What soapy mistake have you made today?

[artemis]

Wow! Looks like no one has made a Soapy Mistake since 2019!

My soapy mistake is just that I forgot to pack any soap before heading to Mom's house for the week! She's strictly a body wash and pump soap girl. My husband and kids are bar soap people, so I'll have to run out and find a couple bars somewhere ...

 

[Elise]

Had I known of this thread before, I would have been a frequent poster .
Today's mistake is buying two essential oils before checking if and how that can be used in soap. I was just strolling in a cosmetic DIY shop of my neighborhood, I saw them and thought I would love to have my soaps smell like that !

The first one is bitter almond EO. I just checked and EO calc says it is not safe at any % . I went to the seller's website (they also sell online) and they share CP soap recipes using it and they state that this EO is treated to remove its cyanuric acid. So that may be why they use it in soap. So I e-mailed them to have more details on that. Finger crossed I can use it.

The second is bergamot EO. It's only once I was home that it stroke me : it is of the citrus family ! I fear it might be straight up waste to add it in my cp soap considering what I know of citrus EO (I never actually tried citruses in my soaps, I've read enough warning about the scent not sticking at all). I did a quick research and found that quite a lot of people still use it... So i'd have to look into that and see if this citrus oil is sort of an exception.

 

[squidstings]

Had I known of this thread before, I would have been a frequent poster .

First time I've seen it too.

Shame! We've advanced as a species so much by learning from our mistakes.

Good to have a laugh at ones self occasionally. I find, anyway.

 

[MrsZ]

I've never seen this thread either! Thanks for bringing it back @artemis, and I hope you survive your visit with store bought soap!

 

[KiwiMoose]

Had I known of this thread before, I would have been a frequent poster .
Today's mistake is buying two essential oils before checking if and how that can be used in soap. I was just strolling in a cosmetic DIY shop of my neighborhood, I saw them and thought I would love to have my soaps smell like that !

The first one is bitter almond EO. I just checked and EO calc says it is not safe at any % . I went to the seller's website (they also sell online) and they share CP soap recipes using it and they state that this EO is treated to remove its cyanuric acid. So that may be why they use it in soap. So I e-mailed them to have more details on that. Finger crossed I can use it.

The second is bergamot EO. It's only once I was home that it stroke me : it is of the citrus family ! I fear it might be straight up waste to add it in my cp soap considering what I know of citrus EO (I never actually tried citruses in my soaps, I've read enough warning about the scent not sticking at all). I did a quick research and found that quite a lot of people still use it... So i'd have to look into that and see if this citrus oil is sort of an exception.

Same here Elise! And may I comment on your perfect use of grammar in your first sentence. That's certainly not something you see everyday.

 

[Elise]

Same here Elise! And may I comment on your perfect use of grammar in your first sentence. That's certainly not something you see everyday.

Thank you. You may have noticed that my english is not always that good. I believe I alternate between overly formal, speaking like a 3 year old and just not making sense at all to natives. I never lived in an english speaking environment so I have difficulties differentiating levels of formality. I'm actually just glad when my english doesn't hinder communication.

 

[Tammyfarms]

Thank you. You may have noticed that my english is not always that good. I believe I alternate between overly formal, speaking like a 3 year old and just not making sense at all to natives. I never lived in an english speaking environment so I have difficulties differentiating levels of formality. I'm actually just glad when my english doesn't hinder communication.

I would have never guessed that English isn’t your first language. I am very impressed.

 

[Zing]

Had I known of this thread before, I would have been a frequent poster .
Today's mistake is buying two essential oils before checking if and how that can be used in soap. I was just strolling in a cosmetic DIY shop of my neighborhood, I saw them and thought I would love to have my soaps smell like that !
...
The second is bergamot EO. It's only once I was home that it stroke me : it is of the citrus family ! I fear it might be straight up waste to add it in my cp soap considering what I know of citrus EO (I never actually tried citruses in my soaps, I've read enough warning about the scent not sticking at all). I did a quick research and found that quite a lot of people still use it... So i'd have to look into that and see if this citrus oil is sort of an exception.

So just to be clear, people, I am responding to a post, not posting about any mistakes. I really like bergamot and it is in regular rotation in my soaping. Don't be hatin' on my bergamot!

 

[Tammyfarms]

So just to be clear, people, I am responding to a post, not posting about any mistakes. I really like bergamot and it is in regular rotation in my soaping. Don't be hatin' on my bergamot!

Does bergamot eo stick in CP? I absolutely love bergamot.

