Thick too fast

[Lweaver]

Hi, this is my first batch. It was turning thick too fast. It seemed that I never got the batter consistency with everything mixed.
I waited for the oils and lye water to be 130 degrees. I thought this was too warm so the second batch I waited for 100 degrees and it still was too thick.
Any suggestions on what I’m doing wrong??

 

[user 29721]

Butters (cocoa and shea in your recipe) tend to accelerate the saponification. Try different recipe that has Olive, Coconut and Palm (or Tallow).

 

[Zing]

First off, CONGRATULATIONS on your first soap!

Does that recipe list all ingredients? No essential oil or fragrance oil? Some scents can accelerate.

What is your technique? When I first began I had a heavy finger on the stick blender and quickly got thick trace. Now I use the stick blender sparingly. I'll do a 5 second burst followed by lots of stirring and repeat until I get to emulsion or thin trace.

When I was a noob, I obsessed over temperatures and thermometers. Now I wait until the lye solution and melted oils containers are just warm to the touch. I often will make up the lye solution and melted oils on one day, and combine on a different day.

Good luck to you and keep us posted on batch #2!

 

[Babyshoes]

The most common reason for beginner soaps getting too thick is over-blending. You really don't need to stick blend for long. Some recipes need less than 10 seconds of blending time, in very short bursts. My high lard recipe comes to trace in under 30 seconds of blending time, still in short bursts of 3-5 seconds.

 

[kagey]

sorry about your tough experience.
you've got what's know as "soap on a stick" or soap that seized
I've had several batched of mine do that, so you're in good company.

there are so many variables that can cause this.
all that you've posted seems in-line with what you should do:
recipe seems fine, water discount okay, ingredients good
your initial temps are on the high side... but within reason
did you use distilled water? or water from the faucet?

so it's either you overblended it, or it's something you added like a fragrance, honey or EOs
check out this article to help you dig a bit deeper:
https://nurturesoap.com/blogs/nurture-soap-blog/soap-on-a-stick-you-ve-got-this

 

[Ladka]

The most common reason for beginner soaps getting too thick is over-blending. You really don't need to stick blend for long. Some recipes need less than 10 seconds of blending time, in very short bursts. My high lard recipe comes to trace in under 30 seconds of blending time, still in short bursts of 3-5 seconds.

May I ask what are your other oils/fats or any accelerating FO/EO? Cause my high lard batter is extremely slow and I'd love to shorten the process a bit.

 

[Babyshoes]

May I ask what are your other oils/fats or any accelerating FO/EO? Cause my high lard batter is extremely slow and I'd love to shorten the process a bit.

I use 40-50% lard, plus olive, coconut, shea and castor. I don't have the recipe to hand, but the numbers are about what you'd expect.
I don't measure temp, but both lye and oils are warm, but not hot when I touch the outside of the container. No FO until after trace. I pulse the blender for a few seconds, then stir well in between. It takes longer if I soap cooler.

 

[cmzaha]

Your 25% butter is most likely accelerating your trace a tad so I would cut your stick blending. You could try a cooler temp but not much cooler until you learn to recognize false, which is really another discussion. I will return to the stick blending as being your culprit unless you added in an accelerating fragrance or essential oil. Your Lye Concentration is 29% which should be fine as it gives you a decent amount of water to work with, many of us find 33% to be the sweet spot.

 

[Lweaver]

I wanted to say thanks to everyone. I know some of you asked more questions but I think all the combined answers from everyone definitely will help!!

 

[Lweaver]

First off, CONGRATULATIONS on your first soap!

Does that recipe list all ingredients? No essential oil or fragrance oil? Some scents can accelerate.

What is your technique? When I first began I had a heavy finger on the stick blender and quickly got thick trace. Now I use the stick blender sparingly. I'll do a 5 second burst followed by lots of stirring and repeat until I get to emulsion or thin trace.

When I was a noob, I obsessed over temperatures and thermometers. Now I wait until the lye solution and melted oils containers are just warm to the touch. I often will make up the lye solution and melted oils on one day, and combine on a different day.

Good luck to you and keep us posted on batch #2!

I did add a lavender fragrance. But I think it’s more of the stick blending. I think I was doing that wayyy too long.

 

[Lweaver]

sorry about your tough experience.
you've got what's know as "soap on a stick" or soap that seized
I've had several batched of mine do that, so you're in good company.

there are so many variables that can cause this.
all that you've posted seems in-line with what you should do:
recipe seems fine, water discount okay, ingredients good
your initial temps are on the high side... but within reason
did you use distilled water? or water from the faucet?

so it's either you overblended it, or it's something you added like a fragrance, honey or EOs
check out this article to help you dig a bit deeper:
https://nurturesoap.com/blogs/nurture-soap-blog/soap-on-a-stick-you-ve-got-this

Next batch I will be lower on temperature (just a bit). I did use distilled water. I believe my problem is with the stick blending from everyone’s response.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Step away from the stick blender...⚠