Why is my lye solution doing this??

[ChristinaB]

After mixing my lye solution it is getting a very thin layer on the top as it cools that then breaks up into little 'floaties' as I stir; I've mixed three batches so far this morning, the first two had sugar in the water, so the third batch I left the sugar out wondering if that was causing this (even though I've used sugar in other batches), but this one is doing the same thing too... :? The only thing I'm doing differently is that I've cut the water amount in half so the other half can be coconut milk, so I've used 6.2 oz water to 4.3 oz lye....I thought I'd read that you had to have at least the same amount of water as lye for it to react properly....does anyone have any suggestions as to what may be causing this? I really want to make soap!! Thank you!

 

[soapbuddy]

You might not have enough water to dissolve all the lye. For 4.3 ozs. of lye, I would use 8.6 oz. of water, then add the rest as milk.
I can get floaties in the lye water if I happen to rinse my lye pitcher with soapy water.

 

[ChristinaB]

Okay, I mixed it again this time using the 8.6 oz of water and didn't have any problems. I had already mixed my coconut milk in with my oils though, so adding the extra 2 oz of water~will that make my soap too moist? I am HPing this soap, so should I just cook it longer to evaporate some of the extra water out?

 

[soapbuddy]

Okay, I mixed it again this time using the 8.6 oz of water and didn't have any problems. I had already mixed my coconut milk in with my oils though, so adding the extra 2 oz of water~will that make my soap too moist? I am HPing this soap, so should I just cook it longer to evaporate some of the extra water out?

So what was your total liquid according to soap calc? How much more liquid do you have?

 

[ChristinaB]

Total liquid according to Soapcalc was 12.16. For the first three batches I used a 6.16 oz of water to 4.3 oz of lye, but had already incorporated the other 6oz of coconut milk into my oils (was reading different methods of how and when to add it and just went with this one)

So, bumping my water amount to 8.6 would have given me an extra 2.5 oz of water.....do you think that will be a problem? I've seen some people add extra water to HP anyway to keep it from getting so thick during the cook time, and I've done it on three batches but two are almost a spongy texture....I'm really afraid the extra water will make this batch do that too!

 

[cp chick]

After mixing my lye solution it is getting a very thin layer on the top as it cools that then breaks up into little 'floaties' as I stir

I had that very thing happen the other day. I dumped it out and cleaned out my pitcher. The second time I mixed it all was fine. As soapbuddy said, soap residue from the last cleanup was the culprit.

 

[soapbuddy]

Total liquid according to Soapcalc was 12.16. For the first three batches I used a 6.16 oz of water to 4.3 oz of lye, but had already incorporated the other 6oz of coconut milk into my oils (was reading different methods of how and when to add it and just went with this one)

So, bumping my water amount to 8.6 would have given me an extra 2.5 oz of water.....do you think that will be a problem? I've seen some people add extra water to HP anyway to keep it from getting so thick during the cook time, and I've done it on three batches but two are almost a spongy texture....I'm really afraid the extra water will make this batch do that too!

Extra water should not give you a spongy texture. Next time you do this, I would add less milk, so the total of water and milk equals to the total of amount of liquid required for that size batch.

 

[ChristinaB]

Would the lye solution have been alright to use then? I hated having to dump three mixtures but didn't know if that was undissolved lye, or a reaction with the sugar, or something else and didn't want to take a chance to ruin my soap!

 

[soapbuddy]

Would the lye solution have been alright to use then? I hated having to dump three mixtures but didn't know if that was undissolved lye, or a reaction with the sugar, or something else and didn't want to take a chance to ruin my soap!

If the floaties was undissolved lye, I would not have used it as is.

 

[ChristinaB]

Soapbuddy~I was trying to do that, but was having the issue with the lye solution with the smaller amount of water, and I'd already mixed my coconut milk into my oils. I won't do that again! So what then causes a soap to be spongy? The lather is instant and fantastic, but the bars just feel spongy when I press on them; does that mean they will go rancid on me? Remember, I'm just a newbie here, so I'm sorry for all the beginner questions!

 

[soapbuddy]

Soapbuddy~I was trying to do that, but was having the issue with the lye solution with the smaller amount of water, and I'd already mixed my coconut milk into my oils. I won't do that again! So what then causes a soap to be spongy? The lather is instant and fantastic, but the bars just feel spongy when I press on them; does that mean they will go rancid on me? Remember, I'm just a newbie here, so I'm sorry for all the beginner questions!