 

[MrsZ]

I had to dump my lye solution for the first time today. I dissolved 1 tbsp of sugar in hot batch water, then added the rest of the weight in ice cubes and then added the lye. I think the ice caused the sugar to precipitate out, because something became as hard as a rock in the bottom of the container. I even tried warming it up to see if it would dissolve, but no luck. I tossed it and made a new lye solution without the sugar. I really want to try sugar in my batch, but the method I tried really didn't work.

 

[AliOop]

I had to dump my lye solution for the first time today. I dissolved 1 tbsp of sugar in hot batch water, then added the rest of the weight in ice cubes and then added the lye. I think the ice caused the sugar to precipitate out, because something became as hard as a rock in the bottom of the container. I even tried warming it up to see if it would dissolve, but no luck. I tossed it and made a new lye solution without the sugar. I really want to try sugar in my batch, but the method I tried really didn't work.

Lye can also solidify into chunks at the bottom, esp if added to cold liquids (or in my case, leaving masterbatched lye in a room where the temp dropped below 65F).

Did you add the lye slowly and get each bit dissolved before adding more?

If the chunkiness happens again, try adding a bit more warm or hot water. It doesn't take much to get the lye to heat up and dissolve.

 

[MrsZ]

Lye can also solidify into chunks at the bottom, esp if added to cold liquids (or in my case, leaving masterbatched lye in a room where the temp dropped below 65F).

Did you add the lye slowly and get each bit dissolved before adding more?

If the chunkiness happens again, try adding a bit more warm or hot water. It doesn't take much to get the lye to heat up and dissolve.

No, I added it all at once and stirred it in. I was trying to fit a quick soap session in between outings today and was in more of a hurry than I should have been. I have had some of the lye settle out before and I got it to dissolve by setting it in a warm water bath and stirring it. I tried a water bath today and it didn't help. This was a solid, rock hard ring around the bottom of my container today. I've never thought of adding hot water to my lye solution before. Thank you for the tip!

 

[AliOop]

No, I added it all at once and stirred it in.

My money is on that being the cause of the problem.

This was a solid, rock hard ring around the bottom of my container today.

Yup, that's exactly how my "lye ice" presented, as well. I poured two different masterbatched solutions down the drain before learning (here on SMF, of course), that adding more water would cause the solution to reheat so the lye would dissolve.

 

[MrsZ]

My money is on that being the cause of the problem.

Yup, that's exactly how my "lye ice" presented, as well. I poured two different masterbatched solutions down the drain before learning (here on SMF, of course), that adding more water would cause the solution to reheat so the lye would dissolve.

That's a relief, thank you! I always try to use less than half of my water as ice cubes and don't usually have a problem, but I forgot to this time. I'm happy that the sugar isn't likely the problem. I'll try the sugar again and remember to add my lye slowly into less ice.

 

[MrsZ]

@AliOop I'm also quite glad to learn this on a 4-bar batch and not a masterbatched solution like you had to, that must have been a bummer!

 

[squidstings]

So just to be clear, people, I am responding to a post, not posting about any mistakes. I really like bergamot and it is in regular rotation in my soaping. Don't be hatin' on my bergamot!

I'm for the bergamot! LOL

Love the smell.

 

[Kaybrantley]

Thank you. You may have noticed that my english is not always that good. I believe I alternate between overly formal, speaking like a 3 year old and just not making sense at all to natives. I never lived in an english speaking environment so I have difficulties differentiating levels of formality. I'm actually just glad when my english doesn't hinder communication.

Elise,
I didn’t realize that your we’re not a native speaker. Your grammar is excellent. Good luck with the EO

 

[Servant4Christ]

I had no idea this thread existed!

Last night, I started to make another batch of ZNSC because I have a customer that has literally marked how long they'll need to cure on her calendar. Anyway, oils are ready, mold is lined, liquids are measured.... I use a rather small cup for weighing my lye so I can only weigh out about half at a time and all was going well right up until I realized I do not have enough lye! Gah! I am 40g short and everything else is ready and on standby. I'll make a trip to the hardware store this afternoon and make the batch tonight. At least I won't have to worry much about temperature.

 

[melinda48]

I had to dump my lye solution for the first time today. I dissolved 1 tbsp of sugar in hot batch water, then added the rest of the weight in ice cubes and then added the lye. I think the ice caused the sugar to precipitate out, because something became as hard as a rock in the bottom of the container. I even tried warming it up to see if it would dissolve, but no luck. I tossed it and made a new lye solution without the sugar. I really want to try sugar in my batch, but the method I tried really didn't work.

The simply adding your sugar to your oils. That is the way I fly and it works great!

 

[AliOop]

The simply adding your sugar to your oils. That is the way I fly and it works great!

I have tried this before and the sugar remained grainy, even adding it to very warm oils. Not sure why it doesn't work for me.