I forgot the olive oil

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soapygoat

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I officially made my first soapy mistake today. I guess it was bound to happen after so many years without an issue. I'm posting this under beginners in case it helps someone else who is just getting started.

I make cold process goat milk soap. We're right in the middle of pouring 25 batches for the holiday seasons coming up, and I was working on 2 batches of peppermint EO tonight. The short story is that I forgot to add olive oil to 1/4 of my batch.

The long story is that all of my oils are premixed to make pouring easier. There are 3 oils in one jug, and since the jug isn't big enough, olive is in a second jug (I think you can see where this is going). I probably would have been fine, except I decided to make this a layered bar, white, then red, then white, and red on top. I have 2 batches of this scent to pour, so what I decided to do was to make a half batch, color and scent it, then divide it between the 2 molds. So the first half pour was white. The second half pour was red, split between the two, and so on and so forth.

The issue came when I was cleaning up and realized that I forgot to add the olive oil to the third pour. That means that I have a situation where each batch of soap is missing 1/4 of its olive oil, and an entire layer in each is missing all of its OO.

My question is, how doomed am I? Am I going to have to rebatch it and add the OO (I've never rebatched, so that'll be a new experience), or is there any hope that my totally cool soap might end up okay? Below is the recipe for a half pour, and of course each mold has 4 of these in it (hope that makes sense). I'm not the greatest at using soap calc, but from what I can tell, that layer is basically going to have 0% SF, right? Is it going to be too caustic to use, or might the surrounding layers that are perfectly fine (and about 8% SF) mellow it out somewhat?

8 oz. Almond oil
16 oz. Coconut oil
20 oz. Palm oil
20 oz. Olive oil
8.73 oz. NaOH
21.12 oz. milk

Thanks, all.
 
It would help to know the amount of your recipe's superfat, and the amount of fat in the goat milk (assuming the goat milk is added to the entire recipe)

How well is the soap setting up?
 
It would help to know the amount of your recipe's superfat, and the amount of fat in the goat milk (assuming the goat milk is added to the entire recipe)

How well is the soap setting up?

My recipe, when done correctly, has an 8% SF. I am not sure on the fat in the goat milk, since it is my own goat milk. In general, the fat content of goat milk is similar to that of cow's milk, so it should be in the 3-6% range. The SF of my recipe does not take the fat of the goat's milk into account, as I've never found a good way to accurately do that.

The soap appears to be setting up just fine, but also remember that there is a full layer of normal soap on top of the problem child. I will pull it from the mold in a few hours, so I will be able to report back on the condition of layer #3 at that time.

Another thought that occurred to me last night: if, when I pull it from the mold, layer #3 looks fine in all other respects, would a zap test be enough to determine if the soap is safe to use?
 
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Update: the soap looks perfectly fine. Layer #3 is a little thinner than the other layers, but otherwise, you wouldn't know something is off about that layer if you weren't told. It's the same color as the first white layer, and it set up just fine. Poking at it, it's about the same firmness as the surrounding layers. I scraped the edges on some of the bars to clean them up, and that layer seems like it's the same consistency as the other layers.
 
I haven't done the math on your recipe, and sorry but I'm too tired to do it myself. Try the zap test if you haven't already and it if passes you know the soap is usable. With the high SF and the fat from the milk it's helped cover missing oil. As for selling it...you'll have to see if it fits your saleable standards.
 
I would zap test, and even if it zapped, I would give it a good long cure to let it get unzappy. If it does not zap, it is safe. That does not mean it is good soap, just safe. Time will get you much better soap.
 
So I zap tested at a week, and it was perfectly fine. It had the cooling effect of menthol, but nothing at all zappy about it. My business partner and I have decided that those 2 pours won't be enough, so we're going to do 2 more pours. My plan is to sell the upcoming ones (which, fingers crossed, will be normal), and hold off on the ones we just made for a while. Thanks for the help guys.
 
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