Potentially Botched Batch?

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Skadooodle

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So, I was excited to finally make soap, for the first time, and read as much as possible as I could about it. It didn't seem to go well at first, I didn't reach trace after about 5 minutes of mixing with the stick blender, then finally reached it after heating up everything a bit more over the stove. However, as I was pouring the soap, I saw some streaks of oil left in the bottom (so, I didn't mix the soap hiding out in the crevices of my pan). Tried mixing it in. I flipped my soap over after 24 hours to unmold it, and found something alarming on the bottom. There's little round bits of clear/white bubbles, which I think means the lye didn't get mixed enough? Only parts of it look like that, can I save it by melting it down, adding more of something, and then setting it again? Can I still use the bits that look fine?

I used the following recipe, but had added +2 oz of shortening (for a total of 21) to "superfat".

12 ounces of coconut oil.
19 ounces of vegetable shortening.
12 ounces of olive oil.
6 ounces sodium hydroxide, or lye. (also called caustic Soda)
16 ounces spring or distilled water.

Thanks so much!
 
I ran it through SoapCalc and the water and lye are fine for a recipe that isn't full water and 8%+ superfat. If your scale is ok and measured everything right, I would say it was not fully emulsified. As long as it doesn't zap you can rebatch without having to add extra oils to it. Did you find this recipe somewhere and did you run it through Soapcalc before making it?
 
Thanks! I got the recipe from wikihow. So, I can follow regular rebatching instructions of basically just adding some water/milk? Also, to make sure I understood this correctly, if it does zap I should add oil, and if it doesn't zap I don't have to add more?

Thanks so much!
 
Yes, just melt it down in a crock pot or stainless steel pot in the oven until it gets down to an applesauce consistency. Add the milk or water slowly until it makes it playable. If it zaps then it means it is lye heavy so yes, you want to add an oil (preferably the one that might be missing the full amount or whatever the case may be). If it doesn't zap you shouldn't have to worry about adding anything unless you want to, but adding more oils will up the superfat and may inhibit the lather.

ETA: I would also suggest getting recipes from a more reliable source since anyone I think can put stuff on Wikihow. I would suggest following a recipe by SoapQueen or watching some Soaping101 videos. The recipe that you used is a little high on the cleansing side even though the superfat is 8%+, it still might be a little drying on the skin. Regardless of where you get your recipe from, you will want to run it through Soapcalc because when posted online something might have been written wrong that could through the whole recipe off.
 
Last edited:
If you measured correctly and decide to rebatch you will not need to add in any additional oil, with a 9% superfat you are more than fine. CP Soap can zap for a good 72 hrs. If you chose to rebatch I would just add in a little liquid to get it going and would not use milk with your high superfat.
 

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