. It’s still a bit soft. I will probably let it cure for 3 or 4 months.

 

[kjeffers004]

Thanks everyone for all the helpful responses!

 

[KiwiMoose]

Do you usually use a 7% superfat? That might have contributed to a longer hardening time.

 

[kjeffers004]

Do you usually use a 7% superfat? That might have contributed to a longer hardening time.

No, I do t think I’ve done a superfat at 7% before this. I will keep this in mind!

 

[Peachy Clean Soap]

Your soap is beautiful' I've had soap that was so soft I thought it would never be hard' more often then not, it does. Happy Soaping