The good, the bad, the good

[Nd32479]

The Good...I made made my first two batches.
The Bad... Each batter was too thick to pour
The Good...I think I learned. And l'm looking forward to making another batch.

So the first batch would not even pour. I thought I had a thick medium trace but by the time I put the stick blender down and pour it was lick a thick solid gel. It came out as one whole blob into the mold. I literally was scooping and smushing it into the mold.

Not to be deterred, I tried again. This time when I started to pour it was like a think pancake batter. But as pouring, it started to change to a butter cream consistency. It changed in like 1 second! I again ended up scooping and smushing into the mold.

Recipe:
Lye Solution
Water - 7.8 oz
Lye- 3.84

Olive Oil - 14 oz
Shea Butter - 5 oz
Coconut Oil 76 - 7 oz
Caster Oil 1.7 oz
Essential Oils .9 oz
Green French Clay - 2 tsps mixed into EO.
My EO was Lemongrass and I've read that shouldn't accelerate trace.

Temps
1st batch
Oil temp 90
Lye temp 100

2nd batch
Oil temp 93
Lye Solution temp 91

I think my issue were a combination.
1. I over mixed. But I literally hand blended for maybe 30- 60 seconds.
2. I had a 33% lye mixture, so I may go with 30% next time.
3. I did add in Green French clay which I read can accelerate trace.
4. I used the hand blender after adding EO after what I thought was a light trace (the second time).

When the batter is so thick and you scoop and smoosh it in versus pour, will it set up as a bar still?

I plan to make another batch tomorrow after demolding these two. I plan to go with a 30% ratio to add more water, and stick blend WAY less. Any other suggestions?

Thanks

 

[AliensrReal]

It sounds like you used your stick blender way too much. You need to put it down. You are really just trying to get to a stable emulsion. Once at a stable emulsion you can just wait until the batter reaches the thickness at which you want to pour it.

 

[KiwiMoose]

It sounds like you used your stick blender way too much. You need to put it down. You are really just trying to get to a stable emulsion. Once at a stable emulsion you can just wait until the batter reaches the thickness at which you want to pour it.

I concur. The stick blender should run for about 2-3 seconds, then stop and 'stir' with the blender. Repeat about five or six times until trace is reached.

 

[AliOop]

For one-color soaps, I would also recommend stick-blending the french green clay and EO into the oils really well, before you add the lye solution. That way you don't have to SB as much on the back end.

 

[dibbles]

I agree with the others. I would also suggest reserving a little of your batch water and hydrate your clay for at least an hour, then SB that into the oils before you add the lye solution. The soap you've already made will set up just fine. Good luck with your next batch.

 

[Ford]

Sounds like you're having fun and learning. Just out of curiosity. What were you using the green clay for?

 

[Zing]

Nothing to add here except to say welcome and congrats on your batches. Sounds like you're taking good notes which is good. And yes pouring at thin or thick trace will still yield you soap. I don't know if you watch the YouTubes but I find that they are kinda misleading to newbies -- when they do the fast-forward stirring, it's hard to know if they are bursting the stick blender or stirring with the stick blender off. Just like our good friend @KiwiMoose , I use my blender like a spoon to stir with just a few bursts of 3 seconds. Keep us posted!

 

[Nd32479]

Nothing to add here except to say welcome and congrats on your batches. Sounds like you're taking good notes which is good. And yes pouring at thin or thick trace will still yield you soap. I don't know if you watch the YouTubes but I find that they are kinda misleading to newbies -- when they do the fast-forward stirring, it's hard to know if they are bursting the stick blender or stirring with the stick blender off. Just like our good friend @KiwiMoose , I use my blender like a spoon to stir with just a few bursts of 3 seconds. Keep us posted!

All good advice from all. Thanks

Overall the batches turned out pretty good with only a few air pockets. The ends were the worse but even those are usable.

I tried the off cut already. And wow! Hands felt super conditions after. Not sure if any of that goes away after curing, but even if a little does that’s ok.

