The VERY real dangers of soaping-Photos added!!

[IrishLass]

When I first started making soap I had lye splash in my eye, thank god I was wearing my glasses, no not goggles but i got lye in my eye Most went on my lens of my glasses which partially melted.

Thank you for sharing that. It's a lesson to us all about the importance of having some kind of protection that closes off any possible entryway to the eyes, whether it be form-fitting goggles or face shields. Glasses are certainly better than nothing, but they leave way too much open. Back in my early soaping days I used to wear just my glasses for eye protection, too (thankfully without incident), but I've since switched to form-fitting goggles and am glad I did. It's much better to be safe than sorry.

IrishLass

 

[Lynnz]

Oh Mouse I am really feeling for you after reading that.......at the end of the day we are only human and characters temped by impulse. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Stinkydancer]

I think this should be stickied for Newbie soapers.

Heck even for us old timers.

I have to admit I'm guilty of getting lax on safety at times. But then something happens and your like- I'm an *****! I'm weird about getting lye in my eye so I always have goggles on but gloves that's a different story. :shock:

Sometimes things get to be second nature- I usually leave my pots for a couple of days. Today- I had company coming and I soaped last night so I had to clean up in a hurry- well I didn't wear my gloves and apparently- the soap in the pot was still active. While my hands don't hurt- they are red and dry. My sister in law came and (she always steals my soap but she loves it so it's all good) and was weirded out by my hands and was like- oh yeah I'll get some soap before I go home (back to Florida). So I asked is it because of my hands- and she was honest. LOL I explained what it was and she stole some soap already.

So thanks for this post and glad you are OK!

Completely off topic- but wow Lynnz!!! I just saw your blog- you do gorgeous work!

Ok sorry to hijack!

 

[simplymcghie]

Thank you for sharing that story. Now that you have had time to go over it, what do you think make the boil over, disaster, mess, scare, etc.

And how did the apple jack peel work? I just bought that too and can't wait for it to arrive.

 

[Relle]

Glad your OK and for me - if I haven't got time up my sleeve, no soaping, no matter how much I want to.

I kicked a lye container :roll: earlier this year and put a post up to show my stupity - haven't done that again.

 

[Mouse]

simplymcghie said "Thank you for sharing that story. Now that you have had time to go over it, what do you think make the boil over, disaster, mess, scare, etc. "

1) I didn't wear safety gear
2) I had a vision, but no clear path- the whole thing became very complicated very quickly with all of the containers, and became confusing
3) I felt rushed, which affected my judgement- I just poured lye into the water without adding a bit at a time and mixing it in. It immediately boiled over the container, onto my hand, and onto the floor.

"And how did the apple jack peel work? I just bought that too and can't wait for it to arrive."

My soap ended up a rebatch, and it's stinkin' ugly :evil: I didn't make one good decision on this batch, but it was a really good experience. The only good thing is the FO-it's fab....
I will get up pictures of my lye burn and my ugly AJ FO soap asap- we just put in an offer on a house today, so it may take me some time

 

[Pretty n Plain]

My soap ended up a rebatch, and it's stinkin' ugly I didn't make one good decision on this batch, but it was a really good experience. The only good thing is the FO-it's fab....
I will get up pictures of my lye burn and my ugly AJ FO soap asap- we just put in an offer on a house today, so it may take me some time

Mouse your experience has be a very valuable one, I was going to ask if you could post a pick of your burn but I didn't want you to think I was being insensitive, truth is, I want to print it out and pin it to my work room cork board with your first post as a reminder to me not to become complacent when soaping (my bad habit) one thing I did pick up on in your last post was the clutter issue, I could really relate to that so i'm making a point to organise and clean up as I soap. Thanks again and all the best with the house hunting.

 

[Mouse]

I added pics but the one of the lye burn is way smaller...how did I do that??

 

[nattynoo]

Ouch that looks nasty.
Hope its healing ok.

 

[BakingNana]

Mouse, so glad you were not more seriously hurt, and I'll add my thanks for posting to all the others. Every stupid mistake I've ever made has been because I was rushed or tired. And the point someone made about eye glasses not being enough is valid on even another level besides eye damage--eyeglasses are expensive and lye permanently damages them.

