Adding Lye to Hard Oils

[amd]

(I feel like I've shared this 1000x on this forum... but here I go... again...)

I had a friend teach me to make my first soap batch, she taught me with the heating and waiting until x temp method. My second batch, as I was prepping things it occurred to me that I could use the lye to melt oils (at that time I was using OO, CO, Shea and Castor). I tried it, it worked slick, and I thought I would be internet famous. Then I googled soapmaking like that (I wasn't part of this forum, and all the pinterest recipes/blogs/videos I had read/watched did the heat/wait method) and discovered I hadn't invented anything new. I have used this method ever since, and the only time I haven't had it work was once my hard oils went over 60%. (I currently use 65% hard oils of Tallow/Lard, Shea, Cocoa Butter, and CO) I fixed this by masterbatching my oils. In cold weather my masterbatch bucket is a gel consistency, in warm weather it's more liquid.

I recently switched to masterbatch lye and it still works with my masterbatch oils, but it is warmer. My plan for winter will probably be to zap the oils in the microwave before adding the masterbatch lye.

 

[NsMar42111]

You guys made me realize I've been heating the whole batch together in the micro to melt everything...when all I really need to melt is the solids. I was thinking heating the liquid up would help the solid melt, but that might be backwards...next batch..experiement!

 

[Lin19687]

BG, Trust me I am not afraid of Lye, not even with a regular just made batch, where I don't wear gloves mixing.
I wear gloves when SBing mainly because I know that I will get some on my fingers.
I get splashed regularly, not an issue and I usually don't wear long sleeves, but do wear pants.
I confess I don't wear eye gear either, unless I am outside mixing Lye and it is windy in the least bit- If I have glasses on I have gloves on.

With PETS, if there was any spill and they stepped in it, they will Lick it off. Since animals do not "tell you" right away there is an issue, it could be too late before you even know. I spent 15 years working with animals and have seen things like this happen. **** happens, even the carefullest homes have accidents .

I also work in the Medical field FWIW.

So it ISN"T about my Fear of the Lye, it is the Fear if there is ever an accident with someone OTHER then myself that I can not control.

Yes I can cover a MB of Lye but I can not watch it 24/7 . So , FOR ME, I only make things when I am ready to.
It is Safer.

Once I buy my own house I will have my own Soap section that will be big enough for all of it and will be locked from everyone else.
Only THEN will I be able to know that there won't be an accident with others.

Get my point ? Not a fear of the lye itself. It is just SAFETY when you do not have a completely closed off place from others.

p.s. not trying to bash you, just showing you it isn't a fear as you think

 

[BrewerGeorge]

...

p.s. not trying to bash you, just showing you it isn't a fear as you think

No worries. Like I said above, I wasn't as clear as I should have been with that first post.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

-- An acquaintance of mine with a master's degree in chemistry tried to commit suicide by drinking lye solution. It didn't kill him, but it did cause permanent damage to his digestive system.

Oh my.

 

[zolveria]

i have done this but i find myself reverting back to waiting for the lye to cool down LMAO..

 

[DawninWA]

I mix my lye water, then put the oils in a big metal bowl on a hot plate (on low) and let them melt until they're slushy. I make sure the shea butter isn't in big chunks, then pour in the lye water and take it off the heat. When it all melts, I stick blend. I do hot process, so I don't worry about keeping things cool or anything.