Lye sweating out on the top

[cobbsie]

Oh no!

The glorious lavender swirl is sweating lye
http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=63757

So..I followed the recipe until I found I had 32 ounces of rice bran oil instead of 39....so substituted rapeseed for the last 7 and put it into soap calc to check the naoh content.....all seemed to work well.

light batter trace, split the amount to make the purple swirl and poured into the box.

Up until now I've wrapped the thing in towels and its got hot, this recipe said no need to cover or insulate so I left the towel off and it got warm but never got hot.

So....what makes lye seep?

Is it a bin batch? or can it be saved!

The recipe....was it substituting the rapeseed for rice bran?

I now know what the zap is! :evil:

 

[toxikon]

Don't worry, I've had lye sweat several times and it always reabsorbs.

I find that I get it when I pour at thin trace/liquid emulsion and my batter warms up a bit too much.

But the lye always reabsorbs and passes the zap-test after a week or so.

 

[cobbsie]

Oh my that would be great......okay fab....it did say 3-4 days before cutting so I will keep my fingers crossed! I was so tempted to just rinse the whole **** box under the tap and hope it went away, but I was curious as to why it sweated itself out. I put cling film on top and it created a thin slick layer. it definitely didn't heat as much as my previous ones and doesn't look like it went through a gel phase though.

 

[toxikon]

When it starts sweating I definitely leave the top uncovered and unmold as soon as I can to let the lye sweat on the sides and bottom evaporate/absorb. If it doesn't have a fancy top I will flip it upside down and give it good airflow for a few days before cutting.

 

[cobbsie]

I'll give that a go though it's a slow one to harden according to the recipe. Ill see what it's like in 24 hours....

 

[toxikon]

Yeah for sure, don't rush the unmolding. Just give it lots of air when you can!

 

[lenarenee]

Are you sure it's lye and not eo? Did you (carefully) zap test the liquid?

 

[cobbsie]

Are you sure it's lye and not eo? Did you (carefully) zap test the liquid?

I did get a zap from it yes.....i wiped some off with tissue and it is odourless. The fragrance oil was lavender. More beads of lye sweat have appeared. I've dropped the sides if the box to let it breathe.

 

[lenarenee]

I did get a zap from it yes.....i wiped some off with tissue and it is odourless. The fragrance oil was lavender. More beads of lye sweat have appeared. I've dropped the sides if the box to let it breathe.

I ask because I make quite a bit of lavender eo soap and often have the eo pebble on the surface for a day or so, then re-absorb with no harm done.

Now that 100% pure lavender eo is so expensive, I'm afraid that I've started dividing it with fragrance oil to keep costs down. But also no more droplets.

 

[cobbsie]

I ask because I make quite a bit of lavender eo soap and often have the eo pebble on the surface for a day or so, then re-absorb with no harm done.

Now that 100% pure lavender eo is so expensive, I'm afraid that I've started dividing it with fragrance oil to keep costs down. But also no more droplets.

Hmm that is interesting...I know it definitely gave me a zap...it like tasting a very strong lemon but with a fast stingy kick even a teeny touch, so it must be the lye, but the stuff on the paper underneath has a lavender fragrance.....but I darent zap test it any more lol

I did notice the EO I had was 50/52 (or something similar and I noticed the general stuff is 40/42, whether that makes a difference.

I sliced the block and moved the slices apart, seems a little soft in the middle still but wanted to get the air around as much as possible. its sat smelling lovely on a rack to dry out for a good while before giving it another go.