Liquid soap help - too much oil???

[Atara Rut Dahan]

Hi I tried to make liquid soap for the first time using this recipe: https://nwedible.com/how-to-make-diy-liquid-castile-soap/
All was going great for the first 2 hrs of cooking it
Then it stopped gelling and for the next few hours didn't change at all, it was white on the outside and gel on the inside/top and every time i mixed it it all turned into a not - quite - transparent colour
and got softer and softer until it was like super fluffy mashed potatoes.
All clarity tests turned cloudy white almost immediately.
Wanted to do zap test but the lightest touch makes it stick to my finger its very soft gel.
I needed to go to sleep so turned off the crockpot and it's been sitting there for the last 2 days, a semi-transparent amber colour, texture of soft gel.
When I made the lye mixture, I poured the lye fast into the water and ran out of the room for a few mins so as not to breathe it in.
Could be maybe that not all the lye got in or that some spilled?
I used filtered water from my Berkey filter would that do it?
Is there any way to fix it, really don't want to throw it all out.
Any help would be super appreciated!

 

[DeeAnna]

If you followed the recipe at the bottom of that article, the recipe checks out okay assuming KOH at 90% purity and using about 2% superfat.

Absolutely do verify you used the correct alkali -- you should have used KOH (potassium hydroxide, caustic POTASH) and not NaOH (sodium hydroxide, caustic SODA).

"...I used filtered water from my Berkey filter would that do it?..."

Filtered water is not the same as distilled water. To make CLEAR liquid soap, you MUST use distilled or deionized water which is water that does not have dissolved minerals. The minerals in regular drinking water will make the soap cloudy. That is probably the reason why your soap isn't clear.

"...poured the lye fast into the water and ran out of the room for a few mins so as not to breathe it in. Could be maybe that not all the lye got in or that some spilled?..."

Did you see any lye spills on the work counter or on the floor? If not, then it's likely all the lye solution ended up in the soap pot where it needed to be. But you need to re-think how you're doing this -- you cannot be making soap with hazardous ingredients if you're so scared you cannot plan and act with care. Yes, you do have to be respectful and aware of the hazards of working with NaOH or KOH, but acting in a fearful way will make it far more likely that you will make mistakes.

You don't need to be running out of the room after you add the lye to the fats. There are no fumes being created at this point. You were more likely to encounter fumes when you dissolved the KOH in water earlier in the process. If you feel the need to leave the room at any point because you're worried about fumes, then work outside where there is a lot of fresh air. That will give you more reassurance. And then work with purpose and care.

So ... about the actual soap. It's probably fine. It was probably completely saponified within 30 minutes after you started to cook the soap paste -- there's no real need to cook liquid soap for hours and hours. Recipe authors love to list all the stages that their soap goes through during a hot process cook, but it's a fact that not everyone will see all those stages. But they'll still end up with decent soap. You are not the first person nor will you be the last to get good soap that didn't behave like you thought it should behave.

"...Wanted to do zap test but the lightest touch makes it stick to my finger its very soft gel...."

I'm confused -- why can't you do a zap test on a soft soap gel? I do this when I make liquid soap paste.

Just wipe a small, tiny, almost-invisible smear of the paste onto your finger tip and very lightly and delicately touch that fingertip on the tip of your tongue. That's all you need to do. Then spit it out and rinse your mouth well with clean water.

"....Is there any way to fix it, really don't want to throw it all out...."

IMO, if you made the soap per the recipe AND the soap paste passes a zap test, there's nothing to fix. It's fine. Just dilute and use. It may be cloudy due to the minerals in the water you're using, but that doesn't make the soap bad or unsafe. It just won't be crystal clear.

Next time, you may want to make a (much!) smaller batch. If you're new at this type of soap making, you might make a mistake that requires the soap to be discarded. Als since the recipe is new to you, it's entirely possible you may not like the soap. So why take the risk? Make smaller batches until you know what you're doing and you know you like the soap.

Another thing is a large batch might last multiple years depending on your family. Since soap can go rancid over time, it's best to make batches that are sized so the soap gets used up within a reasonable time.

I make soap paste based on 300 grams (11 ounces) of fats -- about 1/4th the amount you made. That size batch lasts my household of two about a year. I use liquid soap at the kitchen sink for spot washing dishes and for general handwashing.

edited for formatting and sentence structure

 

[Atara Rut Dahan]

If you followed the recipe at the bottom of that article, the recipe checks out okay assuming KOH at 90% purity and using about 2% superfat.

Absolutely do verify you used the correct alkali -- you should have used KOH (potassium hydroxide, caustic POTASH) and not NaOH (sodium hydroxide, caustic SODA).

"...I used filtered water from my Berkey filter would that do it?..."

Filtered water is not the same as distilled water. To make CLEAR liquid soap, you MUST use distilled or deionized water which is water that does not have dissolved minerals. The minerals in regular drinking water will make the soap cloudy. That is probably the reason why your soap isn't clear.

"...poured the lye fast into the water and ran out of the room for a few mins so as not to breathe it in. Could be maybe that not all the lye got in or that some spilled?..."

