Forgot to add olive oil (33%). Can I turn it into laundry detegent?

[Llayla Solder]

I don't know how I missed such a crucial ingredient, but from what I have read, this is not an uncommon occurrence as a new soaper. I can guarantee I will be more observant of my recipes; this has been a headache! Can I repurpose it for laundry detergent using this as my soap base? I worry with it being lye heavy, it may not be suitable for our clothes. Is anyone with experience doing this? I don't want to rebatch, so I'm thinking of other things to do with it. Thanks for any suggestions

 

[Zing]

Welcome to the forum! Can you please post your recipe?

 

[Llayla Solder]

Welcome to the forum! Can you please post your recipe?

Thank you for the quick reply! Here is the recipe I used:

113.4 g avocado oil
56.7 g castor oil
311.84 g coconut oil
283.5 g olive oil (accidentally omitted)
85.05 g shea butter

244.57 g distilled water
122.28 g lye

 

[ScentimentallyYours]

If you’ve made this soap within the last 48 hours, think about cutting it into 1” chunks and tossing it into a pot with the olive oil and a little water. Cover it with a lid and cook in the oven at about 190 degrees F until melted and you can stir it into a smooth batter. Adding a small amount (a couple tablespoonfuls) of yogurt at the end of the cook will help make the batter more fluid. You could also consider cooking in a crockpot.

Rebatched soap can be very easy and can produce worthwhile results when done within a short window of a soap fail.

 

[Savage Daughter]

If you’ve made this soap within the last 48 hours, think about cutting it into 1” chunks and tossing it into a pot with the olive oil and a little water. Cover it with a lid and cook in the oven at about 190 degrees F until melted and you can stir it into a smooth batter. Adding a small amount (a couple tablespoonfuls) of yogurt at the end of the cook will help make the batter more fluid. You could also consider cooking in a crockpot.

Rebatched soap can be very easy and can produce worthwhile results when done within a short window of a soap fail.

I agree. This is what I would do, for sure, rather than not being able to use the soap. Did not ever hear about using yogurt at this stage, so will give that a shot some time. Thank you for sharing that!

Even if used only for laundry, I would not want that excess lye on my clothing fibers, personally

I would also consider adding the olive oil as @ScentimentallyYours suggested, and then using this batch of soap for emulsified sugar scrubs maybe, if that's something which floats your boat

 

[Llayla Solder]

I agree. This is what I would do, for sure, rather than not being able to use the soap. Did not ever hear about using yogurt at this stage, so will give that a shot some time. Thank you for sharing that!

Even if used only for laundry, I would not want that excess lye on my clothing fibers, personally

I would also consider adding the olive oil as @ScentimentallyYours suggested, and then using this batch of soap for emulsified sugar scrubs maybe, if that's something which floats your boat

I am hesitant to rebatch after watching so many fails on YouTube; I did grate it and put it in a bag for repurposing at a later date. I love the idea of an emulsified sugar scrub; I will have to look into that and see if I can find a good recipe. Thanks so much for the idea!

 

[Savage Daughter]

I am hesitant to rebatch after watching so many fails on YouTube; I did grate it and put it in a bag for repurposing at a later date. I love the idea of an emulsified sugar scrub; I will have to look into that and see if I can find a good recipe. Thanks so much for the idea!

Even if used for an emulsified sugar scrub, you will have to fix the issue you already have, namely far too much lye due to forgetting to add the olive oil. Rebatch first, then turn into whatever you wish.

Don't allow other people's failures scare you. I have been told many things were impossible based on other people's experiences. Choose to have your own experiences, regardless of what other people may parrot, regardless of other people's 'failures'. Failures are nothing more than learning experiences. It's a small batch, which is a great opportunity for gaining experience without wasting a whole pile of raw materials.

This is the emulsified sugar scrub formulation I like, personally:

But as I said, and I'm sure other people would say, you gotta get that olive oil in there before you use this lye-heavy soap for anything else, other than maybe clearing your drains, which it would work for if you just added some water & cooked it for a bit to liquify it.

Mrs Soap & Clay has some awesome stuff going on

 

[Llayla Solder]

Even if used for an emulsified sugar scrub, you will have to fix the issue you already have, namely far too much lye due to forgetting to add the olive oil. Rebatch first, then turn into whatever you wish.

Don't allow other people's failures scare you. I have been told many things were impossible based on other people's experiences. Choose to have your own experiences, regardless of what other people may parrot, regardless of other people's 'failures'. Failures are nothing more than learning experiences. It's a small batch, which is a great opportunity for gaining experience without wasting a whole pile of raw materials.

This is the emulsified sugar scrub formulation I like, personally:

But as I said, and I'm sure other people would say, you gotta get that olive oil in there before you use this lye-heavy soap for anything else, other than maybe clearing your drains, which it would work for if you just added some water & cooked it for a bit to liquify it.

Mrs Soap & Clay has some awesome stuff going on

Thank you so much! I found this on YouTube last night and am looking forward to trying it (after adding the missing olive oil). She certainly has a lot of fantastic crafty ideas on her site; I am so grateful for finding her.

 

[AliOop]

Thank you so much! I found this on YouTube last night and am looking forward to trying it (after adding the missing olive oil). She certainly has a lot of fantastic crafty ideas on her site; I am so grateful for finding her.

We have a thread here on SMF regarding this very recipe.

Personally I do like this recipe. I don't like it quite as a as much as another syndet version that I also make, but at least it gives me a way to use up soap shreds and trimmings.

 

[Llayla Solder]

We have a thread here on SMF regarding this very recipe.

Personally I do like this recipe. I don't like it quite as a as much as another syndet version that I also make, but at least it gives me a way to use up soap shreds and trimmings.

Great thread, thanks so much for sharing!!!

 

[Savage Daughter]

Thank you so much! I found this on YouTube last night and am looking forward to trying it (after adding the missing olive oil). She certainly has a lot of fantastic crafty ideas on her site; I am so grateful for finding her.

She has got a full-on business doing what she does & has been recognized as a local entrepreneur in her area. Somebody to pay attention to as she is very knowledgeable, appears to have good business sense, and is not afraid to give the middle finger to so many things we hear parroted, things people say we *must* or *must not* do when it comes to soap making. She tests those things out to prove once & for all whether or not people are correct in continuing to perpetuate myths which serve nobody's greater good.

She also doesn't take anybody's crap LOL