Did I screw this up or what???

[GreenEggsAndPam]

Today, I did my 7th 2-pound batch of CP soap, and thought I had it all good, but when I checked it an hour later... what happened to my soap???

Everything was going just fine, at a light trace, and I added some tea grinds for an exfoliant, then 1 tsp of turmeric, and then I added the 1 oz of fragrance oil. I normally add the FO first, but the description of this one had vanilla in it, so I thought it might accelerate the trace and cause me problems.

Well, after I added the FO "Country Spice" to the batch and mixed it, the whole batch got really thick suddenly. I had to throw it into the mold asap, and ended up having to plop it in and smooth it out with a flat edge. I got it good though, no problem.

Or so I thought until I checked it an hour later. It turned from a nice gold to a gold with reddish liquid all over the top of the soap. It looks kind of globby. I took some pics of it; trying to figure out how to include them.

Did I just have my first seizure??? :shock:

 

[ewenique]

This is what I've done in a similar situation: You can try to hot process the soap mess. Since it's a small batch, carefully dump the mess into a microwave safe bowl or bucket and zap it for a minute. Keep a close eye on it. Take it out and stir, then zap again for a minute. Repeat until it has smoothed out enough to re-pour it into your mold. Then let it sit a day or so until it hardens up properly. Be sure to wear gloves since the soap is probably still caustic. It's worth a shot. I've saved a few batches this way. Let us know how it turns out. :smile:

My guess is that the FO caused the soap to seize and then overheat, which caused separation.

 

[kazmi]

Yup that is your first seize unfortunately. I've had it happen twice and have not saved either one. If it ever happens again I'm going to not give up and try to save it. Thanks for the tips Ewinique!!

 

[savonierre]

It sounds like it overheated, you can throw it in a crock pot to cook it..

 

[GreenEggsAndPam]

I took the soap out of the mold today and cut it into bars. There was a lot of oil on the outside of the soap, which I wiped off with a paper towel. Amazingly, the soap looks exactly like my kitchen countertop pattern (a granite formica) - ! My husband thinks it looks cool. :smile: I did superfat at 5%, and added an extra gram or two of oils when measuring. I am hoping this batch is okay and will be useable in a few weeks time. Soaping is full of surprises, isn't it? I sure am learning a lot...