For anyone out there who may be balking at wearing gloves because they are clumsy or bulky, try the nitrile "exam" type gloves. They are available in several sizes so you can get a good, tight fit. No clumsiness.
Now I'm going to go thank my wonderful hubby for cleaning up and organizing the soap lab for me today!

Hope your burn doesn't leave a scar. :cry:

 

[Bubbles Galore]

The soap looks good but the burn looks bad.

 

[Bubbly Buddha]

Yikes! How scary! I'm glad you are okay.

I soaped BB's the other day, no issues.

was your response in another thread and I would think this was a BIG issue, maybe not with the FO itself but all the same! Hard to tell what the FO was behaving like in that situation!

Again, I'm glad you are okay and thanks for the safety reminder!

 

[honor435]

lye burn

disposible gloves are not heavy enough, use the yellow rubber ones for dish washing, they have some really nice fitting ones that you can still work well with.
hope your burn heals ok.

 

[Mouse]

Honor, why aren't disposables sufficient, in your opinion?
My husband bought me a box of disposable nitrile gloves, exactly what he uses in the lab. It seems to work for them.

 

[Sunny]

Honor, why aren't disposables sufficient, in your opinion?
My husband bought me a box of disposable nitrile gloves, exactly what he uses in the lab. It seems to work for them.

I wouldn't use these in case something melted through the glove or melted the glove onto my skin. Ouch.

I don't use utility gloves either because it makes me more clumsy and more likely to have an accident, honestly. Maybe it works for some people but not for me. I have spilled raw soap on my hands (not lye water) and the soap is easy to wash off with dish detergent and water.

 

[BakingNana]

Re: lye burn

disposible gloves are not heavy enough, use the yellow rubber ones for dish washing, they have some really nice fitting ones that you can still work well with.
hope your burn heals ok.

I disagree. I mix a large quantity of 50% solution at a time. Granted, I am careful, but the clumsiness of other gloves IMO is much more dangerous than the risk of a burn through nitrile gloves. I'd compare it to working with boiling water while wearing nitrile gloves.

 

[saltydog]

I'm still very embarrassed, very angry with myself, but most of all humbled by my mistakes. Chastened. This is a wonderful hobby and it has added a lot of joy to my life, but I didn't give the lye the respect it deserved. I feel very lucky that it wasn't worse.

I hope this helps someone out there.

So here's the Applejack- I had to rebatch it :cry:

It is a wonderful hobby, forgive yourself. Don't be angry and embarrassed, be thankful your Angels were with you. I'm sorry that you got burnt, I hope your hand heals quickly.

And by sharing your story, you did help me! It's always helpful to be reminded of the dangers of lye. I'm sure you'll be extra careful in the future. Keep on soaping

 

[Hazel]

Mouse -

I hope that doesn't leave a scar. It's too bad it happened but it's an excellent reminder to the rest of us at how quickly something can happen.

Well OMG my one hand was wiping the other holding it, still with gloves on but I took off my goggles early.....OMG my hand hit the button and splattered raw soap all over my face and neck.....I freaked as I felt some go in my right eye.....dropped everything and ran upstairs and splashed vinegar all over my face and neck and then upstairs to the bathroom and rinsed everything.I didn't have a mark on me...I was very lucky although my eye burned for a good while...

We all need a shack up I guess to make us respect what we are working with....Thanks for sharing

lioness -

I'm so glad you're okay, too. You were very, very lucky. Thanks for mentioning about not unplugging the stick blender because I've done the same thing.

 

[Padamae]

I also always always wore gloves when I soaped but one day I got to when I was at the point of putting the soap in the mold taking them
Off. Then I also got a burn but I didn't know it till the next day. I was surprised. It scabbed over and was getting inflamed. I picked the scab off and cleaned it out real well. No scar but the gloves now stay on for the entire process. It never got any bigger than about 4 mm big.

 

[SumikoKeel]

Glad everything is OK

We all have off days I'm relieved your ok! Blessings and care-