wrong lye?

[carebear]

first off, did you zap test your soap? did it gel? remember that soaps do get milder over their first 2 weeks of "life".

 

[theBrewMeister]

first off, did you zap test your soap? did it gel? remember that soaps do get milder over their first 2 weeks of "life".

Zap tested it right after I cut it this afternoon. No zap, just tasted like :mrgreen:

On this batch I accidently added 1/2 the lye I should have so i cant imagine it being too alkaline.

Im still a noob so Im not sure if by gel do you mean in the pot but it traced rather quickly and was rather thick going into the mold. When i cut it, it still looked like translucent oil in the center but after air exposure is turning a creamy white.

Hope I have answered your questions; thanks for the help!

 

[carebear]

by gel I mean did it heat up, get kinda dark starting in the center and then spreading out, and then cool and harden. gel accelerates the saponification reaction cuz heat speeds chemical reactions. if it didn't gel, it would take longer to consume the lye so even if you used less than you should have you could still have free lye in there.

but you zap tested, so you don't.

(sounds like yours gelled)

I don't know why your hands felt tight. do commercial "soaps" cause that? cuz remember - what you made is still soap.

 

[IanT]

if you go down to the last 2 pics of this thread:

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/forum/vi ... 709#157709
you can see a clear example of what gel looks like

 

[theBrewMeister]

Yes it definitely gelled. Looked just like that and got hot. I wrapped it in blankets as well.

I was thinking maybe the excessive amount of OO may have caused the laten drying. Not sure.

thanks for all your help. I'm sure I'll have tons more questions when I do the rebatch lol!

 

[IanT]

Yes it definitely gelled. Looked just like that and got hot. I wrapped it in blankets as well.

I was thinking maybe the excessive amount of OO may have caused the laten drying. Not sure.

thanks for all your help. I'm sure I'll have tons more questions when I do the rebatch lol!

Im not sure it was the OO, OO is usually an emolient, meaning it attracts and keeps moisture in the skin... I have experienced what you are talking about though, but have always chalked it up to the soap being so "young"