Whats in my lye? with images

[phstandard]

Hi! At first, my lye turned yellow, which I've heard is OK because of the sugar! Then ...

It went more clear, but had small (crystallised?) pieces in it. See below. What is that?

I had:
- destilled water
- 200x aloe powder
- sugar (1,5 % of oils)
- sodium citrate (1,5 % of oils)
- sea salt (0,5 % of oils)

Which i carefully dissolved hours before adding the lye.

Also, it didn't heat up very much at all. I used a 40 % lye concentration.
I meassured it all carefully on a medicine scale with 0,000 g precision.

 

[Vicki C]

Hello! That looks like “lye lint” or something precipitating out of the lye water. It’s from the lint reacting with one of the additives. You can strain it out, but it won’t hurt anything.
Edited to say @AliOop ’s response is more accurate - it’s likely the lye reacting with the air, not something in your lye solution.
It’s very odd that it didn’t heat up. It looks like a small amount and maybe that’s why.
BTW glass isn’t considered great for mixing lye but it’s too early for me to get on a soapbox and lecture about that.

 

[phstandard]

Hello! That looks like “lye lint” or something precipitating out of the lye water. It’s from the lint reacting with one of the additives. You can strain it out, but it won’t hurt anything.
It’s very odd that it didn’t heat up. It looks like a small amount and maybe that’s why.
BTW glass isn’t considered great for mixing lye but it’s too early for me to get on a soapbox and lecture about that.

Yes, I made a batch of only 150 g oils. Because Im experimenting. And because I have a very exact medicine scale, so I can get the measurements right.
Oh, now I need to know why. Plastic it is then, moving forward.

 

[justsomeguy]

Here's one of many discussions on what to use for your lye solution

 

[phstandard]

Here's one of many discussions on what to use for your lye solution

Yeah, thanks! The picture of lye all over the wooder floor was enough to keep me away from glass... :/

 

[dibbles]

Yes, I made a batch of only 150 g oils. Because Im experimenting. And because I have a very exact medicine scale, so I can get the measurements right.
Oh, now I need to know why. Plastic it is then, moving forward.

Be sure to check that your plastic is safe too. It needs to withstand the high heat created when mixing the lye solution. I know #5 is good. I use a stainless steel frothing pitcher to mix my lye most of the time, but have used plastic as well.

 

[AliOop]

Back to your original question, if you leave a lye solution exposed to air, the NaOH is going to react with oxygen to form sodium carbonate. This will typically look like soft dust particles floating on top of your solution. They are harmless, but can be an indication that the solution is not as strong as you intended it to be. You can limit this by covering your lye solution until you are ready to use it.

If the particles are harder and more crystallized, they typically sink, and that’s more likely to be undissolved NaOH. You can try gently warming and stirring the solution to dissolve those.