Oatmeal soap is soft, and an accidental experimental process

[SudsMcKenzie]

I made some oatmeal soap, the fourth batch of soap I have made.
Avocado 2 oz.
Olive 4 oz.
Sunflower 2 oz.
Shea 8 oz.
Coconut 16 oz.
Water 12.16 oz.
Lye 4.78 oz.
2-3 tablespoons ground oatmeal, the flour type.
This turned out relatively soft. I poured a 42 oz. loaf, cut it into 9 pieces and then did my "squeeze test" where I pinch it to see if there is any givit has a little bit of give. I used cold process and did not monitor temps. When I melt solid oils/butters, I take it off the heat when there are a few ice bergs of fat left that will melt in 5-10 min. I was working with my mom-her first soapmaking-and I told her to put all the oils in the mixing container. I am mixing-whisk until it looks emulsified. Then I abuse the stick blender and stick blend it way more than I have read about anyone stick blending. It came to trace and I showed mom and told her it was time to pour. She then asked if the other oil needed to go in. I said no, and that she didn't want FO or EO's - the whole point of this soap was the oatmeal/gentleness because everything irritates her skin. Why is she asking about "the other oils"? The melted solid oils were still in the pan on the stove. OK, I have lye solution and only the Avacado, Olive and Sunflower oil in my mix. I didn't know what to do so I went ahead and added the coconut oil and Shea butter, whisked and stick blended it again. Looked like it came to trace (again?) and I poured it.
1. I don't know how it came to trace with more than half the oils not being included...
2. This soap seems to be dense/heavy for its size and seems moist like it needs to have water evaporate, which all of them usually do anyway, but it is not getting much dryer and it has been three weeks. Is the oatmeal saturated with water and it wants to hold onto it?
3. Did I put too much ground oatmeal powder - used Bob's Red Mill oat flour
4. I used soapcalc to determine the lye, water, characteristics. I picked how much I wanted of each oil, yes, I made this "recipe" up.
5. I am not making fancy soap at this point so I cut my loaves in half and then cut one half into four roughly equal bars and the other half into five roughly equal bars so I can compare the thick vs. thin to see how long it takes to get to the point where the water has mostly evaporated, etc. And hopefully I can use some of the the thinner bars sooner.
Well, that is my Saga of the Oatmeal Soap. Any feedback or comments would be appreciated. I have not read about anyone doing what I did with the oils...

 

[artemis]

I made some oatmeal soap, the fourth batch of soap I have made.
She then asked if the other oil needed to go in. I said no, and that she didn't want FO or EO's - the whole point of this soap was the

I am so confused.

Did you leave some oils out or not?

 

[lsg]

How old is the sodium hydroxide that you used? You can try cooking the soap in a slow cooker.

 

[SudsMcKenzie]

I am so confused.

Did you leave some oils out or not?

Technically, I did not leave the oil out. I only had the sunflower, olive and Avocado in at first. Mixed those until it looked like it was at trace and I was about to pour it, then I found out I had not added the coconut and shea at which point I added those and stirred it up some more. It came to trace and I poured it. I have not found any info on this happening to anyone.

 

[SudsMcKenzie]

How old is the sodium hydroxide that you used? You can try cooking the soap in a slow cooker.

The sodium hydroxide was new, to me, but I can't vouch for how old it was when it was sent to me. I will check to see if there is a date on it. I planned on letting the moisture evaporate and then continue to cure, but based on how soft it is I didn't know what it would do. It is like pinching a block of parmesan cheese with your fingers-a little bit of give. I will try cooking it a slow cooker.
Thanks for the help!

 

[KiwiMoose]

It sounds fine - the trace would be easier with less oils than your recipe needed - so that's why it set up so fast initially.
I would query the high amount of CO in the recipe - maybe not so good for someone who is sensitive, and I would also query your lye concentration (water amount). It would be easier if you could give your recipe in percentages so I can see these.

 

[SudsMcKenzie]

It sounds fine - the trace would be easier with less oils than your recipe needed - so that's why it set up so fast initially.
I would query the high amount of CO in the recipe - maybe not so good for someone who is sensitive, and I would also query your lye concentration (water amount). It would be easier if you could give your recipe in percentages so I can see these.

I am not sure my lye/water was correct
Avocado 6.25%
Olive 12.5%
Sunflower 6.25%
Shea 25%
Coconut 50%
26.78 % Lye concentration - I don't know how I got this in the first place - I had to backwards calculate on soapcalc to get that number figured out.

Understood on the CO.

 

[AliOop]

That's a LOT of water for a CP soap recipe. I'm guessing you used the default setting of "38% water as percent of oils."

This is a great example of why many of us recommend changing that setting to "lye concentration" instead. Your results will be more consistent, and you won't end up with so much water that your soap stays soft for a long time. Try 33% lye concentration, and then raise or lower from there, depending on what you want to accomplish.

 

[SudsMcKenzie]

Thanks for the feedback on the water. Using the "lye concentration" is an easy change and while I don't mind waiting for good well cured soap, but I also don't want to make it take longer.

So...it was not the oatmeal making it soft then? Any tips on working with oatmeal? I thought I might have been heavy handed on the oatmeal.

 

[AliOop]

The amount of oatmeal you used is about right for 2lbs of oils, so it's most likely the water making it soft.

If it feels dentable, like cheese, I wouldn't bother rebatching it. It never looks as nice after rebatching! (ask me how I know, haha).

Just give it a nice long cure, maybe 8 weeks instead of 4, and see how you like it. Of course, you can start testing a bar pretty quickly, and then test it weekly after that. This will give you a good idea of how it changes over time.

 

[Shelley D]

Technically, I did not leave the oil out. I only had the sunflower, olive and Avocado in at first. Mixed those until it looked like it was at trace and I was about to pour it, then I found out I had not added the coconut and shea at which point I added those and stirred it up some more. It came to trace and I poured it. I have not found any info on this happening to anyone.

It has happened to some of us, I'm sure ~ we just might not admit to it (it's me, I'm some of us) I honestly don't remember what happened to the batch I did that to (it was an early batch, almost 2 years ago), I may have rebatched that one, but I'm not sure

 

[SudsMcKenzie]

Thanks Soapers for all the feedback, I don't mind the long cure and also, at this point, if I rebatch anything it's OK if it turns into an uggo-I have not gotten colorful yet.

 

[melinda48]

That's a LOT of water for a CP soap recipe. I'm guessing you used the default setting of "38% water as percent of oils."

This is a great example of why many of us recommend changing that setting to "lye concentration" instead. Your results will be more consistent, and you won't end up with so much water that your soap stays soft for a long time. Try 33% lye concentration, and then raise or lower from there, depending on what you want to accomplish.

I usually choose the water to lye ratio and pop in my numbers (usually 1.8:1) which works well in 95% of my soaps.

 

[AliOop]

I usually choose the water to lye ratio and pop in my numbers (usually 1.8:1) which works well in 95% of my soaps.

I also use a 40% lye concentration (which is the same as your 1.8:1 water-lye ratio) in almost all my recipes. But I believe that for a beginner, 33% or 2:1 is a good place to start while they learn how to control trace and perfect their recipe.