CP Castile soap- questions about my first batch

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sbn

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I made a ~4.5# batch (homemade mold) of CP castile (100% OO) Wednesday morning around 11 a.m. This is my first time making castile and I'd read that it takes longer to set up, so I put it to bed and left it alone. Friday morning, it was really solid and I was going to cut it, but had lots of kid things going on and didn't get around to it. So, Saturday around noon, I unmolded it and it was really hard to cut. I couldn't get a straight cut with a knife and ended up getting a hand saw from the garage since the blade was easier for me to push through. The middle of the loaf was easier to cut, where it wasn't quite as solid. It is apparent to me that I waited too long to cut. I should have gone with my observation of the soap and cut it sooner. :sad:

My questions:
1. I accidentally broke one of the pieces in half and was wondering if this is how it's supposed to look inside?
2. I followed a blogger's water discount advice- sort of. She recommended 1:1 to accelerate tracing, but I'm not that brave and went with 1.4:1. Is this soap going to be usable? I washed with a small chunk from my broken bar and it gave a bit of lather with small bubbles. I still have skin on my hands, so that's encouraging. :p
3. Hubby is picking up some pH test strips for me. What should my soap test at this stage?

Water: lye ratio 1.4:1
Superfat 5%
Water 13.513 oz
Lye 9.652 oz
EVOO 75 oz
No additives.

Thank you very much to anyone who responds!

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Castile can be a weird soap. Sometimes it sets up quickly, hard as a rock and the next time it will take a week to firm up enough to unmold. Its one of those things you just have to keep a eye on. Using a water discount will help it reach trace quicker but it can also make the soap get hard in the mold. I use 2:1 and it works for most soap I make.

It looks fine inside, thats what my broke soap looks like. Your recipe is good so I say yes, this is a nice usable soap. You did good:)

Send the test strips back, they are worthless for handmade soap. Search PH testing on the forum, you will find a ton of info about it.
 
Thanks, Obsidian. I'll look up the pH info you recommended and stop glaring at my soap. :lol:
 
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