Non-setting soap.

[Marnied75]

Hi,
I made a batch of cold process soap using goats milk which I froze as per soaps I have made with distilled water. Anyway I use 15oz olive oil, 11oz coconut oil, 8oz sunflower oil, 4.2oz lye, 11.8 oz goats milk. Everything went well except I noticed to lye solution didn’t heat up. So I pushed on and added the fragrance oil after I had achieved light trace. All of a sudden my batch curdled and solidified to the stage where I struggled to get it in the mold.

I let everything sit for a while and the oils separated. I did read on here that you can sometimes add more water and it may all come back together. I remixed everything with a splash of water and it seemed to work as I got a much smoother nicer looking batch. Unfortunately it just would not set at all.

In a last ditch effort I whipped the crap out of the batch and added more coconut oil in the hope os getting it to set.instead I got a light fluffy cream like substance that lathers nicely (I noticed this when I washed up a spatula).

So after all this long winded message my question is, would the mixture I ended up with be suitable for a foaming bath lotion? Or am Ibetter off throwing it away and starting again? Any advice would be muchly appreciated.

 

[CaraBou]

Good on you for sticking it out! Make a note of that naughty fragrance oil and see what it does next time.

When you say the lye solution didn't heat up -- you mean when you added the sodium hydroxide to the frozen goats milk? That wouldn't be too surprising given the temp of the milk.

In the end, it sounds like you might have "whipped soap". After it hardens, see if it floats. And no don't throw it away - it's likely perfectly good! How much extra coconut oil did you add?

 

[Obsidian]

That was seizing caused by your fragrance. If it happens again, leave it in the bowl and wrap it with a towel.

It should go into gel within a few minutes, give a quick stir and mold it up.

If it separates, don't add more water or oil, just blend it until it comes back together.

I think your soap will eventually set, just might take awhile with the extra water.

 

[Marnied75]

Good on you for sticking it out! Make a note of that naughty fragrance oil and see what it does next time.

When you say the lye solution didn't heat up -- you mean when you added the sodium hydroxide to the frozen goats milk? That wouldn't be too surprising given the temp of the milk.

In the end, it sounds like you might have "whipped soap". After it hardens, see if it floats. And no don't throw it away - it's likely perfectly good! How much extra coconut oil did you add?

I added 3oz more coconut oil to the mix. I have had it in the fridge as when I leave it in any other room (even with air con) it sort of thaws out and goes into a whipped cream type consistency. I truly have no idea where to go to from here.