What am I doing wrong?

[Ms Chard]

Hello, I'm pretty new to soapmaking and am trying to learn some different techniques. Something has gone rather wrong today and wondered if anyone can help me identify the problem?

I saw the 'Birchwood Oud' tutorial on Brambleberry's site and wanted to try it, but didn't want to order the fancy oils used in the recipe just to make this one soap. I can't really afford to buy ones like those as I don't know enough yet to be able to use the leftovers in the bottles, and as they seem to have shelf-lives I'm steering away from them for now and am keeping to about 10 different ones that are easy to get here in the UK. Anyway I tried to make it using a basic recipe I found somewhere. Sorry for the odd percentages, the recipe was in ozs that I'd scribbled down on a bit of cardboard a few months ago, and I had to convert it to % in order to scale it up for my mould. I scaled up the lye and water by volume so don't know the percentages of those (I'm afraid I don't understand lye concentrations yet!), but accidentally added about 12ml extra water. Anyway this was my recipe:

Olive oil 34.04%
Palm oil 29.82%
Coconut oil 29.82%
Castor oil 5.96%

I cooled everything down to about room temperature (my kitchen is on the cool side but I had the fan heater on so it was comfortable enough). When I turned on the blender though, the oils seemed to get really thick pretty much straight away, before hardly anything was mixed. The upshot was that I had very thick batter almost straight away, so sadly couldn't try the technique in the tutorial. Things got slightly looser when I added the fragrance but not enough to be able to pour it.

Is anyone able to see from the recipe what went wrong today? I really want to try doing the lovely swirly designs I see online but can't seem to get the viscosity right - could it be that my kitchen is too cold??

Thanks everyone!

 

[shunt2011]

You likely soaped too cool. Your solid oils probably started to solidify which can cause false trace.

With that much palm and coconut you need to soap warmer.

Also your recipe is going to be pretty cleansing though some can use it at higher numbers. I use a higher amount but not that high.

Are you running your recipe through soap calculator? You absolutely should be and be able to get your lye and liquid measurement in grams or ounces. I prefer to measure everything in grams.

 

[atiz]

This looks like a reasonable recipe to me (some people will say it is a bit drying because of the amount of coconut). Temperature might have to do with the quick trace -- maybe your coconut oil solidified for a false trace?
It might help if you also posted the amount of lye and water you used. Water amount can also influence trace as far as I know.
Good luck! It takes a bit of practice to figure out trace time etc., but it will become much easier.

 

[Ms Chard]

Gosh thanks both, I'm so happy that I discovered this forum!! xx I didn't know that that amount of coconut would be drying, I've so much to learn! I'll try to increase the temperature a bit and see if it makes a difference. I've just bought a fancy set of weighing scales and am using grams as I think that's more accurate. I forgot to say i added sodium lactate too and I did use a lye calculator to resize the recipe, which was:

olive oil 481g
palm/coconut 417g of each
castor oil 84g
sodium lactate tsp
lye 200g
water 535g

The fragrance was Bergamot and Orange, from a UK supplier called Trade Essentials (their branding says White Rose as they're in Yorkshire like me - it's our County emblem)

I must say I'm really enjoying making soap, it's such fun!

 

[shunt2011]

You may also want to consider making smaller batches. Less waste if something goes wrong or you find you don't like that particular recipe. Especially being a new soapmaker. 500 g is a good size to start with.

 

[Ms Chard]

You may also want to consider making smaller batches. Less waste if something goes wrong or you find you don't like that particular recipe. Especially being a new soapmaker. 500 g is a good size to start with.

Thank you I want to! I've only got one loaf mould though, which takes 1200-1400g so I've been filling it. I really want one of those small ones that BB have, but their shipping costs to the UK are excessive (way more than it should cost) so I've been waiting to order a few things at once as I think they charge the same amount regardless of item size.

 

[shunt2011]

You can use a small box lined with freezer paper or a plastic bag. I used a milk carton for my first soap. This isn't a cheap hobby and can get expensive if you have to throw something away or can't fix something that goes wrong or can't use it as it's too drying etc.....

 

[earlene]

Thank you I want to! I've only got one loaf mould though, which takes 1200-1400g so I've been filling it. I really want one of those small ones that BB have, but their shipping costs to the UK are excessive (way more than it should cost) so I've been waiting to order a few things at once as I think they charge the same amount regardless of item size.

Yes, when I was new I used anything suitable from my recycle bin as a soap mold. For recycle numbers, look for the number 2 or 5 in the triangle and it will be safe to use as a soap mold. I used plastic ice cream container, waxed milk cartons, yogurt containers, various plastic food container, even empty tea boxes lined with freezer paper, plastic wrap or baker's paper worked. If using a paper-board box such as a tea box (that tea bags or loose tea comes in), make sure to seat it well inside of something to contain any spillage just in case. Avoid aluminium and glass as the lye can create some unwanted problems with either. But stainless steel, wood or a good strong cutting board under your containers will be fine.

 

[Ms Chard]

Yes, when I was new I used anything suitable from my recycle bin as a soap mold. For recycle numbers, look for the number 2 or 5 in the triangle and it will be safe to use as a soap mold. I used plastic ice cream container, waxed milk cartons, yogurt containers, various plastic food container, even empty tea boxes lined with freezer paper, plastic wrap or baker's paper worked. If using a paper-board box such as a tea box (that tea bags or loose tea comes in), make sure to seat it well inside of something to contain any spillage just in case. Avoid aluminium and glass as the lye can create some unwanted problems with either. But stainless steel, wood or a good strong cutting board under your containers will be fine.

Gosh that's so helpful!!!!! Thank yo SO MUCH, you've just saved me a small fortune! xx

You can use a small box lined with freezer paper or a plastic bag. I used a milk carton for my first soap. This isn't a cheap hobby and can get expensive if you have to throw something away or can't fix something that goes wrong or can't use it as it's too drying etc.....

Thank you too! I was wary of doing this in case the plastic melted, reacted to the lye in a very bad way or whatever. Between you and the lovely person I've just replied to, I feel like a load has been lifted! xx

 

[KiwiSoap]

When I turned on the blender though, the oils seemed to get really thick pretty much straight away, before hardly anything was mixed. The upshot was that I had very thick batter almost straight away, so sadly couldn't try the technique in the tutorial.

This may be a silly question but can I check what you're using to mix your soap batter? You mention using a blender, which would be overkill, but are you meaning a stick blender? Using the stick blender for just short bursts can give more control over how quickly it comes to trace, depending on the oils used it's surprising how quickly it can happen!

The other advice given by others earlier is all really helpful as well! Welcome to the SMF community