I made a 3rd batch and poured nicely as I did not SB nearly as much. It did get a little thick at the end which left a little texture on top, but nothing too bad. I was going for a fully level pour. I didn’t adjust the water in the 3rd batch as I wanted to keep the recipe that same to limit the variable to just blending. I do think for now I’ll add a little more water for that safety net. If I read correctly the extra water can effect a partial gel and doing the oven trick can help with that. So that is what I’ll do for now.

 

[CatahoulaBubble]

It's the curse of the stick blender. Even though I've been making soap for years I still sometimes stick blend longer than I should. I think "just one more pulse" and pop! I'm over the edge into a heavy trace. I've started stirring with a spatula for a bit and then a quick 2 second pulse and then stir a bit more to see how it is and then do another 2 second pulse and then stir some more. Usually if I stop at that point with the stick blender then it comes to a nice trace with just stirring. But it will depend on temps, fragrance oils, and if the soap gods are looking down upon you with favor.

 

[Shelley D]

You guys must have some super duper stick blenders! That, or super rich soap recipes that thicken quickly because I almost never have that problem I'm usually pouring my soap into my loaf mold after stick blending until just shy of enternity, and still waiting for it to thicken enough to maybe make some swirlies on top! I guess that's the joys of olive oil soaps!
***I have been shifting my percentages lately though ~ olive oil is still the highest percentage but not over 50%, and I'm trying to keep it down near 30-40% so my batters have been richer, creamier, and also less fluid
Nothing beats actual experience!

 

[Savage Daughter]

What type of olive oil are you using?

The reason I ask is this:

When I was using pomace olive oil - how I originally was taught to make soap in the 90s when pomace olive oil was WAY cheaper than extra virgin - and then was using clays as colorants when I began making soap again in the past year or so, my batter was getting stupidly thick, stupidly fast.

Then I began pre-hydrating my clays the night before. Still thick in the batter department, but not as bad. I never added my clays directly to my oils because I rarely make 1 color soaps, which gets into a whole lot of other issues related to batter thickening up before I would prefer, which I wont bother mentioning here.

If you wish to use clays as colorants, I would suggest using extra virgin olive oil for those batches at the very least. This has helped me immensely in keeping my batter fluid for a longer period of time so that I am able to swirl & do other stuff.

I also began soaping at room temperature. Things got even better.

I stopped blending to 'trace' as I was taught & began blending to emulsion before adding essential oils, clays & other natural colorants. Better yet!

The other factor may be *how* you are adding your clay to your soap batter. Are you whisking it in, or are you using your stick blender to incorporate it?

If using your stick blender to mix the clay into your soap batter, switch to a whisk. Likewise for adding in essential oils. Use a whisk for stirring this stuff in. This prevents / reduces the chances of unwanted thickening.

I blend like Kiwi Moose & Zing. Short 3 second bursts & then stirring with the shaft of the stick blender.

I do use a whisk to blend my additives such as natural colorants & essential oils in.

 

[Savage Daughter]

You guys must have some super duper stick blenders! That, or super rich soap recipes that thicken quickly because I almost never have that problem I'm usually pouring my soap into my loaf mold after stick blending until just shy of enternity, and still waiting for it to thicken enough to maybe make some swirlies on top! I guess that's the joys of olive oil soaps!
***I have been shifting my percentages lately though ~ olive oil is still the highest percentage but not over 50%, and I'm trying to keep it down near 30-40% so my batters have been richer, creamier, and also less fluid
Nothing beats actual experience!

I would love to know what your recipe is, if willing to share, because that would be perfect for me in certain situations!

 

[Jorah]

You guys must have some super duper stick blenders!

I'm with you, Shelley. I blend the heck out of my soaps, and they rarely get too thick. I had one batch early on, one of my first with scent, that I had to shove into the mold in handfuls, though!

 

[Jorah]

Not to be deterred, I tried again.

This is a key factor! Not being deterred is huge. Welcome to the soap-making community!

