First batch of soap the right way lol

[sliginion]

Just finished the 50% lard 35% olive oil and 15% coconut oil.
I thought during mixing process I would get thicker but it didnt, hope its still ok. Was wondering how many days I should wait to brake the mold?
And yes I weighed everything with a digital scale.

 

[shunt2011]

If it gels then you should be able to unmold in 12-24 hours. Did you use a stick blender to mix it? By hand can take a long long time.

 

[sliginion]

I did it by hand so probly a couple of day right?

 

[Navaria]

I believe she meant mixing by hand could take a long long time for it to reach trace (get thicker). As long as you got it to at least emulsion it will go ahead and saponify. How long it take to unmold will depend on if it gels or not, as Shunt said. What kind of mold did you use, and what did you do with it after you put the soap in the mold?

 

[sliginion]

I put it in a Tupperware bowl it was still runny after the olive and coconut oil was added. But it was at a mid trace when I added the oils. I mixed it very well

 

[shunt2011]

I'm confused, what do you mean it was at mid trace when you added the oils. You would combine all the oils with the melted lard before adding the lye/water to it. Then you mix it to trace or at least emulsion before pouring it into a mold.

Then you would cover/insulate it to get it to gel. Gelling it makes it easier to unmold. Especially from a Tupperware bowl.

 

[Navaria]

May I ask why you added the olive and coconut oil after you mixed the lye water with the lard? I'm guessing from the way your post reads that's what you did. What was the weight of all your oils and the weight of your lye? I think I have an idea of why it's so thin, but I just want a little more information to make sure.

 

[sliginion]

The water:lye ratio was 2:1. Lye was 2.2 oz. Lard was 8 oz. Olive oil was 5.6 oz and coconut oil was 2.4 oz.

I thought I could add my oils at trace but ig I messed up lol

 

[doriettefarm]

Pics or it didn't happen! Glad to see you tried again with better equipment & supplies. You could have melted/mixed all oils together before adding the lye solution and saved yourself a step. Not saying what you did won't work . . . it should be okay as long as you achieved emulsion after adding the liquid oils at trace. I would think with that much lard in the recipe you should be able to unmold within 24hrs (depending on how deep the Tupperware bowl is). You can also try freezing the soap so it becomes solid enough to unmold if it's too squishy in the center after a few days.

 

[Navaria]

Whew! I was afraid you only had enough lye for the lard you added originally lol. Lard recipes take longer to get thick, but they will eventually. There's no need to add your other oils after you add the lye. Don't get me wrong, you can but you don't have to. With some recipes, you could end up with your batter getting too thick, and have trouble getting the other oils to mix in fully. It sounds like your on the right track now though

 

[sliginion]

The mold is only 1 inch deep or more

 

[dibbles]

Yay for you! The others are right - no reason to wait to add the oils at trace. Melting your hard oils and adding your liquid oils before you add your lye solution will make it a lot easier for you, especially if you aren't using a stick blender.

 

[sliginion]

Awesome give my wrist some muscle lol

 

[doriettefarm]

If your Tupperware mold is that shallow, I bet you will be able to unmold and cut tomorrow morning. My lard soaps are usually slow to trace but set up pretty fast after pouring. Some folks wait until trace to add fragrance or essential oils but I typically melt all fats and add FOs/EOs to the melted fats at around 100 degrees F. Some EOs have a low flashpoint and will evaporate if you add them at higher temps. You really should get a stickblender and save your arm muscles!

 

[Seawolfe]

Just wait to unmold it when you can poke it and it doesn't dent, but don't wait too long or it can be hard to cut.
And congrats!! We do love to see pictures

 

[sliginion]

I will get a stickblender hehe... oops I mixed the lye and lard at ab 140 degrees. Hope it wont matter much
And I dont know how to add pictures to help with the stage and processes
Ooo I figured out the picture part yay

 

[doriettefarm]

140 degrees is pretty warm but if you didn't add any sugars or milk it's probably fine. That's pretty much why I mentioned adding FOs/EOs at a certain temperature because you don't want them to disappear!

 

[sliginion]

Oh ok awesome. Is it possible to make soap with food coloring, like a drop or two but not a whole lot?

 

[Navaria]

Depends on the color. If I remember correctly, red does ok, but blue will turn purple. I *think* yellow fades a bit, and green morphs too, but I can't say for sure. The only ones I've actually used are red and blue. The others I just read about. Plus all 4 will fade if exposed to bright light. If you're just wanting to play with a bit of color and it's for personal use go for it. For anything more complex, you really do need to get soap colorants or dyes

 

[sliginion]

Ok ill give it a try thank you