Would greatly appreciate some HP help!

[littlemrstyson]

Hi there! I'm new at forums and fairly new at soap making as well. I've done quite a bit of MP and so I wanted to try HP in a crock pot. I ordered supplies found lye and got ready! I wanted to try a goats milk soap, since that was the MP I used most and I have two goats! ha ha! I made a milk slushy and added the lye to it, while the lye was cooling off I had my oils melting, solids first, then liquids. I temped the oils, and temped the lye. Everything seemed right so I mixed my lye water into my oils stirred and mixed until trace, a quite thick pudding. Then I added some oatmeal. Then I put my crock back on low, put the lid on and sat down for a few minutes. I was waiting for it to bubble around the edges and swell up as I had seen on some you tube videos after reading about it. Well it started to smell really bad so I turned it off and stirred a little and it seemed as all the oil had settled on the bottom and burned and the thicker stuff was on top. It was the worst smell EVER! I even thought I had missed something so I tried again and didn't add oatmeal or some of the expensive oils just the basic oils....same nasty thing... So I thought to my self I will start off simple so I found a Lard, Olive Oil, Water, and Lye recipe...I made it...IT WORKS! WOO HOO! So I say okay maybe it was the goats milk? So I found a honey soap recipe. (We have bees so I had the honey and wax, which I also used in the first two batches) I melted my oils and then my wax, did lye water I mixed them when the oils were 125 and lye was 120 it looked good, but I did notice it seemed to turn pink instead of white (the milk soap turned pink as well, the lard soap stayed cream colored when I added the lye)I got it to trace and added the wax and honey. put on the lid, and I recognized the smell....so I caught it before it could get worse...it had started to separate and stink! I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong if anyone has any Idea please let me know I thank you in advance ad sorry it's so long! THANKS!

~Kristie

 

[AmyW]

Milk soaps STINK. As it cures the smell goes away. The separation is absolutely normal. It sounds like you threw away perfectly good batches :cry:

Check this page out: http://wholesalesuppliesplus.com/FAQ/HP ... aking.aspx

 

[jennikate]

Sounds like to me you need scale back. Start with a basic soap no milk or honey till you have a couple batches under your belt and understand the process better HP in some ways is tougher to do than CP however you can use HP almost immediately. Even HP a week or so cure time is good idea. CP 4-6 week cure good idea.

 

[soapbuddy]

To me it sounds more like your crock pot is getting too hot. Are you cooking on low?

 

[littlemrstyson]

Thank you all for the feedback! I do tend to jump into things I've found some simple recipes to try to get the hand of it. I think the crock pot might be getting to hot, can I use a double broiler? I won't give up! Thanks Again!

 

[tespring]

When I use milk, I always discount my water the amount I am going to add for milk and then add the milk after the cook for this exact reason. It seems to me, the HP actually scorches the milk. I agree with Amy, even if it stunk and burned on the bottom, scrape out what you can and put it in the mold. The smell should dissipate and the soap should still be good as long as you got the recipe right.

 

[AmyW]

Thank you all for the feedback! I do tend to jump into things I've found some simple recipes to try to get the hand of it. I think the crock pot might be getting to hot, can I use a double broiler? I won't give up! Thanks Again!

I keep my crock pot on high through the whole process. I don't know if crock pots can get hotter than "high" but if so, a double broiler or new crock pot would be good. Besides an exact recipe, I've found that the most important part of HP is stirring. HP is good for people like me with OCD that have to fiddle with everything because it needs constant attention. I'm at the pot stirring (just a few passes around and through the pot) every 2-3 minutes!

 

[loveit_latherit]

Good luck on your next try!
If you want to attempt double boiler try this - I LOVE doing HP and in about a week they are a dream to use http://www.zensoaps.com/hpsoap.htm
I use a regular mold and cut jsut like CP. And the additional time for them to cure is mainly for any additional soaponification but mostly to dry out more .... in my experience. Also if you are going to see any change in color it takes a few day due to the FO used

 

[krissy]

did i read it right and you are adding honey and beeswax to the batches? perhaps it is the sugar in the honey or milk that is burning?

if i am making a HP milk soap, I use full amount of water called for and then i halve it. half milk and half water. i add the lye to the water and make my soap as usual (leave the milk for later).
then after the cook i add in my scent, the milk and any additives i want like honey or oatmeal. then i stir/stickblend it all really well to get it mixed and then mold. i have never had any issues when i do it that way.

 

[honor435]

I always put my crock on high, no need to check any temps with this method. Add water/lye, stir w sblender til trace( can be thick trace , doesnt matter, youre going to cook it) then cook for 40-1 hr or so, I dont do any stirring til the outer gel ring goes all the way to the middle.Then take a drop size, cool off and tongue test, if zap cook for 10 more min, then test again til you dont get a zap. I dont use for 2 wks.