First Soap, Pine Tar soap with active Charcoal

[gthuffines]

Not bad, a few airpockets. Can't find my PH strips. Now the long wait to cure.

 

[steffamarie]

Looks nice! pH strips are pretty unreliable anyway. Try a zap test if you're trying to make sure there's no excess lye. The waiting is the worst part!! I usually sneak a test after a couple weeks...which I shouldn't do...but I'm so impatient!! I'm an instant gratification kind of gal ;P

 

[gthuffines]

Looks nice! pH strips are pretty unreliable anyway. Try a zap test if you're trying to make sure there's no excess lye. The waiting is the worst part!! I usually sneak a test after a couple weeks...which I shouldn't do...but I'm so impatient!! I'm an instant gratification kind of gal ;P

Found them PH of 10 after 24 hours, I have no idea if that is good or bad. Seems high. Pardon my ignorance, what is the zap test?

 

[Obsidian]

PH of lye soap is naturally high, thats just the way of the beast. Here is info on the zap test, I would wait at least 3-4 days before doing it.

https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/how-to-properly-safely-conduct-the-zap-tongue-test.63199/

 

[steffamarie]

Found them PH of 10 after 24 hours, I have no idea if that is good or bad. Seems high. Pardon my ignorance, what is the zap test?

All lye-based soap is alkaline at the end. 9-10 is pretty standard and I've found that in most boughten bar soaps as well. The zap test is a way to test for excess alkalinity (see Obsidian's link - they were faster than me lol). No zap means you're good to go! Unless you have phenolphthalein or a pH meter, you probably won't get a super accurate pH. The zap test is usually all you need to do to make sure your soap is safe to use.