Sigh..a few questions

[misskat22]

So today I decided to try my hand at castille and salt soap. I have a few questions about them. I had read that oo can take a long time to trace, so I was prepared for that, but I tried something new which I think is the thermal transfer method (using the heat of the lye to heat the oils?) So, I got my oil ready to go, mixed up my lye and once it was clear poured it into the oo. Whisked for about 5 minutes and then let it sit for a few and measured out my oils for the salt soap. I went back to it every few minutes and stirred for a few and such, when it got to a light trace I poured it into my molds (individual silicone ones). So I got my oils and salt all ready for the next batch mixed up my lye and used the same method, I was prepared for this one to move quick once I added my salt so I was ready for that. Stick blended it a bit when it was at light trace I added my FO, whizzed it with the SB and then added my salt, stirred with a spatula to mix it all in..but it didn't really speed trace. So when I felt like it was all mixed it (there weren't any salt lumps) I poured it in my mold.

Now, here are the questions, my castille is still REALLY soft..it's 3:15 now and I poured it around 10:30 this morning, it didn't gel so could this be why it still looks like pudding? Also, my salt soap is still very soft I poured it around 11:15 or so, and have heard people saying they had to cut within a few hours because of it setting up SO fast. It's nice and solid on the top, but the sides/bottom are still really soft and I'm scared to cut it. Could it be because the temps were so low? Normally I soap around 120* and my soaps gel so I'm not used to low temps and not gelling. Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

 

[Candybee]

Did you get any trace? I usually get a light trace with my castile and go ahead and pour it into my mold. Takes forever to get hard enough to even attempt cutting. For me its about a week or even two. But after curing several weeks it get really hard. I do add a bit of castor oil to mine thou cause I gotta have some bubbles!

 

[Hazel]

Some things I thought about - Did you have a water discount with the OO soap? If not, this may be a reason or you may not have had added enough lye. Are you sure about the accuracy of your scales? I check my scales for accuracy by putting 5 quarters on it - 5 quarters weigh 1 ounce (28 g). Also, it could be it's just taking longer to set up because you didn't gel.

Same reasons for the salt batch except for a water discount. I've always used full water for salt batches and I've never had problems with them not setting up. Another thought - are you sure you had light trace? It's possible the temp was so cool that the coconut started to solidify and it was actually false trace.

 

[misskat22]

Turns out the salt bar was just moving slower than I was used to, it seems to be firming up now, though weeping a little, so I'll wait until the morning to cut it (or until after hubby gets home if it's too hard!)

The castile was a 1 lb batch (454g) with a 5% sf I used 172g of water and 58g of sodium hydroxide. No water discount as I don't know enough about that. It was a light trace, but trace for sure. Those ones are still quite soft..but perhaps just need longer? Could I CPOP them to firm them up faster?

Thanks for the suggestions..oh, also I haven't checked my scale per se, but all the other batches I've done recently have turned out fine (also, I'm not sure if Canadian quarters weigh the same?!)

 

[Hazel]

Good question! I don't know if Canadian quarters are the same weight. I'll have to look and see if I can find some to test.

I'd say the softness of the OO is because of the amount of water. When I first started to make CP, I didn't know about using a water discount for 100% OO or high percentage OO batches. My first bastile batch took almost a week to get firm. Give your batch a little more time and it should be fine. You could try CPOP if you want because it might help to evaporate a little of the excess water. Although, I don't know if it would help a lot since I've never used CPOP for high percentage OO batches. I'm sorry I can't tell you more. Maybe someone else will be able to give you better advice.

Why is your salt batch weeping? This doesn't sound right and I'm a little concerned about it.

 

[misskat22]

I checked on it this morning, it's firmer so I'm guessing I'll get the desired end result, it's just going to take a while to get there LOL. Thanks for help! The salt bar is beautiful this morning! Here's my lesson in patience..I'll just wait out the castile and see how that goes!

 

[Hazel]

I'm glad to hear everything is better today. So the salt batch wasn't weeping?

Discounting water has been discussed on the forum and you'll probably see those posts eventually. However, you might find the information on these other sites helpful, too.

http://www.lovinsoap.com/2010/07/discounting-water-a-cold-process-soapmaking-tutorial/

Discounted Water Cold Process Method

http://www.soapalooza.com/blog/2013/02/discounted-water-cold-process-technique/

 

[soapguy]

Like the Beatles song says "let it be... let it be. give it time to harden.

 

[Kansas Farm Girl]

T

Thanks for the suggestions..oh, also I haven't checked my scale per se, but all the other batches I've done recently have turned out fine (also, I'm not sure if Canadian quarters weigh the same?!)

No, Canadian quarters don't weigh the same. I was checking my scale once, put my 5 US quarters on and it didn't equal an once, was slightly below. I assumed my batteries were dieing so changed them and rechecked, still not right. I finally looked at the quarters and discovered that 1 was a Canadian and 4 US. Switched that one out and the scale was correct. Put the old batteries, which were not very old, back in and all was fine.

 

[misskat22]

The salt soap has some oily residue on the top, but I think it's FO..not a lot just tiny drops here and there, but also what I thought was oil when first looking at it is actually shiny salt, when I poked at it it wasn't wet, but crystalized. Thanks for that info Kansas Farm Girl, will have to find another way to calibrate my scale then..unless I can get my hands on some US quarters..

 

[Hazel]

Hopefully, the oily residue will absorb and it will be fine. Did you test the residue for zap just to be safe?

You might ask at a bank for some American quarters. It's possible a bank would have some or you could ask friends.

@ Kansas Farm Girl -

Thanks for the info on Canadian quarters! :-D