Koh instead of Naoh

[DaisySoap]

I used Koh instead of Naoh in my cp soap and my salt bar. I used sodium lactate in both. I also used Clay and mica to color my soap.
Now I'm trying to rebatch the regular batch to liquid soap but because of the clay I used I dont think I'll get a translucent paste or clear mug test. I also dont know what is the effect of sodium lactate in liquid soap.
And for the batch with salt I totally don't know what to do.
Please help!

 

[DeeAnna]

If the batches are small, you might save time and trouble by discarding these batches of soap and trying again.

The batch with salt will be very difficult to rehabilitate into a decent liquid soap.

Sodium lactate is fine to use in liquid soap.

If you want useful advice when troubleshooting problems, please give a full recipe with weights of ALL ingredients. Don't mix percentages and weights or leave ingredients out. It's hard to give decent suggestions with little or no info about the recipe.

 

[DaisySoap]

If the batches are small, you might save time and trouble by discarding these batches of soap and trying again.

The batch with salt will be very difficult to rehabilitate into a decent liquid soap.

Sodium lactate is fine to use in liquid soap.

If you want useful advice when troubleshooting problems, please give a full recipe with weights of ALL ingredients. Don't mix percentages and weights or leave ingredients out. It's hard to give decent suggestions with little or no info about the recipe.

Thanks for the advice.
The recipe was for 2150 grams of oil.
Coconut 645gr 30%
Olive 860gr. 40%
Palm 430gr 20%
Canola 107.5gr 5%
Castor 107.5gr 5%
Superfat 5%
Lye concentration 35%
Lye 307 gr
Water 787 gr
And I added rose clay, kaolin clay and TD and 4.5 tsp sodium lactate

And later I added another 124gr of Koh mixed in 124 grams of water. (the difference amount of water base on lye calculator called for 114 gr water but I didn't want to go below 1 to 1 ratio!)

 

[DeeAnna]

Good call to use a 1:1 ratio of KOH and water. That was the right decision.

That should correct the problem. It should finish saponifying at room temperature if you give it some time.

The clay and TD will make the soap cloudy, as you predicted. Some, maybe all of this will settle out over time in the diluted liquid soap.

I don't do clarity tests; I just do a zap test. An unfinished saponification reaction is only one of several reasons for cloudiness, and a zap test is the definitive answer for whether there is any lye still active in the paste or if it's all been consumed by saponification.

 

[Megan]

So, I just checked in a calculator and the difference in lye for your batch is more around 187g (this would give your batch a superfat of 2%). You wouldn't want a 5% superfat liquid soap. Even with a 5% SF, your extra lye concentration is off, it would be more like 172. Maybe I typed them in wrong...but I would recheck your numbers.

 

[DaisySoap]

So, I just checked in a calculator and the difference in lye for your batch is more around 187g (this would give your batch a superfat of 2%). You wouldn't want a 5% superfat liquid soap. Even with a 5% SF, your extra lye concentration is off, it would be more like 172. Maybe I typed them in wrong...but I would recheck your numbers.

Thanks for checking. What I forgot to mention was I realized my mistake so late, when I had poured the batter in my wooden mold, and by morning a part of unsaponified oils had leaked out of the mold. So I kept the 5% superfat knowing I had lost a part of the fat. And thought I might be able to take care if it after the zap test !!

 

[Megan]

It is very hard to account for lost fat...unless you know the specific weight of what you lost. Then it is still hard because you don't know what the fatty acid composition of the lost fat was...but you have a better chance of saving it in this case. You can intentionally make a (slightly) lye heavy liquid soap and neutralize with a citric acid solution.

Although, with so many variables off, I would probably not go through all of this trouble.

 

[DaisySoap]

It is very hard to account for lost fat...unless you know the specific weight of what you lost. Then it is still hard because you don't know what the fatty acid composition of the lost fat was...but you have a better chance of saving it in this case. You can intentionally make a (slightly) lye heavy liquid soap and neutralize with a citric acid solution.

Although, with so many variables off, I would probably not go through all of this trouble.

You're right, there are a lot of variables off. I already cooked it with the additional lye, I'll dilute and zap test it and if it looks weird ill just dispose it. Thanks for the advice.

 

[DeeAnna]

There might be a little bit of excess superfat, I agree, but a few percent of excess fat isn't in the same ballpark as the 40% superfat that someone in another thread has been using to make their liquid soap. (I'm not sure how that works for them, to be honest.)

Yes, you can neutralize the excess fatty acids, but IMO that can be a tedious job for not much benefit, unless you absolutely must have crystal clear soap. If you don't mind living with the soap as-is, most of the fatty acid "curds" will slowly float to the top where they can be skimmed off if you want. Or just shake the soap container from time to time to keep the curds distributed through the soap.

I've done it either way. I don't sell, however, which is why I allow myself to have a laissez-faire attitude about tolerating a small amount of fat separation. If I sold, I'd hold myself to producing a more consistent product.

 

[DaisySoap]

There might be a little bit of excess superfat, I agree, but a few percent of excess fat isn't in the same ballpark as the 40% superfat that someone in another thread has been using to make their liquid soap. (I'm not sure how that works for them, to be honest.)

Yes, you can neutralize the excess fatty acids, but IMO that can be a tedious job for not much benefit, unless you absolutely must have crystal clear soap. If you don't mind living with the soap as-is, most of the fatty acid "curds" will slowly float to the top where they can be skimmed off if you want. Or just shake the soap container from time to time to keep the curds distributed through the soap.

I've done it either way. I don't sell, however, which is why I allow myself to have a laissez-faire attitude about tolerating a small amount of fat separation. If I sold, I'd hold myself to producing a more consistent product.

This would be something I'm gonna use myself anyways. So I'll see if I can save it. I'll dilute and neutralize it and will post an update. I might need further help since I haven't done this before. Thanks for all the explanations.