Help!... or aka "how I screwed up this time"

mlktrkdrvr · Oct 22, 2014

I read last week that you could pour your water and lye into unmelted oils and the heat from the lye and water will melt the oils and you can go from there rather than heating the oils. Well either I did not read it well enough or my old brain forgot between then and now that I was supposed to dissolve the lye in the water first because in all my glory this morning I measured out the oils and added the measured water and measured lye seperate. Now they lye will not dissolve... I been mixing and mixing and mixing. Do you think I should throw it all and start over or will it eventually dissolve? It keeps coming to a light trace and then I leave it sit for a bit and it will separate. This was going to be a salt soap batch so it is 1.92 pounds coconut oil and .48 sunflower oil with .912 water and .374 lye.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

lionprincess00 · Oct 22, 2014

It won't dissolve to my knowledge. This what will be known as lye pockets, or pieces of undissolved lye in the soap. You need to put lye into water, stir til dissolved, then pour the hot lye water into the fats and butters to melt. Then add the soft oils. I believe that's how Susie does it.

Someone an expert in rebatching will chime in I'm sure. I need to learn how to do it, so I look forward to the veterans advice. Sorry! This process can be quite confusing I think. It's easy to make mistakes, I'll be the first to admit. So sorry!

The Efficacious Gentleman · Oct 22, 2014

Blimey! I am not sure if cooking it would help. In fact, I'm not even sure how I would go about throwing that out.

OliveOil2 · Oct 22, 2014

I was just thinking about disposal, and wondering if heat would at least make it safer to throw away. On the positive side you will never forget to mix the lye with the water again. I hate rebatch, and don't do hot process, so not much help there.

DWinMadison · Oct 22, 2014

I read that too and thought "not on you life would I trust that method." How much trouble is 3 minutes in a microwave?

Susie · Oct 22, 2014

If I had to dispose of it, I would pour into an empty plastic container with a 2 or a 5 in the little triangle, then secure the lid with waterproof duct tape, label it as both poisonous and hazardous, then save for the hazardous materials disposal day.

Susie · Oct 22, 2014

DWinMadison said:
I read that too and thought "not on you life would I trust that method." How much trouble is 3 minutes in a microwave?

You do not have to try that method. It is not a requirement. It is, however, perfectly safe with due diligence paid to recipe and method.

mlktrkdrvr · Oct 22, 2014

If I get it to a real trace without it separating and can no longer see the lye in it will it be safe then? After curing of course. The granules seem to be shrinking the longer it sits.

DWinMadison · Oct 22, 2014

Susie said:
You do not have to try that method. It is not a requirement. It is, however, perfectly safe with due diligence paid to recipe and method.

Oh I'm not doubting the method...just my limited aptitude and ability to pull it off.

Susie · Oct 22, 2014

It is actually easier than stressing out about temperatures and such. I even made liquid soap with KOH this way just today. Matter of fact, I made that liquid soap between posting the first reply and this one. LOVE this method.

dixiedragon · Oct 22, 2014

I've done this - adding the hot lye water to the cool oils and letting it heat the oils - once. It worked quite well. I did it in a crockpot, which was a good thing b/c the lye water was not hot enough to totally melt my hard oils.

OP, since you've inadvertently found yourself in the middle of an experiment, I would put the mixture into a large bucket with a number 2 or 5 on the bottom, and keep stirring it, to see what the end result is.

El_Granado_Loco · Oct 23, 2014

Oh, I am so sorry for this... I read your post and got almost scared... But then started thinking with what 's left of my brain after a big chaos at work...
The oils are supposed to float, water stays down as well as soda, no? So with a little stirring, a little waiting and a little luck maybe... maybe... it could work...?
And if you see them shrink, that means they are disolving slowly, I guess...
If you do manage to get it to trace, I suppose it will be ok. I am far from being an experienced soaper but it makes sense to me. Of course it could only be my brain trying to make me believe it 's working...
I hope some chemistry guru jumps in and stops me from talking nonsense if that 's the case...
Good luck!

DeeAnna · Oct 23, 2014

I second El Granado's suggestion. Keep stirring until the granules dissolve. I wouldn't stick blend until they're gone -- just stir by hand -- because you want the water-and-lye layer to stay separate from the oil layer until the lye is in solution. THEN stick blend.

As far as this batch of soap being safe in the end ... that's hard to say at this point in the game, but if the granules become well and truly dissolved, it should be okay. Not that I'd recommend this for a repeat performance, however! :thumbdown:

Help!... or aka "how I screwed up this time"

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