CP Soap Won't Fully Trace

[KristaY]

It's impossible for the PH to read 7 as CP & HP will range 8-10.5 and some even higher. To test your scale if you put 5 quarters on the scale it should read 1 oz. Most soaps need to sit 12-24 hours before unmolding.

Thank you so much for the quarter tip! I've been taking random things, weighing them, turning off scale, weighing again, rotating the items weighed, etc. I grabbed 10 quarters and put 5 at a time on my scale, each time I got .98 which is as close at I can expect from a $20 kitchen scale. This batch has now been in the mold for 3 days so I'm going to un-mold today and see how it cuts. I'm also going to dissolve a bit in distilled water then test pH again. Maybe (probably) my strips are wonky. I'll do the zap test too. The soap gremlins were working overtime with this one I think!

I'm also going to re-make this recipe today and see what happens. The batches (with a different recipe) I made before and after this one have all come out perfectly so if this recipe is a dud again I'll probably ditch it and move on. :razz:

 

[KristaY]

Whew! Re-made the recipe and it worked but very slow through trace. Maybe 30 min to med trace so this recipe will be one to use when I graduate to intricate design. To recap, I used:
8.0 oz sweet almond oil
6.0 oz canola oil
8.0 oz coconut oil (76 degrees)
18.0 oz olive oil
8.0 oz palm oil
2.0 oz shea butter
1.0 oz jojoba added after thin trace
6.8 oz NaOH
17.0 oz distilled water

Oil temp was 103, lye temp was 106 and ambient air was 79 degrees when I mixed. I used my stick blender, a minute on and a minute off, until I got to med trace. I added the FO and colors after med trace. No change in speed of trace from either of those so there must be an oil that's slowing things way down. As to the 1st batch, who knows. Operator error, gremlins, moon phase, etc. I weighed each ingredient 3 times today so I know they were spot on. I know cool soaping temp slows things down too but the temps I used today are normal for me. Just a really slow recipe I guess!

Back to the 1st batch. I cut today (it was molded for 3 days). Some oil spots, especially at the ends, of my freezer paper. Very soft and the top is a bit crumbly. I put 0.2 oz of this soap in 1.5 oz distilled water and tested the pH after an hour, it's 10. Did the tongue zap and minimal zing. Once this has cured for 6-8 weeks can I grate it and add it to another batch? I saw a pic from another thread & it looks cool, plus not too difficult.

Thanks so much everyone for your advice on this. I've certainly learned a lot. As the old saying goes "we learn more from our failures than from our successes." Held true for me on this mess!:razz:

 

[AF_SOAP]

You are going to be just fine. Just because it didn't reach the thick trace you are accustomed to seeing doesn't mean it won't harden and be normal good bar soap.

I have had three batches never reach anything more than emulsification and they all came out fine. I know its a little late but make sure to insulate to give yourself the best chance of it working out for you.

 

[Patrick]

Re compute your numbers and see were you went wrong, OR cook it in the oven at 300 for about an hour

 

[DeeAnna]

"... cook it in the oven at 300 for about an hour ..."

Oh, my, that's pretty hot for soap, even if you're talking Fahrenheit degrees.

My soap saponifies nicely at 170 degrees F (77 C) -- I don't see the need to go hotter than that.

 

[KristaY]

Excellent advice on the oven. I'll try that. Luckily I always insulate so that was done. I'm happy to know that it'll still be usable, safe soap even though it didn't behave as I'm used to. I'll try it out once I've let it cure for 6 weeks and see what I think. If I'm not happy with it I'll think about grating and re-batching then.

Thank you everyone for your excellent advice!