My First EVER Batch!! Will it work??

[Kitty Karlina]

Hey guys & dolls!!

I did my first ever batch of soaps on Saturday afternoon However I'm getting concerned that they havent fully set yet (not enough to get out of the moulds anyway i dont think!)

This is the recipe I used (From Kirstie Allsopp on Channel 4)

900ml Water
295g Caustic Soda
615g Coconut Oil
800ml Olive Oil
800ml Sunflower Oil

I added the Caustic Soda to the Water and whisked it until all the Soda had disolved, Meanwhile I melted the Coconut Oil and added the Olive Oil and Sunflower Oil, Which i then mixed together and added to the Water/Caustic Soda mixture.

I stirred for about 45-50mins before dividing into 3 plastic tubs,

To one tub I added 50 drops of Lavendar Essential Oil and a handful of Lavendar Flowers,

To the second tub I added 50 drops of Rose Geranium Essential Oil and a handful of dried Rose Petals

And to the third tub i added 50 drops of Lemon Essential Oil and some dried Orange/Clementines.


Now, They have all started to set, some better than others, The Lemon one took the longest but they're not fully set yet? well..... not set enough to remove them from the moulds.

Have I done anything wrong or should I just have a bit more patience? Its just that the recipe said to cover with a blanket and leave for 24hours to set but it has been more like 48hours (or at least will be at about 6pm tonight)

Any info/help would be lovely!

Kitty xx

 

[serenaglynn]

This recipe is my primary one, mainly because there was no need for checking temps. The first batch I did I whisked by hand for a full 40 mins and the soap came out snow white - however, now I use a hand blender.
If you are using Citrus oils though, I would also use benzoin as a fixative otherwise the smell will go. And I dont bother with lavender buds anymore cos they just go mushy and stain the soap.
I leave mine in the molds for a full 24 hrs wrapped in blankets, and then I can usually tell if they will pop out easily, if not, i remove the blankets and let air dry for another 24 hrs.
If the surface is a bit soft I leave them longer too.
Using this recipe I have sucessfully made a Lavender bar, Goats Milk and Chamomile bar, Goats Milk and Chocolate bar, Kelp and Geranium bar, Goats Milk and Oatmeal bar and an unscented herbal.

 

[Gryfonmoon]

That's a lot of sunflower oil and olive oil. I think you'll need to wait longer to pop them out because of that. Sounds like a good recipe though.

 

[serenaglynn]

What would the cons be for using a lot of sunflower/olive oil in a recipe?

 

[lsg]

SoapCalc calls for 841 grams water, the INS # is a little low and your iodine is a little high, so you may have a soft bar of soap.

 

[AlchemyandAshes]

I am surprised at how popular that recipe is, and how many people have problems with it! It seems to keep making its rounds...
Here is a thread directly related to the issues with that particular recipe:
http://www.soapmakingforum.com/f11/can-anyone-help-me-30322/

 

[judymoody]

Much of what is wrong about this recipe is explained in the very helpful thread posted by Shawnee.

Aside from the fact that the recipe has too much water, a bit more lye than is desireable, has too high a proportion of liquid oils, and features an oil that is prone to rancidity (sunflower), the recommended amounts of EO are too low to be detectable in the finished soap. For EOs, the maximum use rate recommended on this forum is 3% of your oil weight. For fragance oils, many soapers go up to 6%.

Lavender and lemon can be used safely at 3%. For your recipe of 2215 grams of oils divided by 3, that would amount to 22 grams per type. Rose geranium, by the way, has a tendency to speed up trace and make your soap thicken VERY quickly - probably best to use after you have gained some experience.

And yes, lavender buds will go brown in cold process soap.

Don't be discouraged. Google soap queen if you want to find some good balanced recipes and tutorials. Also until you get more experience, a batch size of 1.5 to 2 pounds is probably best. That would make around 8-10 good sized bars of soap.

 

[Lelly22]

That's a lot of sunflower oil and olive oil. I think you'll need to wait longer to pop them out because of that. Sounds like a good recipe though.

I also tried to make cold process with Sunflower and Olive oil but mine has not set either after 2 days...well not solid?

 

[serenaglynn]

If I were to reduce the amount if sunflower and in my case rapeseed, would you recommend making it up with more coconut oil? nb, my soaps using this recipe have hardened nicely after about 2 weeks after cutting and stacking to air dry.

 

[Kitty Karlina]

Well..... since I've discovered soap queen (and also fallen in love!!) I can now see why my soaps havent worked as well as i'd hoped.

So, I've ordered a load more stuff, palm oil, fragrances and colourants and i'm going to give a few more batches a go, plus bath bombs too!!

Kitty x

 

[MaitriBB]

I also recommend running any recipe that you find online through a soap calculator just in case. Love your enthusiasm!

 

[Kitty Karlina]

Thank you hun, I will do

Kitty x