Wood Ash Soap Bar

[SweetHoneyHandmade]

I have my first ever batch of soap in a loaf pan, poured 2 days ago. It is still “springy,” what’s the longest you’ve let a batch sit in the mold?

I should note that I do not have exact measurements because I used KOH that I made from the ashes from my wood stove, and I reduced the lye water down a lot (but I didn’t measure how much reduction).

I’m wondering “did I not reduce the water enough?” “Was some of the ash from soft rather than hard wood?” “Did I not get a thick enough trace?”

I know it’s impossible to know exactly how it will turn out because of too many variables, except for just giving it time. But how much time?

 

[SaltedFig]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

Could you write a brief "recipe" of your process?
(A method description is very helpful for people wanting to assist you, and photo's are very useful too )

A literal answer to your question - I think the longest was about 3 weeks (from memory - it was about 15 years ago).

 

[Steve85569]

“Was some of the ash from soft rather than hard wood?”

As you already know the soft wood ash will not produce KOH.
And also the KOH will produce a softer "springey" soap. IMHO

 

[SweetHoneyHandmade]

Could you write a brief “recipe” of your process?

Here’s my literal recipe: (Sorry it’s not brief)
30% coconut oil
25% lard and beef tallow mixture
25% vegetable shortening w/ palm oil
20% grape seed oil
Super fat discount 20%
KOH 100% from rain water and wood ash


I collected rain water and ran it through ashes from my wood stove, in a 5 gal bucket with holes drilled in the bottom and another 5 gal bucket under to catch the lye water. I floated an egg to test the concentration Initially I measured out my lye water, based on adding the “water” and “lye” measurements calculated on SoapCalc.

I reread my instructions and realized I was suppose to reduce the lye water by 75-80%, and since I thought my oils might already be wasted, I added 4 teaspoons of salt and just dumped the rest of the lye rain water I had (about a gallon) into the mixture to boil it out. I cooked it for several hours, stirring occasionally until it came to trace.

Then I poured into my loaf mold and the remaining went into a mason jar with a lid. I can turn the mason jar over and nothing moves , but my loaf is still “springy” to the touch.

 

[SweetHoneyHandmade]

I’m new to soapmaking so idk how long curing is suppose to take, and I’m new to this forum so idk how to include photos ‍ I’ve never even made soap with NaOH, so I have no basis of comparison.

Some things I’ve read said [NaOH] soap can be firm the day after pouring into the mold, and mines not. But stuff I read about KOH soap is that it will NEVER firm, but mine is (sort of). So I feel like I’m in no man’s land... not really a true KOH soap since I added salt, and not a true bar soap since I used a different lye.

 

[Chris_S]

I’m new to soapmaking so idk how long curing is suppose to take, and I’m new to this forum so idk how to include photos ‍ I’ve never even made soap with NaOH, so I have no basis of comparison.

Some things I’ve read said [NaOH] soap can be firm the day after pouring into the mold, and mines not. But stuff I read about KOH soap is that it will NEVER firm, but mine is (sort of). So I feel like I’m in no man’s land... not really a true KOH soap since I added salt, and not a true bar soap since I used a different lye.

Add photos by pressing upload file then go to camera or file ect depending where its saved to.

Longest iv had a soap in a mold is about 5 days but that was my fault and i didnt know about things like gel phase now that i gel them i can usually unmold within 24 hours sometimes less but iv only ever used lye bought on tinterweb

Iv added some screen shots that should hopfully help you find your way round and welcome!

 

[DeeAnna]

Problem is your wood-ash lye is not KOH, potassium hydroxide. It's K2CO3, potassium carbonate.

 

[SweetHoneyHandmade]

This is the article I used: https://www.primalsurvivor.net/wood-ash-soap/
The bars shown at the top of the page are hard but dark dark brown, so I thought maybe I didn’t cook mine long enough. But also I might’ve just not used quality hardwoods.

Thank you Chris_S for including the screenshots! That helped!

Here is a photo I just took, of my leftover soap that I put in a mason jar. It didn’t move when I turned it upside down! But I can mush it with my finger.

 

[MGM]

This is the article I used: https://www.primalsurvivor.net/wood-ash-soap/
The bars shown at the top of the page are hard but dark dark brown, so I thought maybe I didn’t cook mine long enough. But also I might’ve just not used quality hardwoods.

