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KatieShephard

KatieShephard

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Just went to check on my soaps this morning and found this. I only molded this yesterday afternoon, so it hasn't even been 24hrs yet. Used a new FO-- Peach, from Nature's Garden and used a recipe that I've had no problems with before. The other batch I made yesteray afternoon looks fine. When I smell it, there isn't any weird smells, just the FO.



My recipe:
45% lard
10% CO
5% castor
40% OO

This was for 2lbs of oils. I used 1oz FO and 2tsp kaolin clay, that I added to the oils prior to the lye.

Thoughts? I'm thinking of just leaving it in the mold to see what happens.
 
Touch one of the droplets, then sniff the liquid alone. Can you smell peach? If so, it's your fragrance weeping out, if not it is probably just glycerin. Either way, yes leave it alone for a day or two, it will probably get absorbed back in and be fine.
 
new12soap said:
Touch one of the droplets, then sniff the liquid alone. Can you smell peach? If so, it's your fragrance weeping out, if not it is probably just glycerin. Either way, yes leave it alone for a day or two, it will probably get absorbed back in and be fine.
Click to expand...

I'm nervous about touching it because it's still so new.
 
Okay then it isn't your FO. It's probably just a little bit of glycerin sweat. It happens sometimes, especially in more humid weather. It will most likely just get absorbed right back in and be fine, I wouldn't worry about at all. Just see what it does.
 
...and the worst that would have happened if you touched it without a glove would be a bite on the tip of your finger! Not saying if there was a big puddle to stick your finger in it that could be a bigger bite. When you soap enough you are going to get bit it is just a fact of soaping life. At least for me it is
 
cmzaha said:
...and the worst that would have happened if you touched it without a glove would be a bite on the tip of your finger! Not saying if there was a big puddle to stick your finger in it that could be a bigger bite. When you soap enough you are going to get bit it is just a fact of soaping life. At least for me it is
Click to expand...

Lol, me too. I guess we are doing a good enough job warning new soapers about being properly protected. After awhile, getting a little red/"burn" is just part of the deal. Kinda like if you're a chef, at some point you're going to burn yourself.
 
"...at some point you're going to burn yourself...."

Or cut yourself. Still healing up from the nice slice I gave myself a week ago. Ugh.

I agree w N12S that the droplets are probably glycerin and will reabsorb. If you touch a droplet with your fingertip then very lightly touch your finger to your tongue, it should taste slightly sweet if it's glycerin. If you don't get any kind of zap from this taste, you could then try rubbing a bit between your fingertips. Glycerin, being a water soluble chemical, will absorb into your skin without a greasy residue, while fat will remain at least a bit oily.
 
DeeAnna said:
"...at some point you're going to burn yourself...."

Or cut yourself. Still healing up from the nice slice I gave myself a week ago. Ugh.

I agree w N12S that the droplets are probably glycerin and will reabsorb. If you touch a droplet with your fingertip then very lightly touch your finger to your tongue, it should taste slightly sweet if it's glycerin. If you don't get any kind of zap from this taste, you could then try rubbing a bit between your fingertips. Glycerin, being a water soluble chemical, will absorb into your skin without a greasy residue, while fat will remain at least a bit oily.
Click to expand...

DeAnna! This is terrifying! :eek: LOL oh jeez...touching weird sweating soap...licking weird sweating soap...ohhhhh :lolno:

I'm a newbie wuss :shock:
 
Oh. I didn't mean to squick you out, Katie, so I apologize for making these suggestions. I'm usually very cautious, but if I have a reasonable guess for what it is, it doesn't bother me to do checks like this. But, as always, everyone's mileage varies...
 
DeeAnna said:
Oh. I didn't mean to squick you out, Katie, so I apologize for making these suggestions. I'm usually very cautious, but if I have a reasonable guess for what it is, it doesn't bother me to do checks like this. But, as always, everyone's mileage varies...
Click to expand...

I was just kidding around :lol: I'm sure, with time, I'll have better deduction skills and will be braver about these little tests. But, for now, I'm an ignorant noob :D

btw...checked in on the soap a couple of hours ago and almost all of the sweating is gone. I'll check again in the morning to see the status. Soap is so weird!
 
Update

After 24 hours the glycerin sweat that was visible on top was gone. I left it in the mold another day and ended up unmolding 3 days after to find that there was more "leakage" from the bottom of the soap. I had molded it in a plastic bag inside of a cheap dollar store drawer organizer...not sure if this had anything to do with it. I tried putting this into a pringles container, only to have my packing tape fail on me, so I poured in into this other container that I had on hand.

When I touched the bottom of the soap and smelled the leakage (yes, I touched it with my bare hands this time! woot!), it smelled like FO. I left it for another day, upside down, to see if this would reabsorb, and it did.

This was the first time that I didn't sb until trace. I was trying to be all fancy and blend until emulsion so I could get pretty swirls. Do you think that this is why I had FO problems?

 
Not sure if it is the culprit or part of a gang of culprits working together. But depending on how much swirling you're looking to do (I would say not much if the original plan was a Pringles can mould) then a light trace is also good.

Emulsion, true emulsion, can be hard to spot early on in soaping
 

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