Almost a year old soap-DOS heavy

[lizflowers42]

So, I still consider myself a newbie. I just wanted to show off my very first batch of soap,that will turn one year old on 12/28. Gross right?

With the wonderful power of this forum, I can zap you back in time to when this was a beautiful creamy white bar of soap: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=30919

 

[Obsidian]

Wow, what a change. Does it smell bad?

 

[lizflowers42]

Wow, what a change. Does it smell bad?

It smells like mayo to me!

 

[Obsidian]

Oh, thats gross. I dislike mayo:sick:

 

[seven]

i know this is a long shot, but did you still remember which oils you used?

 

[lizflowers42]

It is Dollar General brand (Clover Valley) shortening, so it was soybean and cottonseed oil. I just plugged it under vegetable shortening on Brambleberry's calculator (because I was too scared of soapcalc.net at the time, with a 5% superfat. Not the greatest bar of soap, but it was my first bar of soap!

 

[boyago]

With the wonderful power of this forum, I can zap you back in time to when this was a beautiful creamy white bar of soap: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=30919

Whoa, that felt weird. I think some of my hair grew back!

 

[soap_rat]

Aw, the new bars were so pretty and creamy!

I got DOS a lot in my first batches too. I was using a cheapo spring scale that the soaping books said was fine. Some of the soaps were made with shortening but some weren't. Do you think your DOS is from the shortening or did you have a bad scale too?

 

[lizflowers42]

Aw, the new bars were so pretty and creamy!

I got DOS a lot in my first batches too. I was using a cheapo spring scale that the soaping books said was fine. Some of the soaps were made with shortening but some weren't. Do you think your DOS is from the shortening or did you have a bad scale too?

Pretty sure it was the oil, my scale hasn't been a problem. I still use soybean oil in some of my recipes, but in small amounts (up to 10%).

 

[seven]

now i'm afraid of soybean oils. i dont use it every time though. gotta be careful not to use too much, i guess..

 

[kazmi]

What a change! I didn't realize that DOS could get that extreme. I still have a bar from my first soaps (1 hp and 1 cp). Both were OO, CO, castor, and I think shea. No DOS yet at one year.

 

[Nevada]

Had a batch go bad. I think it was using tap water rather than distilled.
Course it could be anything. So many variables.

 

[CaraBou]

That's a pretty interesting transformation. So much for a long cure there!

Nevada, I can't see why tap water would cause DOS. Did you use any oils that have a short shelf life? That seems more likely to me.

 

[AKjulz]

I literally just threw away some soap yesterday that looks EXACTLY like that! Don't remember exactly, but I think it was 100% lard and probably 3-6 years old (in a plastic tote up on a shelf where I could pretend it wasn't really there getting nasty for years) Smells horrid, rather rancid, guess it's a good dog scent cause my yorkie was all interested. Hahaha. As for the cause of the DOS, I had originally made it for laundry soap and don't know how accurate my recipe was so quite likely I messed something up in the making.

 

[lizflowers42]

I certainly have improved! I have made several pounds of soap since then. And by several I mean hundreds! I just kept this single bar as a memento...but it has finally gotten chucked

 

[shunt2011]

Wow, what a transformation. This is a good reason why we practice, practice, practice before selling our products. I fortunately never had DOS (knocks on wood) but I kept 1 from each of my early batches and put them away so that I could see how they would act over a long period of time. After a year of them curing and no horrible issues I figured I was safe to sell. Truly a learning experience.

 

[lizflowers42]

now i'm afraid of soybean oils. i dont use it every time though. gotta be careful not to use too much, i guess..

Don't be afraid, just keep it low %

Both were OO, CO, castor, and I think shea. No DOS yet at one year.

That's a pretty interesting transformation. So much for a long cure there!

I was just being cheap with my first batch to learn what "trace" was. My second bath, I went all crazy and used all kinds of stuff, made an amazing bar of soap that I only wish I would have saved a piece to check a year later!

 

[CaraBou]

I was wondering about that second batch; it sounded like you were going to make a beer soap. You just jumped right in, didn't ya!

 

[lizflowers42]

I was wondering about that second batch; it sounded like you were going to make a beer soap. You just jumped right in, didn't ya!

Yes ma'am! It was a beer soap too! I was hooked immediately, and fell in love with making beer soaps....couldn't you tell from my swap challenge