This is my first post and I need help!

[medrep50]

Hi all! I have never done this before, but I was making hp soap and waiting for my oils to heat up before I mixed my lye water. I checked and the oils were ready but I forgot I hadn't added the lye to the water and poured half the water into the crock pot before I remembered. I went ahead and added the lye to what was left of the water and blended it for over 10 minutes but it never thickened at all. I tried just letting it cook to see what would happen but it still isn't doing anything. It hasn't thickened up at all. Is it a lost cause?

Thank you!

Paula

 

[lenarenee]

Hi medrep, what was the exact recipe you used?

I'm wondering if you had a large amount of soft oils and the oils hadn't emulsified yet, if that's the case it might be salvageable.

 

[Susie]

If you can get a true emulsification, you can probably save that batch. Just put it into the mold, and try a CPOP, or just let it sit for a day or so. I have had a non-thickening batch turn into soap just fine on it's own in the mold once or twice. To be sure, however, please give the entire recipe in weights. It helps us troubleshoot.

 

[snappyllama]

If it happens again, just add water equal to your lye amount to make a quick solution. You need to have an equal amount so that the lye will fully dissolve. It might push your recipe into more water than you intended, but for HP I don't think that's the end of the world. You can probably cook some of it out and just give a longer cure to have the rest evaporate.

 

[medrep50]

Thank you all for your replies. After the first batch never traced, I decided to try again. The second batch did the exact same thing. So I'm thinking my lye is no good. I just got it and opened it this evening. I've contacted the company so we'll see if they have had any other complaints.

For those who asked for my recipe, I did run it through soapcalc.net, which I always do. Here it is:
Coconut Oil 76 deg 14 oz, Palm Oil 10 oz, Olive Oil 10 oz, Rice Bran Oil 8 oz, Castor Oil 4 oz, Shea Butter 2 oz, Avocado Oil 2 oz. 3 tsp Sodium Lactate, 19 oz Water, Sodium Hydroxide 7.1 oz 5% sf.

Thanks!

Paula

 

[topofmurrayhill]

Thank you all for your replies. After the first batch never traced, I decided to try again. The second batch did the exact same thing. So I'm thinking my lye is no good. I just got it and opened it this evening. I've contacted the company so we'll see if they have had any other complaints.

For those who asked for my recipe, I did run it through soapcalc.net, which I always do. Here it is:
Coconut Oil 76 deg 14 oz, Palm Oil 10 oz, Olive Oil 10 oz, Rice Bran Oil 8 oz, Castor Oil 4 oz, Shea Butter 2 oz, Avocado Oil 2 oz. 3 tsp Sodium Lactate, 19 oz Water, Sodium Hydroxide 7.1 oz 5% sf.

Thanks!

Paula

Hi Paula. Your numbers look fine for a full water batch. What makes you feel your sodium hydroxide might be the problem? That would be odd with the suppliers we typically use. Did you get it from an unusual source?

 

[Navaria]

Is your lye true lye? Not lye drain cleaner? How long are you cooking it for? What temp is your crock pot set on? It's strange that your hp isn't working. It's so very forgiving. That's one of the reasons I like it lol. As long as you can get an emulsion, the crock should do the rest of the work for you.

 

[medrep50]

I got it at Essential-depot where I always get it. But since it didn't get thick at all, the lye was the only thing I could think of. My oils were about 160 degrees when I added the lye water and I stick blended it for at least 10 minutes. Usually I get to trace within a minute or two. But this stayed completely liquid. I just left it in the crock pot (turned it off) and went to bed. When I got up this morning, none of it had changed at all. Still completely liquid. So I figure I've got 100 oz of oil that I don't know what to do with.

 

[penelopejane]

Can you go back and check the maths on your lye mixture? Did you add the right amount of lye in the end?

 

[Navaria]

Ah. When you weighted out your lye, did you tare the scale before measuring? I've forgotten that before. It can make a huge difference!

 

[medrep50]

I figured out on the first batch I had changed my scales from oz to gr for my essential oils and forgot to change it back. So I didn't add near enough. That's why I was so surprised when it happened the second time. I'm sure I measured everything right the second time. I'm getting ready to try a 1 lb test batch with the same lye to see what happens. If it traces, I'll just chalk it up to a very bad night last night!
I can't say for sure on the first batch. I was thinking about other things while I was soaping. But I know for sure that the second one was correct. Because I was so shocked with the first one, I made sure I took it slow and measured everything correctly with the second one.

I just made the test batch of cp and it turned out fine. So it wasn't the lye. I then made a big batch of cp with my 15 bar acrylic slab mold (which I absolutely love!) and I used the fragrance and colors that I had meant to use with the second batch last night. It turned out great! I may never soap in the crock pot again!

 

[lenarenee]

Aha, so the soap gremlins were at your house.

I misunderstood your first post - I though you'd never made soap before!

 

[medrep50]

No, I've been making soap for awhile, I had just never posted here before. And I'd never had anything like that happen before! No problem.

 

[Navaria]

My apologies. I also thought you were very very new. That's why I asked such silly questions about the type of lye and taring your scale. But I still say it's strange that your hp would turn out for you lol. Soap is such a temperamental thing. Sometimes it just refuses to do what it's supposed to lol

 

[DeeAnna]

I just stick to grams for everything --fragrance, lye, water, fats, etc. One less thing to mess up!