Now what? HP wouldn't cook to nuetral so

[lambsgrovegirl]

I finally gave up on it cooking to nuetrality and put it into a mold and then cut and left to cure like a cold process batch. That was the last week in June, '14. It's still testing pink. Will it ever cure? I didn't make the batch, it's one I talked my SIL through and I don't know what happened. :eh: Has anyone else ever had this happen or can advise? Thank you! LGG

 

[seven]

what was the process that your SIL did? do you have the recipe? did your SIL do the zap test by tongue? it's a bit hard to know what happened based on such lil info.

 

[Lindy]

When you are talking about neutral you're not talking pH right? Tell her to dilute it and then test it again

 

[lambsgrovegirl]

what was the process that your SIL did? do you have the recipe? did your SIL do the zap test by tongue? it's a bit hard to know what happened based on such lil info.

I used the recipe I always use which always cooks up fine. We used my soap crock pot as usual. Normally it doesn't take more than 45 minutes but this batch was left for a couple of hours. I use ph liquid for testing.

 

[Meganmischke]

Have you zap tested?

 

[seven]

just want to make sure that we are talking about bar soap here, correct?

what is the condition of the soap as we speak? is it already hard? i'm not familiar with ph testing other than zap test by tongue. for a 1 week old soap, if everything was measured correctly, it should be fine and not zappy.

you were sure that your measurements are correct?

 

[Lindy]

Did I ever get that wrong for some reason I thought we were talking LS... I sorry.

I agree with Seven, zap test it

 

[Seawolfe]

By neutral do you mean a pH of 7? You cant get that unless its a detergent soap - normal pH of home made soap is 9-11, or its just not soap.
This is a very good article about hand made soap and pH: http://www.millersoap.com/phtome.html that explains the difficulty of getting a good, proper pH reading on soap, and what actually is normal for handmade soaps.

+1 on the zap test rather than relying on potentially unreliable tests that don't give the whole picture of alkalinity anyways.

 

[lambsgrovegirl]

just want to make sure that we are talking about bar soap here, correct?

what is the condition of the soap as we speak? is it already hard? i'm not familiar with ph testing other than zap test by tongue. for a 1 week old soap, if everything was measured correctly, it should be fine and not zappy.

you were sure that your measurements are correct?

I put it in to a loaf mold, let it cool then turned it out and sliced it in to bars. It's been curing for several weeks. I use Phenolphthalein liquid to check the ph. Regarding correct measurements; yes, I believe so, but I didn't do the measuring. My SIL did. It started out as hot process but when it never tested neutral, I decided to cure it like cold process. Maybe 5 weeks hasn't been long enough for it to cure?????

 

[seven]

ah okay, so you were able to unmold and sliced the soap into bars.

like others mentioned, handmade soap is going to have a ph around 9 or more, therefore, alkaline. it is just the nature of the beast. there are many threads already about Phenolphthalein which you may want to have a read. to sum it up, the legitimacy of using such tool to check the ph is being questioned. it is better to rely on the zap test to make sure there is no active lye present. i don't think you can expect a handmade soap to have a neutral ph (8 and under), otherwise your soap is not going to be soap anymore.

just wondering about the ph of your other soaps, what did the ph thingy say?

 

[cmzaha]

Phenolphthalein is not reliable for testing bar soap, as far as I know. Do a zap test. If it does not zap you are fine

 

[lambsgrovegirl]

I don't have a digital tester so I don't know specific levels. I've only used the Phenolphthalein with the hot process method and cooked the soap until it no longer turns pink when dropped in to the batch in the crockpot. With the cold process method I've just waited the length of time as instructed by the recipe. With this batch I've dropped the liquid on a bar every once in awhile to see if it turns pink or stays clear (as it should be clear when no longer caustic.) I'm still fairly new to this and am just trying to find the best ways to do things so I'm totally open to suggestions and advice! Thanks so much for replying!

 

[lambsgrovegirl]

Ok, thank you. I didn't know that. I've never zap tested; sounds scary! Just touch my tongue to it and if it doesn't sting, it's ok?

 

[lambsgrovegirl]

Have you zap tested?

How do you zap test?

 

[seven]

zap testing is not as scary as it sounds you put the soap you want to test to the tip of your tongue. you'll know when you get zapped. not sure how to put it into words, but it feels lil bit stingy.

this is the only method i rely on when i do hp. so far so good..

 

[CanaDawn]

not so much "sting" as "mild snap" or literally "zap". Someone said like touching a 9V, someone else described it as "poprocks" <-like the candy.

Here's the thread that explains it in photos and words - AlchemyAndAshes put this together: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=30690

 

[seven]

there it is: poprocks! Canadawn nailed it

 

[CanaDawn]

there it is: poprocks! Canadawn nailed it

Nope, it was jules92207 http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showpost.php?p=437732&postcount=11