A lovely GM honey and oatmeal soup

[new12soap]

Yep. I made soup. I was trying for soap but it is indeed soup. 24 hours later I have a slightly dry crust-like top, and the rest is still liquid. I HP'd in the crockpot, all went well but by the time I poured it seems a little thin, but nothing alarming... Until this morning when it was still too soft to lift the (silicone) mold...

Here is the recipe/process I used, and I ran it through soapcalc just to be sure

http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2008 ... k-pot.html

I have been putting it in the oven, leaving the oven on low for 5 minutes then turning it off and leaving it sit every few hours. Not trying to force gel or cure it so much as just trying to dry it out...

Any ideas? Or tips? Or suggestions? Anything...?

 

[sudbubblez]

So, you made this in a crock pot? How long was it in the crock pot and what was the consitency when putting it into the mold, what did you stir it with, what was the temperature when pouring into the mold? If your soap is soupy I'm inclined to think its either got way too much water or short on lye or poured at false trace, or has separated in the mold. The author of that article appears to have poured her soap into the mold while it was separating. That one pic of the closeup on the spoon is likely soap and glycerine, it should be brought back together with the stick blender before pouring. I also see that it has separated in the pic where the batter is noticeably darker with the clear fluid on top.

We need to know what you did because if the results are different than this article, I can't tell what went wrong by referencing the article.. If you had done the exact same thing you would have gotten the exact results. The soap in the article is gelled.

HP soap is almost never going to pour thin like CP soap. Its more scooping and gloping into the mold than pouring.

Also, how do you store your lye? Was it kept in an airtight container or was it in an open container?

Have you cut into your molded soap and gotten a look at the inside?

 

[sudbubblez]

I see that is a castille soap. It could take up to a week to be ready to cut.

 

[new12soap]

Ok, more info... Check!

Yes, I cooked it in the crockpot (I always CPHP and have never made CP - yet!), it cooked for probably an hour or so, turning over twice, and I was very sure it was totally cooked. After the tutorial I made sure I did not want separation. I used a stick blender to bring to full trace before the cook, then after the cook I added the honey, then added goatmilk (powder mixed with a little liquid) and oatmeal I had blitzed into a fine texture with the SB. It did "pour" into the mold more than other soaps I have made. It wasn't really soup, more sticky gooey than that. WAY sticky and gooey.

The next day (I think it was the next day) I put it back in the crockpot and cooked some more, it was too... taffy-like to SB any more, but I did cook it another hour, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes, and it made absolutely no discernable difference. Back into the mold it went.

When it cooled, it was STILL just a soft gooey mess, so I popped it in a very low oven, turned the oven off, then left it for a few hours, then turned the oven back on, then off... Not trying to force gel so much as just trying for a warm dry environment to get it to dry. After 24 hours of that (and not getting anywhere), I sat it in another room and left it alone a few days. And now it is finally starting to dry out a bit.

Looking back over my notes, I am pretty sure I used too much liquid (which only made it worse) and a castille is so soft to start with...

If I can ever get to cut it I will let you know how it turned out.

Oh, and my lye is a new canister, other batches I have made this week from the same can are fine. Always stored airtight!

Thanks for the help

 

[sudbubblez]

Sounds to me like it should be good. Even soap that is quite dry is going to be pliable while it is still warm. I would expect this to set up on its own. Also, honey *can* cause overheating in the mold which would lead to separations. I cant comment if it does this with HP soap that is already fully saponified once it goes into the mold. After reading your second post I think its okay, maybe taking its time to firm up because its castile.

I made the comment about the lye storage because lye attracts moisture and absorbs it. this can lead to a weaker lye solution because the weight includes lye *and* water, instead of just lye.