My first cp soap

[beezwax123]

Okay, so I had my first experience making cold processed soap yesterday and I have a problem, my recipe was :

10 oz canola
10 oz olive oil
10 oz lard
5 oz coconut oil(76)
And I superfatted with 2oz of sesame seed oil.

So my problem is that I completely forgot the canola oil. I realized it hours after pouring the soap into molds. I did the tongue test and yes it's lye heavy.

Is there anything I can do to fix this soap or is it impossible and the only thing to do is scrap it?

 

[Susie]

If it is soft, mash it into a crock pot with the oil you are missing poured in. If it is hard, then use gloves and grate the soap up with the oil. You may need to add a tiny bit of water (1 tsp or less) at the time to keep it loose enough to stir. Stir and cook until it is well incorporated and thick mashed potato appearance, should be stir-able and mash-able. It won't be pretty, but it will be soap in 4-6 weeks

 

[beezwax123]

Will that mess with the fragrance I added to it? At this point I'm not sure it matters but I'm still curious about it.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Will that mess with the fragrance I added to it? At this point I'm not sure it matters but I'm still curious about it.

It might well do, as you are heating it up.

On another note, if you used the cold process, you have no way of specifying a superfat - adding an oil in at trace does not work at all, regardless of what the directs said. To select the superfat, you have to use hot process

 

[beezwax123]

I thought superfat was just the oils that were left over in the soap after the soponiphication happened?

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Yes, they are.

But in cp the saponification happens over 24 to 48 hours. Any and all oils in there will saponify - including any added at trace. Trace is just the beginning of the process.

So let's say that trace takes 30 mins and saponification is 24 hours. Anything that you add at trace is only out of the lye 1/48th of the time of the rest of the oils. No difference at all.

 

[Susie]

You may lose some fragrance. But better that than lye heavy soap.

Now is when we need to talk about organization so it never happens again, though.

When I get ready to make soap, I clean off the counter and make sure the sink is empty. I have my recipe with a pen and a highlighter on a safe spot. I get out all equipment, and supplies. As I weigh out my oils (each to a separate container so if I am low on one, I can re-run the recipe without stressing) and check them off the recipe. The jug/jar of oil then gets put up. I re-check the weight on everything. I use all the same containers so I know the weight to subtract it. You would not believe how many mistakes re-weighing has saved me. Do the same process for the EO/FO, and water. Weigh, put up container, re-weigh, check off of recipe. I put on my goggles and gloves, and weigh the lye, put up the container and re-weigh. Then, as I use each ingredient, it gets highlighted on the recipe and the now empty containers go into the sink. Before stick blending, I look to be sure there are no containers left on the counter. Then I stick blend. This stopped me from forgetting my ingredients.

 

[suzhartman]

I love your organization skills. Mine are much the same.

First get everything together in my work area. I tend to do the same when I'm cooking a meal. The sink is clear so I can toss used container easily and not have to worry about husband/pets getting burned or contaminating the rest of the ingredients.

I add a paper towel to my work are to set spoons and what not to keep everything together and the oil mixture on the utensils contained.

Weigh it, move the original container to the designated storage spot, and move on to the next.

I start at the top of my ingredient list and work my way done.

 

[beezwax123]

Thanks so much. The soap is currently in the crock pot doing it's thing, so far so good. The organization tips are a big help, I'm horrible at staying organized but the tips helped.

 

[Susie]

I try to be organized. I am not always the best. But, this is one time that it will absolutely pay off to practice it every time and get into a habit of doing it every time. Saves rebatches and tossed soap.

ETA-Also, start today making a binder(or computer file) of every soap recipe with notes made on it. You can put every colorant, FO/EO, any additives, how long something took to trace, and how you liked it after it cured. This will save you enormous time and trouble.

 

[beezwax123]

That's a great idea. I started a journal of recipes and notes but the binder sounds more organized. Oh and my soap came out of the crock pot and into a mold. It does look like mashed potatoes, bumpy and yellow tinged white, I actually really like the look and I was thinking I could make a few small cubes of m&p in yellow and stick them on top and call it mashed potatoe soap. Lol. Oh and thankfully the scent I used didn't dissipate, some of the very top notes might have burned off in the crock but it's still pretty powerfully scented.

 

[MarisaJensen]

It happens. When I first started making soap I forgot ingredients or essential oils. I have a routine of how I set up and I put away after using items so that I know everything has gone into the soap. I never miss anything these days but it happens to the best of us. Thank goodness for rebatching in crockpot.

If you think the fragrance has gone from the soap you can always add just a bit at the end.