Clay Crisis

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anjouwu

anjouwu

obsessed
Joined
Dec 30, 2016
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OK, not actually a crisis but definitely a problem. I've used a variety of clays for a while for slip and anchoring scents, but today something strange happened. I used Gold Brazilian clay, adding it to my lye water (which I usually do to enhance color), but when I went to pour the water into the oils, I noticed that some of the clay was literally burned onto my plastic bucket - using some of my lye in the process. So, my batch was superfatted way above my comfort level and I am noticing some unsaponified oil on the surface already.

I know some of you soak your EO/FO blends in clay and then add the mixture at light trace. Should I not add clay to the lye water?
 
Quted from Nurture:
Gold Brazilian Clay has naturally occurring copper, selenium, magnesium, zinc and manganese that helps the skin's nutrition and maintain the health of the skin.
Click to expand...

I'm guessing one of the metals was a little higher than normal/you're used to, natural products do vary after all. I would probably soak clay separate from now on to be on the safe side.

To echo Susie: what kind of plastic are you using? Was it melted at all or just crusted?
 
I use heavy-duty #5 (and occasionally HDPE) plastics for mixing lye and water, although I started my soap making journey using Pyrex (before reading the warnings!)

BattleGnome said:
Quted from Nurture:


I'm guessing one of the metals was a little higher than normal/you're used to, natural products do vary after all. I would probably soak clay separate from now on to be on the safe side.

To echo Susie: what kind of plastic are you using? Was it melted at all or just crusted?
Click to expand...

This seems like the most logical explanation. I think there was some unexpected reaction between metals and lye. I managed to cook the batch and rescued it, but it's now the color of dirt. Oh, well!

Thank you both for replying.
 

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