How to mix

[Phisch]

I know there’s a must: lye into soap and never the other way around.

but is it ok to pour the melted oils into the lye/water solution? Usually videos show the other way, but so think that’s just because of how the oils had to be melted in a big pot. My biggest container for mixing lye and water is a stainless steel pot and I only have a glass bowl for melting coconut oil right now. I want to be safe and mix/stick blend in the pot. Is that ok?

 

[shunt2011]

No, it's lye into oils and butters. Always!!!! I personally don't melt anything in glass in the microwave. I've have them shatter. I melt in plastic and pour all oils/butters into my pot then add the lye. Never pour your oils into the lye.

 

[Phisch]

Ah ok, so rule applies even in liquid form. Can I use a glass mixing bowl to hold the melted oil that the lye solution will go into? Rqther, can Qi reuse it for other purposes after using it to mix soap? I’m thinking yes, since it will be soap but that some may say no just in case?

 

[amd]

To add to Shunt's answer: You want to add the lye to the oils for safety. Pouring the oils into the water has a greater chance for splashing which is never good.

Get a plastic pitcher or a durable plastic container - as a new soapmaker you shouldn't be making large batches of soap anyways, so a standard 2 quart pitcher will give you plenty of room for mixing your lye water. Once you use that pitcher or container for lye, you cannot use it for food again, so don't use Grandma's favorite koolaid pitcher! You can find nice containers at the dollar store that are durable enough for mixing lye. You want plastic with a recycling code 2 or 5, and thick walls - if you can easily squeeze the sides and cause it to collapse, it's no good.

Forum member DeeAnna has a great post on lye storage that will help you find the right container for mixing your lye.
https://classicbells.com/soap/lyeStorage.asp

Can I use a glass mixing bowl to hold the melted oil that the lye solution will go into?

No, glass will etch from the lye solution, weaken and eventually shatter. Poorly made glass may even shatter right away. Go get yourself a container at the dollar store, it will be the best $1 plus tax that you ever spent.

 

[Phisch]

Ok thanks! My batch will look tiny in the food grade bucket I have but it should do great !

To add to Shunt's answer: You want to add the lye to the oils for safety. Pouring the oils into the water has a greater chance for splashing which is never good.

Get a plastic pitcher or a durable plastic container - as a new soapmaker you shouldn't be making large batches of soap anyways, so a standard 2 quart pitcher will give you plenty of room for mixing your lye water. Once you use that pitcher or container for lye, you cannot use it for food again, so don't use Grandma's favorite koolaid pitcher! You can find nice containers at the dollar store that are durable enough for mixing lye. You want plastic with a recycling code 2 or 5, and thick walls - if you can easily squeeze the sides and cause it to collapse, it's no good.

Forum member DeeAnna has a great post on lye storage that will help you find the right container for mixing your lye.
https://classicbells.com/soap/lyeStorage.asp

Thanks! The bit about the code was very helpful. I’ll save the bucket I have for future lye solution mixing bigger batches but it had the code 2 so it was perfect—containers are not the problem any longer.

Funny: in my concern over the lye fumes I used ice cubes instead of water. Zero fumes indeed! Only trouble was the solution ended up too cool at 77F. I stuck the melted coconut oil and it’s container into a bowl of ice and that brought things down in temp—-ish. I put oils and lye together and it felt like a long time to get to any trace but it got there eventually (or is 8ish minutes about normal?). It’s in a mold now and waiting to be solid enough to be taken out. We’ll see if it happens!

 

[KiwiMoose]

If it's any help - I always melt my coconut oil (and other hard oils) in a stainless steel pot on a low heat on the stovetop. Lye solution is mixed in a smaller plastic jug. Before I got my big mixing bowl - I added everything else to the stainless steel pot to mix. Once the hard oils were melted I added the liquid oils, and then the lye solution, and blended right there in the pot!

 

[dibbles]

I do what KiwiMoose does - melt my hard oils, add liquid oils and any additives if I'm using them and then the lye solution. Also, if this is of any help to you, your lye water and oils don't really have to be at the same temperature. Many people master batch their lye solution, so that is at room temperature, and add it to warm (not too hot) oils. I mix my lye solution for each batch, but it is frequently cooled to 75-85 degrees and my oils are usually around 95-100.

 

[Phisch]

If it's any help - I always melt my coconut oil (and other hard oils) in a stainless steel pot on a low heat on the stovetop. Lye solution is mixed in a smaller plastic jug. Before I got my big mixing bowl - I added everything else to the stainless steel pot to mix. Once the hard oils were melted I added the liquid oils, and then the lye solution, and blended right there in the pot!

Thank you! I had things backwards when it came to containers. I knew I didn't want to use my glass mixing bowl for the lye, so I used the stainless steel pot I got for melting oils instead. But it worked out well once I found the plastic food grade bucket. The only problem was that the batch isn't very big and the stick blender made a few bubbles. In the end, the bubbles went away though.

I do what KiwiMoose does - melt my hard oils, add liquid oils and any additives if I'm using them and then the lye solution. Also, if this is of any help to you, your lye water and oils don't really have to be at the same temperature. Many people master batch their lye solution, so that is at room temperature, and add it to warm (not too hot) oils. I mix my lye solution for each batch, but it is frequently cooled to 75-85 degrees and my oils are usually around 95-100.

Great to know! My temps were right in line with those, actually. The bar was a bit harder than I wanted it to be when I cut it but that's not surprising since I had to leave the house for a bit. From other posts I knew that all coconut oil soap with zero superfat was going to harden really quickly. Next time, I'll time it better.

Funky things happened to the bar (I'll share photos once I figure out how) and I got the gel phase ring. I have to look up the ring again to remember what causes it. I didn't insulate the filled mold, so maybe that's why? The crack that had formed early on went away, so that was good. I'll be grating these down tomorrow to make laundry soap. Kind of excited for that!

 

[CatahoulaBubble]

I picked up a stainless steel pot, plastic pitchers, spatulas, and various silicone molds and containers at thrift stores for about $10 total. You might try picking up some second hand goods to use just for soaping.

 

[dibbles]

Funky things happened to the bar (I'll share photos once I figure out how) and I got the gel phase ring. I have to look up the ring again to remember what causes it.

The ring is just from partial gel.

 

[Phisch]

I picked up a stainless steel pot, plastic pitchers, spatulas, and various silicone molds and containers at thrift stores for about $10 total. You might try picking up some second hand goods to use just for soaping.

That’s what I did $5 for a stick blender is t bad. I just got 1 mixing vessel when I should have had 2.