Third batch (ever) first disaster :(

[pattime]

I've so far been soaping at room temperature then putting it into the oven for a couple of hours at about 170F then turning the oven off and leaving it overnight with great success....until NOW :cry: Pretty sure I know what happened, but not sure why so I thought I'd run it by the masters and maybe get a handle on it and perhaps try again.

My batches have had small amounts of solid oils so far but I went all out with this one because I really wanted to try a tallow/lard bar, so this is the basic recipe
25% tallow
25% lard
20% coconut
5% castor

I used goats milk powder reconstituted in some of the water for the liquid (added at light trace), titanium dioxide added to lye water (sugar also...about 1T). I used a vanilla color stabilizer with my frankincense & myrrh FO (first time using both) and red sandalwood powder/indigo mixed with a bit of SAO for color.

As mentioned I usually wait until everything is room temp but with all the solid oils I did this batch at about 110-120F and by the time I had everything mixed and ready to pour (spoon only!) it was a race to do all the colors/swirls before it got too thick to pour. Did the bulk in plain (with TD) then funnel poured the indigo, then sandalwood, in circles, added some more base then repeated. Between the base layers I sprinkled a paprika pencil line then topped with a few gold mica 'dots' and swirled the top. Pretty sure it WOULD have been a real pretty bar, but when I opened the oven this morning it was an oily, ugly mess that smells gawdawful :wtf:

I'm pretty sure that heat was the problem...combining mixing temp with the sugar and goat's milk, then adding the temp of the oven, but how can I make a nice solid fat bar and have it come out pretty?? I really want to try again....any tips you can offer a stumped noob??
I dug it out of the trash to share (hides face in shame) :cry:



Any and all comments/suggestions welcome!

 

[osso]

Yes, I would say too many heating additives in addition to CPOP. My silicone lined wood mold insulates nicely with just a lid and maybe a towel. If you have a heating FO, sugars, high mixing temps in the mix you probably don't need the additional heat/insulation for a complete gel.

 

[seven]

heat. too much of it. ditch the oven next time if you already have milks, sugar, honey, floral FOs, heater EOs (any additives that are known to raise heat).

 

[shunt2011]

I third the heat as causing your problems. Especially when using sugars too. I just put the lid on mine and lay a towel over the top and always get gel. No need for the oven for me. Then again I tried that a few times and it always overheated even just putting it in the warm oven and turning it off.

 

[pattime]

Thanks everyone.
I honestly didn't think the sugar (1T and I've added that to all my lye batches so far) and powdered goat's milk would cause that much heat, but I guess I was wrong. FO....not sure that's an issue, according to the reviews anyway.

Yesterday after the batch was tucked away in the oven I scraped all the bowls, pitcher, etc as best I could and poured the batter remnants into a tiny yogurt container and the left it with the mess to clean up later. I just unmolded it and it taught me 2 things....it came out perfect, so the OVEN was the main culprit, aaaand.....high animal fat bars STINK!!! OMG!! I used about 3T. of FO to 42oz oil and it was not even close to enough to cover that stink :lolno: Since my present goal is to make a nice Frank & Myrrh bath bar for hubby, I think I'll stick with some nice vegetable oils for this one. I WILL try the 'fat' bar again...no oven next time, but use a much stronger scent for that one.

Thanks again, y'all are the best!

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Measure your scents in weight, too - makes it much easier to keep a handle on things.

The fatty smell generally fades with a cure, so don't let it put you off

 

[Obsidian]

You can save that batch. Chop it up and rebatch in a crock pot, you can add a bit more scent once its all melted back down. Generally you should use .50 oz scent per pound of oil in the recipe.

 

[pattime]

Measure your scents in weight, too - makes it much easier to keep a handle on things.

The fatty smell generally fades with a cure, so don't let it put you off

Couldn't quote you both with the app, but thank you both for the tips! I need all the help I can get....and then some.

I do measure everything by weight but usually convert fragrance to tablespoons. For some reason it seems easier for me. Good to know a cure helps with the smell.

