Lye pockets help!!!!

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monique

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Here's my story. I had a nice plan to make a wine soap. I mixed my wine and lye and then mixed my oils together. Earlier in the day I had read online that some people chose to add fragrance oil to oils before adding the lye...so of course I wanted to try it and did. I added my lye mixture to the oils and within seconds had a big glob in the middle of my oils and so as I panicked, I mixed like crazy and it was still so thick but at least it was stirrable. I decided to make this a hot process soap while stirring and so I dumped it in a crock pot and cooked it. I tested it before spooning it into the mold and it came out fine. I added a gold sparkle mica to the top and left it overnight. I went to cut the bars and noticed what I believe are lye pockets. Having never did a zap test, I experienced it this morning. That was eventful. Do I need to ditch this batch or can I shred it and cook again. I would hate to throw away four pounds of soap. My recipe was 33% coconut oil, 33% Palm, 34% olive oil. I used 11oz of red wine, 6.5oz sod hydroxide. I used dark red Brazilian clay mixed with glycerin and the fragrance was BB black raspberry vanilla. I also sprinkled gold mica on top. Please help. Can this be saved?
 
From pictures I have seen of glycerin rivers, it is not that. Not sure what it would look like if oil separated but I am assuming it would be wet and this is not wet.
 
Post photos of the soaps and the exact weights of everything so you can get better help from everyone. shredding and rebatching is always (IMO) better than tossing. Just don't overdo the water if you do rebatch. Ask me how I know that. :lol:
 
I am trying to post a picture and can't get it to work...grrrr! I think I am going to shred it up and cook again and see how that goes. Now I am curious, how do you know?

IMG_5659.JPG
 
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well,it posted...just sideways...lol

14.8 coconut
14.8 palm
15.3 olive

11oz red wine
6.5 ounces NaOH

fragrance 1.7 ounces
 
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Give it a couple of days, then zap test again. I am having a difficult time understanding how you could zap test it when HP'ing, and it be negative, then get a zap on today's cut bar. Please post your recipe in weights, also, how much did you stir when HP'ing?
 
I used test strip when I hot processed the soap and when I saw those spots this morning, that is when I decided to try zap testing and did it right on the light spot and then just a few minutes ago I used a test strip on the spot and it was high and the red part was not.
I posted the weights.
Maybe I didn't stir enough when HP'ing but I thought I did.
 
Did you boil the wine to cook the alcohol off? It may have seized because of alcohol if you used the wine without getting that out. Why it would separate after cooking, I'm not certain. How did you test it while it was cooking in the crock pot? Could it possibly have not fully saponified and then overheated in the mold?
 
Thanks everyone. What should I use instead of pH strips? I have always used those.
I ended up grating all the soap and cooking it...it is in the mold again and I'll see what happens when I cut it tomorrow.
That was just a bizarre circumstance.
 
You zap test. Moisten your fingers, rub the spot, touch your fingers to your tongue. If you do not get a definite ZAP sensation, then touch your tongue to the soap. If it is lye, you will get the sensation of sticking a "live" 9 volt battery to your tongue. Not a taste, a sensation.

pH strips are useless on testing soap. It is alkaline. It is supposed to be.
 
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