Made 1st Batch...Questions

[paupau]

I made my first batch. A Basic 1lb recipe, 10oz olive oil, 6oz coconut oil and a tbs of castor. I am following directions in the Everything soap making book.

My question are

1) I had a little oil on the top of the block, I made it upright in a quart milk container. Would this be considered separation and cause to trash the soap?

2) after 2 days of sitting I cut the block into bars, How hard should the soap be at this point? I read through other post and found the statement that the soap could still be soft enough to leave a dimple in if you pressed to hard. I think the best way to descirbe my soap at this point is like a block of cheese, firm but soft.

3) The out side of the soap is whiter, than the center, which I think is to be expected from the "gel" stage. Will the color uniform as it cures?

 

[Guest]

Sounds like a little seperation.. see if the oils sinks back in a few days.

Dont trash the soap yet until you can tell if its lye heavy.. you will get a "zap" if you stick your tongue to it.. Also they have PH sticks that you can check with.

Your soap sounds firm, but the center is not ready.. it has to sit for several weeks...

Yes, the color will uniform over time.

 

[soapbuddy]

Sounds like a little seperation.. see if the oils sinks back in a few days.

Dont trash the soap yet until you can tell if its lye heavy.. you will get a "zap" if you stick your tongue to it.. Also they have PH sticks that you can check with.

Your soap sounds firm, but the center is not ready.. it has to sit for several weeks...

Yes, the color will uniform over time.

I agree.

Irena

 

[CPSoaper]

The other thing I would add is to make sure you have a good scale and go by weights and not TBS/tsp, cups etc when determining amounts for a recipe. It is also best to do recipes that are at least 2lbs unless you are sure that you have a pretty accurate scale. Larger recipes allow for a larger margin of error. You don't want to have a soap ever that is lye heavy.

Can you also give us the amount of water and lye you added to your recipe? This might help us to determine what might have gone wrong if the soap does not end up turning out.

 

[paupau]

Thanks for your input. I do have a good scale, 35lb digital, or atleast I thought I did. The recipe is was using called for 2.25 oz, but my scale only measures to 10th's not 100th's. I am hoping this wouldn't cause to much of a variance. I know I decreased the lye to 2.2, I thought it would be better to be over in my fats verse lye.

The amount of water is 6oz

 

[soapbuddy]

Thanks for your input. I do have a good scale, 35lb digital, or atleast I thought I did. The recipe is was using called for 2.25 oz, but my scale only measures to 10th's not 100th's. I am hoping this wouldn't cause to much of a variance. I know I decreased the lye to 2.2, I thought it would be better to be over in my fats verse lye.

The amount of water is 6oz

For that small of a recipe, you really need an accurate scale or make a bigger batch; more forgiving if there is a small error.

irena