I thought about rebatching (something else I've yet to try and should) but the smell put me off. It smells much like old used deep fry grease that's been used a few too many times ya know? I thought maybe that scent (burnt oil) would be permanent....so you think I should try? It sure wouldn't be pretty, but I hate to throw out that much oil if I don't have too.

 

[new12soap]

The recipe you posted adds up to 75%. That may be part of the problem.

Agreed that you most likely overheated it, but don't let that put you off animal fats, they make incredible soap.

Your fragrance oil is a really small amount, it looks like you used around 1.5 oz for over 2.5 lbs of oils, you can go up to 1oz ppo with most FOs, but check the usage rate with your supplier.

Don't get discourages, it's all a learning process!

 

[pattime]

The recipe you posted adds up to 75%. That may be part of the problem.

Agreed that you most likely overheated it, but don't let that put you off animal fats, they make incredible soap.

Your fragrance oil is a really small amount, it looks like you used around 1.5 oz for over 2.5 lbs of oils, you can go up to 1oz ppo with most FOs, but check the usage rate with your supplier.

Don't get discourages, it's all a learning process!

Yeah, I was going off the top of my head (not looking at the actual print out), good catch...I sure missed it lol! Those are the oils used, and about the right proportions, just got the percentages wrong. It all added up to 100% (used soap calc and it alerts you if it doesn't).

 

[AnnaMarie]

Actually, they look kind of yummy like jammy cookie bars Better luck next time!
Cheers!
Anna Marie

 

[soap_rat]

Milk soaps are stinky for awhile, although they don't smell like grease. I always save the batch, the ingredients are expensive!

 

[pattime]

Just wanted to report back in case this could help someone else, and to thank you all for convincing me to rebatch. By the time I got around to it, some of the 'stink' had already dissipated, so I cut it into cubes, added a bit of aloe juice, MORE fragrance and some sandalwood powder (for color) and heated it in the crock pot. Photo of the result.



Not what I intended, but it'll work
Thanks again!

OH! Almost forgot....looking at the recipe, there was one more oil (adding up to the 100%)...olive (doh!).

 

[Seawolfe]

Wow that looks nice! I've yet to rebatch but this post gives me courage for when I do.

 

[MarisaJensen]

Wow I'm so impressed at the difference with the re-batch. They look lovely.

 

[MzMolly65]

Any and all comments/suggestions welcome!

No knowledge from me but wanted to say they look like my cranberry crumble squares that are very tasty to eat but not so good for washing with LOL!

 

[cmzaha]

Good Save. My rebatch, never comes out looking this nice. I would ditch the oven for milk soaps. Of course I am one that only resorts to the oven if I have a soap on a stick batch

 

[seven]

great save! the rebatch looks real smooth, bravo! i would have guessed it was a cp, i swear it was that smooth.

 

[pattime]

Thanks so much for the encouragement and kind words!
The top didn't look that pretty...kinda brittle and rough so I shaved it. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out under the circumstances. I swear some day I'm going to make a PRETTY soap though!

First one was an ugly shampoo bar. Love the bar and didn't care what it looked like. Next was a peppermint mocha. Two layers (peppermint white topped with coffee/chocolate) and it turned out well too, but I hadn't done much reading about swirling techniques so it's pretty boring. This is the one I put all the time into then I fry it Live and learn, practice makes perfect, pick a cliche' I guess. We (or at least I) do learn from our (my) mistakes though.

I've always soaped at room temp and the oven worked well for me both times before so I didn't even think about not using it this time as well. Hot oils and lye with milk...stupid mistake, but I'll bet I don't do it again lol!

 

[Lin]

poured the batter remnants into a tiny yogurt container and the left it with the mess to clean up later. I just unmolded it and it taught me 2 things....it came out perfect, so the OVEN was the main culprit

Just wanted to note that you can't directly compare the batter in a yogurt cup to a whole log of batter. In the log, the large volume of batter is going to both produce and hold on to more heat than the yogurt cup, the combination of the amount of saponification taking place and the surface area thats dissipating heat.

Congrats on the save! It looks great.