Need help regarding oil and lye mixture.

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Jinsei

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Hello, this is my first time here, and i have a question regarding oil and lye mixture.
I've been trying to make a castile soap with potassium hydroxide and coconut oil + olive oil.
But, the mixture won't mix when i tried to mix the lye and both oil. I stir it with magnetic stirring bar.
Here is my recipe :
Olive Oil : 6 gr
Coconut Oil : 4 gr

Lye Solution
KOH : 2 gr
Aquades : 9 gr

First i mix the coconut oil and olive oil, then i heat it until 70'C
While also, making KOH solution with said recipe.
After the oil reached 70'C, i pour the lye solution to the oil. At first it is looked like mixed, after 10 minutes stirring i turned off the stirring, and there's 2 layer in the mixture.
Is there something wrong? Why won't it be a creamy ?
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Why are you making such a tiny batch of Liquid Soap?

Even with precision equipment, there is a lot of room for error.
Purity of KOH and superfat are parts of the of the formula that are important when making soap.

Anyway, my guess is you haven't stirred enough. Unless you are using pomace Olive Oil, I would not expect this to trace with simulated hand stirring for a very long time.

Another possible problem could be the purity of your KOH. Have you calculated its purity?

Which lye/soap calculator are you using? It should have a spot to adjust the KOH purity to determine the correct amount of KOH.

Also what is your desired Superfat?


75% OO
25% CO
at 8 grams of oils is a tiny batch.

Depending on the purity of your KOH and your water to lye ratio (water:lye), you could have a huge superfat or a lye heavy mixture there. Either way, a 75% OO soap is going to take a long time to come to trace with only stirring and no shearing action.

This is what your formula looks like with 90% purity in the Soapmaking Recipe Builder Lye Calculator:


1618127015762.png
 
a pill stirrer will take a lot longer than 10 minutes to mix the recipe you have given

your recipe has a lot of water in it
and it is very very small

larger amounts can be made using a stick blender - this is much quicker and less prone to errors
so - a larger batch, less water and using shear action instead of stirring will get you faster results

unsolicited advice -
glass is unsafe for regular soap making
lye etches glass, eventually your glass equipment will shatter

PS Hi!
 
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Well, "Earthling", you're off to a very bad start I'm sorry to tell you. If you want to make liquid soap it's best to do a little more research. There's good information here:

http://alaiynab.blogspot.com/2014/07/basic-beginner-liquid-soap-and.html

And here:

https://classicbells.com/soap/soapystuff.asp#liqu


Hopefully those sites will have all the answers you need to make liquid soap.

Welcome and HAPPY SOAPING!

unsolicited advice -
glass is unsafe for regular soap making
lye etches glass, eventually your glass equipment will shatte
While it's true that lye etches glass, I prefer glass, used it for years, because it's easier to see whether the lye is clear or not. That being said, you're quite right about the etching bit. Here's a pic of my 4-cup heavy glass lye pitcher bought at a garage sale 15 years ago LOL:

1618170065304.png
 
aside from the weight of this jug, looks like you have been lucky - microcracks are a weakness when purchasing second-hand glass items

glass is not recommended for mixing hot alkali lye solution or soap batter
for the original poster, OP please refer ASTM E438, “Standard Specification for Glasses in Laboratory Apparatus.”

a better alternative is a light, translucent polypropylene (#5 plastic) chemical jug
example: corning reusable beaker
https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/sigma/cls1015p250
 
I've managed to get it traced after changing the Olive oil, and increase the amount of the oil and lye. It is getting creamy and works fine.
Since i am still a beginner, i need to know how do i calculate for the ratio between Olive oil, coconut oil, and lye solution? How's a good lye concentration percentage?
What is superfat to be precise?

I am trying to make a liquid dishwash soap for general, after cooking process and dillution, what should i add to make it better?
 
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Superfat is the result of more oil than the amount of lye used can convert to soap. A negative superfat would be too much lye for the amount of oil used, aka (also known as) "lye heavy".

I will let the more experienced LS makers answer the other questions, as my focus is on solid soap.
 
Lucky you! You've landed on a Forum where help is always available as long as you make some attempt to help yourself. :D All of the above questions can be answered by the links provided in Post #5. You don't expect us to do all your thinking for you, do you? If you make the effort, you'll not only be more likely to ask better questions but you will have a better understanding of the answers. ;)

From your questions, I'm wondering if you are using a lye calculator to develop your recipe? If not, here is a link to SoapCalc. Plan on spending some time getting used to it.

Please understand. I'm not trying to be mean or insensitive -- remember that old saying? -- "God helps those who help themselves"? SMF members are a lot like God in that regard. 🤣

There's lots of info in the above links and elsewhere on SMF -- the Beginners Forum and the Liquid Soap & Cream Soap Forum. Find the magnifying glass icon at the top right of this page to SEARCH topics for just about anything related to making handmade soap.

It would also help us to help you if you would go to the Introduction Forum and tell us a little about yourself, whatever you care to share but especially your experience in making bath & body products.

Wishing you all the best!
 
I am trying to make a liquid dishwash soap for general, after cooking process and dillution, what should i add to make it better?
If you're making soap for cleaning things other than people, you will want to use only coconut oil. Or better yet, research surfactants and use things like sodium lauryl sulfate, decyl glucoside, and lauryl glucoside. Those are not soap, but with the right blend they work really well as household cleaners.
 
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