5 Hours of Cooking and Still Not Clear

[northernsoap]

It's translucent - followed recipe to the T - kept it on high for 5 hours and still it's not coming out clear. Should I cook it one more hour and see or should I just call it a day and neutralize it with some borax? Your thoughts?

 

[Susie]

Not every soap goes through every stage. Zap test, NOT clarity test, tells you when it is done. No zap=safe. Zap=needs neutralizing. I am willing to bet yours was safe and ready to dilute hours ago.

If you will post your recipe and process, we can better tell you what is going on.

 

[northernsoap]

There's no zap.

*(30%) 14.1 oz coconut oil
(30%) 14.1 oz soybean oil (liquid, not shortening)
(40%) 18.8 oz olive oil
32.9 oz distilled water
9.39 oz KOH (Potassium Hydroxide) This is a 70% water as percent of oil weight, and a 5% superfat discount.*

Oh dear - i did not superfat it.

:cry:

 

[KatieShephard]

Mine wasn't clear either when I did it and it works just like soap

 

[northernsoap]

What should I do with it now? Should I just dilute it? Should I add something to it? Like borax to bring down the lye? Is it way too late to superfat it? How long should I put it up in the container before using and how will I know it's good to go? THANK YOU!

 

[lsg]

If it doesn't zap, there should be no extra lye in it. I would dilute what I wanted to use now and keep the rest as paste until it was needed.

 

[DeeAnna]

No zap = no need to neutralize. Just dilute and use it. The diluted soap may not be perfectly clear, but that won't kill ya.

The cloudiness test supposedly tells you there may be some unsaponified fat in the soap. If for some reason the saponification reaction is not yet finished, then it is true the soap will look cloudy. You also need to test the soap for zap as well -- the soap will zap if and only if the saponification is not done. The solution is to let the soap finish saponifying. Turn the heat off, walk away for a few hours, and let the soap do its thing. Or if you like to hover, keep cooking until the soap doesn't zap.

But that's not the only reason for cloudiness.

If the soap is cloudy AND the zap test gives NO zap, then don't beat a dead horse and keep cooking. The soap is done. There is something else that's causing the cloudiness. The soap might be superfatted a little too much and extra fats or fatty acids are causing the cloudiness. Or the fats in the recipe are high in palmitic or stearic acid -- these fatty acids naturally tend to make a cloudy-to-opaque soap.

Unless you are using a water-soluble fat such as turkey red to "superfat", don't add superfat. This is not like solid NaOH soap that can tolerate added fats. Extra fat will just float to the top of the liquid soap and make a mess.

 

[Ellacho]

What Isg said. I would dilute some of it and keep the rest in the ziplock bag.

 

[northernsoap]

Thank you for this good information. This really was my first batch of non-glycerin and well - nothing is fool-proof. So - I'm diluting and let it do its thing for a couple of weeks. I'll check in on it from time time. I'm going to do another batch and see if using different brand of coconut oil will make the diff. And if not - oh well - I'll be good in laundry detergent for years.

 

[Susie]

I would not use that for laundry soap. 5% superfat does not need to be on your clothes. That is also why it is still cloudy. Too much fat. If you want clear soap, your superfat needs to be 0-3%. I use 0% superfat for laundry soap and dish soap, 3% for hand soap or shampoos.

 

[northernsoap]

So the leaner the cleaner - gotcha. For regular use - body et al - I put some peppermint EO in a bit in a jar. Nice lather - looking milky but ok. What should I not to to get it clear next time?

 

[Susie]

Keep your superfat at 0-3%. That was the only issue you had.