SWD (Soaping While Distracted)

[AKelly75]

I was in the cleanup phase of soap making and was attempting to brainstorm why my recipe traced so quickly... making my secret feather swirl design almost impossible. Then, it hit me and I realized I had left out one of my oils.

I had been rushing to get the oils measured and wanted to finish before my family came home for dinner. That'll teach me to just stop everything and wait until they're in bed for the evening instead of rushing through. Daughter said the soap is very pretty. I said as long as she didn't mind losing layers of skin using it...

So, my question: Can I go ahead, scoop the lye heavy soap into a crockpot and melt it down tonight or should I wait for it to finish hardening (almost there now) and then shred it and add the missing oil?

Also, I went very light on the fragrance because I was trying out a sample. Will this cook off enough that I can add extra scent as long as I don't exceed the maximum recommended usage rate?

 

[penelopejane]

How much oil did you forget?

If you post your entire recipe including lye and water you will get more help.
Your soap might be fine as is.

 

[AKelly75]

I superfatted to 8%

Oils were 50% Tallow (24oz), 25% CO (12oz), 20% Castor (9.6oz), and 5% (2.4oz) Shea Butter. I left out the Shea. Also dispersed the micas and titanium dioxide in a total of 5 teaspoons of Sunflower Oil. 18.24 Oz Water To 6.59 Oz Lye. Used SoapCalc.

I realize I may be okay (I will try the zap test this afternoon), but my question concerns the best time to attempt to rebatch... right after I poured and realized my mistake or waiting until it is completely hard to shred and rebatch?

BTW, although I realize now it may not be lye-heavy, I make soap for my personal use primarily and my skin needs soap that is a little higher superfatted, thus why I will need to rebatch it.

 

[earlene]

I would have put it in a crock pot right away to rebatch. You can do it at anytime, really. The sooner the better, actually, while it is still as moist as possible so you don't have to add any more liquid. If it's not moist enough, try the least amount of extra water possible to get it to melt sufficiently to be able to work the melted shea into the batter.

And I agree with you, with 25% CO, getting that shea in there to offset the stripping of CO is important.

 

[cmzaha]

I would let it cure for 2-6 months then zap test it. With your superfat it might just straighten itself out. You can re-batch anytime. But taking into account what Earlene mentioned about the high CO that is a reason to consider rebatching now

 

[penelopejane]

I superfatted to 8%

Oils were 50% Tallow (24oz), 25% CO (12oz), 20% Castor (9.6oz), and 5% (2.4oz) Shea Butter. I left out the Shea. Also dispersed the micas and titanium dioxide in a total of 5 teaspoons of Sunflower Oil. 18.24 Oz Water To 6.59 Oz Lye. Used SoapCalc.

BTW, although I realize now it may not be lye-heavy, I make soap for my personal use primarily and my skin needs soap that is a little higher superfatted, thus why I will need to rebatch it.

I don’t rebatch ever - too much of a nightmare. I do confetti failures if necessary.

In future try a batch with 5% castor (more than that makes a sticky soap) and max 10% coconut oil or completely leave it out. CO makes my skin really dry and flaky. High SF soaps just block my drains and don’t stop my skin drying out. Try a 3% SF with a better recipe and you should feel a difference.

Next time take the extra oil to disperse the colours from the recipe oils. It will make a more even soap and give you a better idea what SF you are actually using.

 

[DeeAnna]

It will be fine. Your superfat was lowered by somewhere around 3% by forgetting the shea. Since you started at 8% AND you added extra oil with your colors, your soap won't come anywhere close to being lye heavy.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I superfatted to 8% ... 5% (2.4oz) Shea Butter. I left out the Shea ... total of 5 teaspoons of Sunflower Oil.
I realize I may be okay...

I think you'll be okay too! No rebatch necessary. I would wait and see. BTW, you can wait up to 2 weeks before needing to add extra water to rebatch this soap. So, I'm thinking, no need to rush into rebatching.

...but my question concerns the best time to attempt to rebatch... ?

For me, the best time to rebatch is just as soon as the soap is firm enough to put through my Salad Shooter, usually in a day or two. If I do it any sooner, it just gums up the shredder part.

...although I realize now it may not be lye-heavy, I make soap for my personal use primarily and my skin needs soap that is a little higher superfatted, thus why I will need to rebatch it

Um, maybe just take the shea butter you forgot to put in the batch and rub it on damp skin after your shower. ???

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Posted on another thread: "53% Superfat".

First rule of soaping: >>>Patience.
Second rule of soaping: >Don't panic.
Third rule of soaping: >>Don't soap when you're half asleep, sick, tired, in a hurry, hungry, hafta pee, distracted or preoccupied.

Not much help at this point, I know, but might be of some use to those of us this time of year with self-imposed deadlines to meet.