4 hrs @ Vaseline stage

[vuladams]

So I know my liquid soap paste should have gone through all these stages and it's kinda just been stuck in the thick Vaseline stage... Is this normal? I'm on the 4th hour at high in my crock pot, stirring every 15 mins. I can't really use my stick blender anymore so now I'm hand stirring.
Here's what it currently looks like. How much longer do I need to keep stirring? Maybe another 1-2 hours?

 

[Mellifera]

Test it to see if if it makes clear soap. Sometime the paste stays cloudy even when it's fully cooked.

 

[vuladams]

Not yet. I'll check again in an hour. Thanks!

 

[vuladams]

Okay, so it's been cooking for a total of 8.5 hours now and looks like this:

This is only my second batch of LS, as I've been making CP soap for about 6 years and wanted to learn this. I'm still learning what it "should" look like, so any and all help is greatly appreciated!!! Thank you so much!

 

[vuladams]

Oh, the white foam are the bubbles from me stirring it.

 

[vuladams]

Test it to see if if it makes clear soap. Sometime the paste stays cloudy even when it's fully cooked.

This doesn't look "clear" to me... The white is bubbles... But the yellow part is still really opaque... What do you think?

 

[Susie]

I would zap test it or use phenolphthalien(sp?) to check for lye excess. If it is still a bit zappy or still pink, I would probably just turn off the crock pot or stove and let it sit overnight wrapped in a towel or blanket. Then recheck it in the morning. Not every LS batch goes through the stages perfectly. (I honestly would have stopped after 4 hours.) All the cloudiness is telling you is that there are unsaponified oils present.(the opposite of lye heavy) BTW, you can use rubbing alcohol spray to knock the bubbles down when testing, then just pour it all back into the soap when you start diluting.

 

[FGOriold]

What oils did you use?

 

[vuladams]

I would zap test it or use pheolphthalien(sp?) to check for lye excess. If it is still a bit zappy or still pink, I would probably just turn off the crock pot or stove and let it sit overnight wrapped in a towel or blanket. Then recheck it in the morning. Not every LS batch goes through the stages perfectly. (I honestly would have stopped after 4 hours.) All the cloudiness is telling you is that there are unsaponified oils present.(the opposite of lye heavy) BTW, you can use rubbing alcohol spray to knock the bubbles down when testing, then just pour it all back into the soap when you start diluting.

Thanks. I ended up turning the crock pot off and left it overnight and then resumed today. It's coconut and olive oil. It's not a lye excess recipe, I found because I liked that it didn't use Borax (my skin reacts to it). It's actually a 3% lye discount. so it'll never get clear right? Here's a pic from today.

 

[vuladams]

I think next time I'll try a 0% lye discount batch. I'm crazy accurate when measuring so I'm hoping it'll be a better fit for me. I have weird skin issues and prefer to not go through the lye excess and neutralization process if there's a way around it.

This is for my personal use so I'm looking for quality of soap over appearance.

 

[Susie]

Did you check the pH in any method? Zap test, pheno, pH meter? Even though I got a pH meter, I still zap test as my final safe or not test.

You did not mention what the soap is for. If it is for laundry, I would stick with 0% SF. If it is for hands, skin, or dishes, I would go with the 3% and not worry about cloudiness.

 

[vuladams]

Did you check the pH in any method? Zap test, pheno, pH meter? Even though I got a pH meter, I still zap test as my final safe or not test.



You did not mention what the soap is for. If it is for laundry, I would stick with 0% SF. If it is for hands, skin, or dishes, I would go with the 3% and not worry about cloudiness.

No zap, so that's good. I didn't do any pH testing.
The soap is for general hand washing. I also included a picture showing the stages it went through.

Here's a picture of the final soap, after I left it overnight and then finished it the next morning.