OJ=Fast trace?

[CaliChan]

Im so irritated right now!
I did my 2nd OJ soap tonight and the first time i made it traced really fast but i blamed it on inexperience because it was the first time i added anything but plain goats milk or water.
So tonight i was determined.
I wrote everything down that i was doing.. I made sure I kept the goats milk under 72 degrees while adding the lye... and everything was going perfectly... I added the EO to the oils so i would be able to control trace more easily. Took 15 minutes to get to trace like usual.. and then it came to add the OJ... I had just BARELY gotten to trace. So i poured it in and it was like i was watching it turn into soap right before my eyes so i ditched the stick blender and got out my wooden spoon to finish incorporating the oj in.... i hurried and separated the percentage i wanted to mix with TD and it way to late by that point...as soon as it was mixed with the TD it was at the thick pudding stage :cry: ...so much for doing a pot swirl.. or any swirl for that matter..I ended up scooping it into my Pringles can and making a huge mess cause i started to spaz out trying to find my 1 oz molds before the soap got any thicker.. Has anyone else had this problem with Orange Juice??? Or is it just not my thing?

 

[melstan775]

Maybe the sugar and citrus together, Cali. Sorry to hear it though, sounds like something you definitely want to do! Good try though, post pics of mess later!

 

[Shannon_m]

I would assume it was the citric acid in the OJ and the milk making a kind of curdle? I know that when I've poured OJ in a cup where there was milk, I get curdles. That's my best guess.

 

[CaliChan]

I wonder... i know that Sodium Bicarbonate neutralizes citric acid. Maybe if i neutralized it before I added it to the soap? Has anyone added Baking Soda to soap before?

 

[Kansas Farm Girl]

Yes, I did, and I didn't like it. Of all the soaps I've made that was the only one I found to dry my skin out. Maybe I used too much. How much OJ did you add? I've been thinking of making some with OJ, orange zest and an orange FO since I don't have any clay to anchor an EO, but I don't want to have to fight it, if I can help it.

 

[CaliChan]

I added 4 oz of orange juice and 7 oz milk, (30 oz batch)
I think the main issue with it is the goats milk. Maybe i should just do 7 oz of water instead so i can swirl. im going to give that a shot tonight. ill do a small batch with baking soda and see if that helps it or just drys out my skin. thank you for the input

 

[CaliChan]

I DID IT!!!! i bought some evaporated milk from the store earlier
I added the lye to 3.5 oz water and put it in the fridge
then i mixed the 3.5 oz of evaporated milk with 3.5 oz OJ (thought if i reduced it a little it might help) and put that in the fridge as well
then melted my oils and got everything out that i needed (including the molds i flipped out over last night haha)
i added the lye mixture in to the soap & the OJ and milk before i started stirring and so as soon as i saw a tiny amount of trace i hurried and separated the amount for TD and did my pot swirl:-o!!! It poured nicely (still was thickening up really fast) Im so happy and excited to see how it looks!! Ill post pictures of the poo batch and the good batch in the next few days.

 

[Shannon_m]

I can't wait to see them.... I'm particularly interested to see the difference in the two. Glad you figured it out!

 

[melstan775]

Congrats Cali! I'm happy you made it work. High -5!

On another note, I saw a recipe, it was 33% each olive palm and coconut oils. She didn't say how big the batch was but she simply replaced water with lye. so maybe it works better on a small batch with less oj then a larger one? Just saying.

 

[Ruthie]

Congrats Cali! I'm happy you made it work. High -5!

On another note, I saw a recipe, it was 33% each olive palm and coconut oils. She didn't say how big the batch was but she simply replaced water with lye. so maybe it works better on a small batch with less oj then a larger one? Just saying.

Sorry, but I do not understand your post. Is there a typo in there, or do I just not get it? :eh:

 

[CaliChan]

Sorry, but I do not understand your post. Is there a typo in there, or do I just not get it? :eh:

Thank goodness I'm not the only one. I've been staring at it hoping if i drink more coffee it will make more sense