 

[Shelley D]

I would love to know what your recipe is, if willing to share, because that would be perfect for me in certain situations!

@Jorah @QuasiQuadrant
That was when I was working with 80% olive oil recipes. I started with Aleppo soap, then started substituting other oils for the laurel berry oil. I was using EVOO, not pomace, because that's what we always have plenty of in the house because DH is Romanian and anything other than pure olive oil is an abomination (but he doesn't want to pay for the expensive imported brands, so we get extra virgin). Then I read, here in the forum somewhere, that olive oil recipes are notorious for taking forever to reach trace (and olive oil is getting more and more expensive) so I started lowering the olive oil percentage in my recipes ~ and low and behold, I don't have to blend as long. I don't know if it affects trace, but I also use milks as 100% of my liquid ~ I've used goat's milk, buttermilk, and an almond & coconut milk blend to make my lye solutions. I've also made one recipe with oat milk ~ that one got thick & hot real fast, but I think my OO was a lower percentage in that recipe, but it's been a while

 

[AliOop]

When it comes to how much stick-blending is required, there are sooo many variables:

1. The power/speed of your SB. I can blend a lot longer now using the low-speed setting on my new AllClad SB. We are talking 10+ seconds compared to <2 seconds for the previous one.

2. The size of your batch; you can blend larger batches exponentially longer than small ones.

3. The percentage of water in your lye solution - the more water, the longer you can blend.

4. The heat of your oils and your lye solution. People often complain that OO soaps take forever to trace, whether CP, HP, or LS. I simply make sure my OO is heated to 180F and my lye solution is fresh and HOT.

5. Additives: are you using an accelerating FO/EO, or a decelerating one (like citrus EOs)? Are you adding TD or charcoal or a mica that thickens batter quickly?

6. Oils: OO and lard are slow-tracing, whereas CO, pomace OO, and palm are quick movers. Older oils of any type will trace faster due to oxidation.

7. For LS, trace time varies greatly depending whether you use all water for your KOH solution, or replace some of it with glycerin. I routinely dissolve my KOH in an equal amount of water, and use glycerin for the rest of the liquid (no heating of glycerin is required that way). For a 100% OO soap that uses glycerin for most of the liquid, and with the OO heated to 180F, my batter traces in less than 5 minutes, compared to the usual 10 minutes.

 

[Nd32479]

Sounds like you're having fun and learning. Just out of curiosity. What were you using the green clay for?

Mainly color.

 

[Nd32479]

What type of olive oil are you using?

The reason I ask is this:

When I was using pomace olive oil - how I originally was taught to make soap in the 90s when pomace olive oil was WAY cheaper than extra virgin - and then was using clays as colorants when I began making soap again in the past year or so, my batter was getting stupidly thick, stupidly fast.

Then I began pre-hydrating my clays the night before. Still thick in the batter department, but not as bad. I never added my clays directly to my oils because I rarely make 1 color soaps, which gets into a whole lot of other issues related to batter thickening up before I would prefer, which I wont bother mentioning here.

If you wish to use clays as colorants, I would suggest using extra virgin olive oil for those batches at the very least. This has helped me immensely in keeping my batter fluid for a longer period of time so that I am able to swirl & do other stuff.

I also began soaping at room temperature. Things got even better.

I stopped blending to 'trace' as I was taught & began blending to emulsion before adding essential oils, clays & other natural colorants. Better yet!

The other factor may be *how* you are adding your clay to your soap batter. Are you whisking it in, or are you using your stick blender to incorporate it?

If using your stick blender to mix the clay into your soap batter, switch to a whisk. Likewise for adding in essential oils. Use a whisk for stirring this stuff in. This prevents / reduces the chances of unwanted thickening.

I blend like Kiwi Moose & Zing. Short 3 second bursts & then stirring with the shaft of the stick blender.

I do use a whisk to blend my additives such as natural colorants & essential oils in.

I used EEO. And mixed the clay with the EO. Then I mixed the EO/Clap it with spatula.