Can I save this?

So...I want to make this, and I don't have any liquid castile base, so I thought no biggie, I'll make it! Found this recipe, and everything was going great until the testing phase. Cloudy. Cook more. Still cloudy. Cook more. Still cloudy. Repeat 1000000 times (not really, total cook time is around 8 or so hours on high in crock at this point)

What can I do with this paste? The cloudiness doesn't bother me for its purpose, but I hate to waste water diluting it if it isn't going to be usable or if I should start from scratch. I think I want it pretty thick (but I've never had any liquid soap base to see how thick that is, I just assume it's pretty thick.)

Triple checked all measurements, weighed not measured, and yes I ran it through soapcalc.

24oz olive
16oz coconut
9.35oz KoH
32oz distilled water

I want to be able to put MP soap through a PlayDoh noodle maker thingie!

Oh and I am reading all the posts about the GLS and Susie's LS now, I really wanted a castile (ie olive oil) LS without a lot of extra ingredients, but I can change my hopes if I can have success LOL

Catastrophe said:

Oh and I am reading all the posts about the GLS and Susie's LS now, I really wanted a castile (ie olive oil) LS without a lot of extra ingredients, but I can change my hopes if I can have success LOL

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Follow the method in those threads.

Cloudy does not mean unusable. And when you dilute it might clear up in a day or 2 after setting and the particulates settle out.

Cloudy doesn't mean the soap is bad or isn't fully saponified. There are a lot of reasons for cloudiness. It might mean you used tap water for the dilution, which creates white soap scum. Or it might mean you used fats that have high levels of unsaponifiable chemicals (avocado, jojoba are examples) or high levels of certain types of fatty acids (lard, palm, tallow, shea, or other butters). Or the superfat is too high or you've added acids that "break" the soap into fatty acids. Or it could mean the alkali in your soap batch is not fully reacted with the fats and the unsaponified fats are causing the cloudiness.

The ONLY reason why a person would cook soap paste for hours to eliminate cloudiness is the very last reason. As you can see, there are many other possibilities for the cloudiness. It's pretty safe to say that after 8 hours of cooking, your soap is as saponified as it's ever going to get. In fact, your soap was probably done within the first hour of cooking, so you can stop cooking now. It's okay.

I just made a batch of liquid soap today and it was zap free in under an hour without any cooking. I use Irish Lass' and Susie's no-cook methods.

Your recipe looks okay, so I don't see any reason that your soap is bad. It's going to be fine to dilute and it is going to be fine soap to use. Start diluting by adding 1 part distilled water to 2 parts paste and work up from there. Don't get in a rush to add all the water called for in the recipe you referenced -- that's a common beginner mistake. You might need a lot less water or you might need more. But if you want the best chance of getting a nicely thick soap, dilute with caution.

You don't have to dilute all of the paste at one time, by the way. A batch using 40 ounces of oils is a big recipe -- I figure a recipe using 300 grams (10 ounces) of oils will make roughly 1 quart of diluted liquid soap. Susie and Irish Lass tell more about diluting in their tutorials, which I gather you're already reading ... so follow their methods.

There is just no need to cook liquid soap if have time to let it do its own thing. Usually mine is gelled and ready to dilute in under an hour, also. I fail to understand why everyone thinks that cooking for hours is necessary. I read a post on another group about someone having to cook all day to make one batch of liquid soap, and she has been told better. SMH.

Yes, I sneak up on dilution. Use no more than half your paste weight in water to start with, then add a little more at the time until you have two small lumps, then stop and let it sit. Record how much you used so you have a closer idea next time. BUT, realize that this batch has far more of the batch water cooked out than any other batch you will make, so it may take more water than any other batch you make.

Your recipe is fine, though. I checked it through soapee.com.

Thanks everyone. Tap water in my tests was the cloudy...I blame college brain for that dumb moment. I'm still diluting it, I may have added a bit too much water with the last add, maybe I can cook some out? It was so stuck to the Crock-Pot I'm just diluting the whole batch in it on Warm. I will definitely use the Mason jar method next time!!!! Appreciate all the input!

Catastrophe said:

Thanks everyone. Tap water in my tests was the cloudy...I blame college brain for that dumb moment. I'm still diluting it, I may have added a bit too much water with the last add, maybe I can cook some out? It was so stuck to the Crock-Pot I'm just diluting the whole batch in it on Warm. I will definitely use the Mason jar method next time!!!! Appreciate all the input!

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You have way more patience than me. I dilute with the crock pot on high.

See this thread about "Does water really matter?" http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=52456

Sorry phone won't rotate the pic. Susie, I lost my patience with Warm shortly after I posted because I needed that Crock-Pot out of my kitchen for a dinner party. Turned it on high, left the kitchen, and came back to soap all over my counter LOL.

Fortunately that had it just about melted/dissolved, so I stirred the rest and then fished out the chunks. It was still a little too runny, so I thickened it with salt water. Very happy with how it came out but I will be using you folks' methods in the future!!!!

I, too, have gotten some intense kitchen cleaning done due to not paying attention to the crock pot while diluting. I know the feeling.