That was a really interesting article. However, the "reduce this gallon down to 3/4 c of lye or so" and "use a cup of fat to 3/4c lye--lots of trial and error!" and then all of the answers to the questions "yup, this is tricky, lots of trial and error" doesn't fill me full of confidence.
Please report back on how yours goes!!

 

[SaltedFig]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience and pictures!

Making soap from wood ash (without adding slaked lime to convert the Potassium carbonate [K2CO3] in the wood ash to Potassium hydroxide [KOH]) means that you had to rely on the KOH being formed from the Potassium carbonate (in the wood ash) and water (in a reaction that takes heat and time).
Curiously, by cooking for a number of hours, and then adding more wood-ash lye, you have "washed" the original cook, in a way similar to the early methods.
It's hard to tell how far along the process you got, but your result suggests you have some soap in that mix!

Did the mixture rise up as you cooked it?

What happens if you take some of the mixture, place it in a bowl and stir it?

And, most importantly, what does the mixture feel like when you rub it on your (gloved) hands under running water?

 

[SweetHoneyHandmade]

I think it did rise! I had marked a line on a bamboo skewer after I added the gallon of wood ash water, and marked the half and quarter points. It never got down to half.

I rubbed a tiny little bit of the soap residue off my pot and was able to roll it into a ball between my fingers. No glove . It felt... creamy, condition-y, slightly slippery. Perhaps what I would imagine hair conditioner with cornstarch would feel like? Not runny, but definitely mushable, though would stay in a ball shape if I put it on the counter.

Then I turned the faucet on into the soap cooking pot and I got suds! I used a dishwashing wand brush type thing and wiped around the sides, it all came clean and didn’t leave any kind of greasy oily feel on the pot.

Someone else mentioned they make KOH shaving soap, (I think it was DeeAnna), and I thought that would be an appropriate use for this soap.

 

[SaltedFig]

I think it did rise! I had marked a line on a bamboo skewer after I added the gallon of wood ash water, and marked the half and quarter points. It never got down to half.

The rising happens when carbon dioxide is released as you cook the wood ash soap (as the Potassium carbonate in the wood ash lye converts to Potassium hydroxide, it releases carbon dioxide).
Trivia: A little carbon dioxide from the air will react during the cook too, which you might notice if you cook a "modern" soap in an open pot

I rubbed a tiny little bit of the soap residue off my pot and was able to roll it into a ball between my fingers. No glove . It felt... creamy, condition-y, slightly slippery. Perhaps what I would imagine hair conditioner with cornstarch would feel like? Not runny, but definitely mushable, though would stay in a ball shape if I put it on the counter.

Then I turned the faucet on into the soap cooking pot and I got suds! I used a dishwashing wand brush type thing and wiped around the sides, it all came clean and didn’t leave any kind of greasy oily feel on the pot.

Nice!

You've gone and made yourself some soap!

"... slightly slippery ..."
A caution: Use that "slippery" feeling as a reminder to check for free alkali (with any soap that you make)

The reason: While soap is naturally slippery (hard soap used to be used to stop wooden drawers from sticking), lye heavy soap will be extra slippery (and it can feel harder to rinse off) as it is converting your skin oils into soap. This is not necessarily something that you might immediately feel, unless you have a cut on your skin, then it will sting.

Irish Lass posted a method here, which is valid for any soap type (as long as it is plain soap [such as yours], without any ingredients you are allergic to): https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/how-to-properly-safely-conduct-the-zap-tongue-test.63199/

Someone else mentioned they make KOH shaving soap, (I think it was DeeAnna), and I thought that would be an appropriate use for this soap.

There are so many good uses for a KOH soap, especially one made right from scratch!
(Although I do believe that you would have a bit of a blend, with a little sodium soap from the added salt in there too).

If you like the feel of it on your skin, then it could also be made into a foaming body scrub by mixing in sugar, salt or your favourite (gentle) exfoliant.

Just an aside, I would still be inclined to take at least a portion of it in paste form by stirring it once a day for the next couple of weeks.
The texture will change (you might like it )

Anyway, count me impressed!

 

[SweetHoneyHandmade]

Thank you so much SaltedFig! I am definitely hooked now, and your kind and helpful words have really encouraged me to keep trying new things!

 

[SaltedFig]

Awww ... thank you