It's hard to say why. It could be from too much water. Do you have an accurate scale?

 

[PippiL]

I had those floaties, dumped the first solution, made another one, same thing.I did the cocnut milk soap, too.I than poured the lye water thru a sifter and it worked.The second time I did milk soap, I used a little more water, to get rid of the floaties and the soaps came out great.I believe, if you use a little more liquid than the original amount is no big deal, at least that was my experience.

 

[carebear]

Floaties are not undissolved lye - lye crystals sink!

Plus, as long as you have at least as much liquid as lye, it should be able to hold it unless you are working with a chilled liquid (as temp goes down, the liquid can hold less lye in solution). 4.3 oz of lye into 6+ oz of liquid shouldn't be a problem.

I get floaties on occasion - I think it's the lye reacting with residual oils in my solution container, or perhaps some some lye that reacted with the CO2 in the air to form something insoluble (cannot recall what - I'm brain dead). Either way, I used to filter them out, but now just ignore them, sitr and soap...

Unfortunately it's not like you can scoop out the bits and test them - I'd probably soap it, but that's me.

As for spongy - do you just mean soft? Too much liquid can leave a soap soft, but you should be able to kinda tell what's going on because if you let it cure it'll shrink over several weeks. Too much liquid won't contribute to rancidity as far as I can tell - that's really a function of your choice of oils. Too much soft oils (which ARE DOS prone) can contribute to a soft soap and a propensity to go rancid...

It's never quite simple, is it?

 

[busymakinsoap!]

I have to completely agree with carebare. I get a film (almost like what you get on milk that has been heated and then cooled - but finer) if I havent washed my bowls properly before use. The tiniest bit of oil in your lye water from washing up will cause you lye to film.

Will also happen if you use the same thermometer for oil and lye.

I use it and its fine.

 

[JackiK]

I had the same thing happen to me when I was using tap water. When I changed to distilled water, it went away.

 

[khermsen]

Great discussion; had this happen once, didn't know why. Now I do!

I have been making CP soap for 6 months; makes me a newbie.

I have made small batches of CP; in one batch of soap, one of of the 8 bars of soap developed some yellow spots. The bar of soap did not smell rancid; I was wondering why the spots appeared in just one of the 8 bars. All the soap was poured in one tray, so I don't think there was anything in the tray that could of reacted to the soap. I did not use a fragrance so the only other thing I could think of was a separation of the oil, but why in just one bar? The product should be blended well as I use a stick blender.

Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Gramma Judy]

I use a 50/50 lye solution - masterbatch. I do sometimes get the crusting. I just stir it back in and then when I add the remainder of what ever liquid I need for that batch, I again stir it all together well. Then mix with my melted oils.

As for the yellow spot - did you add anything other than oils/butters. For example honey or honey powder. Maybe not all of you oils were totally melted. I make sure there isn't something not melted hung up on the side of my bowl or bucket that didn't melt completely. So when you pour it could break this unmelted piece into the mix. Did you use color that might not have been totally mixed. I guess we need more info.

 

[judymoody]

Great discussion; had this happen once, didn't know why. Now I do!

I have been making CP soap for 6 months; makes me a newbie.

I have made small batches of CP; in one batch of soap, one of of the 8 bars of soap developed some yellow spots. The bar of soap did not smell rancid; I was wondering why the spots appeared in just one of the 8 bars. All the soap was poured in one tray, so I don't think there was anything in the tray that could of reacted to the soap. I did not use a fragrance so the only other thing I could think of was a separation of the oil, but why in just one bar? The product should be blended well as I use a stick blender.

Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks

Your question is likely to get lost in this thread. If you want a response, it might be better to start an independent thread. Unfortunately I don't have an answer to your question. A good starting point would be your recipe including information about lye discount.

 

[Gramma Judy]

Dang, did not even realize I was not responding to the OP about the yellow spots.

 

[ChristinaB]

Thanks for all the responses! If that happens again I will use the solution to see what happens. As for the extra water in the soap it didn't cause any problems, it hardened up very nicely and it's only two days old. It may be my new favorite recipe!