Did you see any lye spills on the work counter or on the floor? If not, then it's likely all the lye solution ended up in the soap pot where it needed to be. But you need to re-think how you're doing this -- you cannot be making soap with hazardous ingredients if you're so scared you cannot plan and act with care. Yes, you do have to be respectful and aware of the hazards of working with NaOH or KOH, but acting in a fearful way will make it far more likely that you will make mistakes.

You don't need to be running out of the room after you add the lye to the fats. There are no fumes being created at this point. You were more likely to encounter fumes when you dissolved the KOH in water earlier in the process. If you feel the need to leave the room at any point because you're worried about fumes, then work outside where there is a lot of fresh air. That will give you more reassurance. And then work with purpose and care.

So ... about the actual soap. It's probably fine. It was probably completely saponified within 30 minutes after you started to cook the soap paste -- there's no real need to cook liquid soap for hours and hours. Recipe authors love to list all the stages that their soap goes through during a hot process cook, but it's a fact that not everyone will see all those stages. But they'll still end up with decent soap. You are not the first person nor will you be the last to get good soap that didn't behave like you thought it should behave.

"...Wanted to do zap test but the lightest touch makes it stick to my finger its very soft gel...."

I'm confused -- why can't you do a zap test on a soft soap gel? I do this when I make liquid soap paste.

Just wipe a small, tiny, almost-invisible smear of the paste onto your finger tip and very lightly and delicately touch that fingertip on the tip of your tongue. That's all you need to do. Then spit it out and rinse your mouth well with clean water.

"....Is there any way to fix it, really don't want to throw it all out...."

IMO, if you made the soap per the recipe AND the soap paste passes a zap test, there's nothing to fix. It's fine. Just dilute and use. It may be cloudy due to the minerals in the water you're using, but that doesn't make the soap bad or unsafe. It just won't be crystal clear.

Next time, you may want to make a (much!) smaller batch. If you're new at this type of soap making, you might make a mistake that requires the soap to be discarded. Als since the recipe is new to you, it's entirely possible you may not like the soap. So why take the risk? Make smaller batches until you know what you're doing and you know you like the soap.

Another thing is a large batch might last multiple years depending on your family. Since soap can go rancid over time, it's best to make batches that are sized so the soap gets used up within a reasonable time.

I make soap paste based on 300 grams (11 ounces) of fats -- about 1/4th the amount you made. That size batch lasts my household of two about a year. I use liquid soap at the kitchen sink for spot washing dishes and for general handwashing.

edited for formatting and sentence structure

Added water to soap paste and left it in the crockpot on warm overnight and it still didnt dissolve, part of the paste stays on the bottom and a layer of paste forms on the surface of the water, what can i do?

 

[DeeAnna]

Added water to soap paste and left it in the crockpot on warm overnight and it still didnt dissolve, part of the paste stays on the bottom and a layer of paste forms on the surface of the water, what can i do?

You haven't given enough information to know what your problem is. Here's how I dilute soap paste when the recipe is new to me -- use this info to troubleshoot what you're doing.

This method is based on information from SMF member @Susie who is an expert liquid soap maker --

Weigh the soap paste. I'll assume I'm diluting 250 grams (about 9 ounces) of soap paste.

Weigh out an equal weight of water and add that to the paste. Get the water and paste fully mixed however you prefer to do that. This first dilution is the most time consuming.

I often mash the paste with a potato masher to break it into smaller bits and that helps a lot.

You can also use gentle heat if you want to speed things along, but you have to stick around to keep and eye on the process. Also you'll want to cool a sample of the warmed soap to check the viscosity -- warmed soap will be thinner than when it's at room temp.

I usually use a KISS (Keep It Simple, Soaper!) method of diluting -- I mix the paste and water at room temperature and give it a mash or stir whenever I think about it. It might take a day to fully mix, but that doesn't bother me.

However you dilute, keep the soap mixture covered to reduce evaporation.

When the first amount of water is added, evaluate the mixture. If too thick, add HALF the amount of water you originally added -- in my example, that would be 125 grams (about 4.5 ounces). Mix that into the paste. The process will go faster this time.

Evaluate again. If still too thick, use half the water you added previously -- in my example, I'd add 60-65 grams (about 2.5 ounces).

Repeat this process, reducing the water each time until you are adding only 5-10 mL (1-2 teaspoons) of water at a time. Stick with adding 5-10 mL of water into the soap until the thickness is what you want.

 

[AliOop]

I use a very similar process, except I start with boiling water for the first dilution, bc I’m impatient.

 

[DeeAnna]

I forgot -- Susie also recommends we record the amount of water needed for dilution, so next time a person doesn't have to go through the whole process again.

For a new batch of soap, I will add about 80% of the total dilution water all at once that I think will be needed for dilution. Once that is mixed into the soap paste, I'll add the rest of the water in small amounts until the soap is at the desired thickness. I don't always end up using the exact amount of water every time -- I might need a bit less or more water for a new batch. It's way easier to add more water to liquid soap than to remove extra water.