OMG! Did it get too hot?

[AlicesWonderhands]

OMG! It was so pretty! Did it get too hot???? I cp it then stuck it in the oven, just like i always do with the coconut oil soap. (this one is mostly olive oil)

Im so sad! What do I DO?

 

[newbie]

Hot hot hot!!! CO soap gets very hot on its own. In the oven, it would likely way overheat. Looks like you had almost mini-volcanos! If you are making a high or 100% CO soap, I would recommend just alight covering and watching it. It can gel and cool and be cut within hours. I made one last night at 5pm and was cutting it up for grating by 9pm, post gel.

Oops, you said mostly OO, but it still looks like it overheated. How hot was the oven and how long did you have it in?

 

[AlicesWonderhands]

this is 80% olive. Im so sad. are they ruined?

 

[newbie]

Sorry, you posted while I was editing to correct myself. It's possible they survived but maybe not looking like you want. YOu'd have to cut one or two to see if there was any separation or lye pockets. It's possible you got away without it. I would trim one, get the top off and trim the sides a touch and see what it looks like, but do watch for lye pockets. Maybe gloves for this one.

 

[Susie]

Gloves for sure before handling any of those.

 

[AlicesWonderhands]

lye pockets?? could I rebatch it? Man. I worked so hard on it too....

 

[newbie]

Yep. If you have them, you can rebatch it. You should cut one or two in a lye safe bowl or dish. Then you collect everything that belongs with the soap. If you have lye pockets, you have to either chuck it or rebatch. You can rebatch right away by cubing them all (use gloves for sure) into a pot/bowl and microwave or heat gently until it is all melted. Stir it well and then you can remold it.

It does suck when your beautiful soap requires rebatching but I'm afraid it happens to everyone at some point. At least you will still have your soap! If it's going to end up a dreadful color because of the colors you used all mixed together, you can put in some AC and make a black soap, which always looks classy.

I hope you cut it soon because I want to know what happened!

 

[AlicesWonderhands]

I took it out of the oven, its still pudding in the middle.
How do I know if it has lye pockets or not?

 

[newbie]

It's killing me! Any room in the fridge?

Oh, you'll know. If you cut into it and there is a void or pocket with liquid oozing out, it is almost certainly a lye pocket with that sort of overheating. You can touch a little of the liquid to your tongue to confirm but it will be an unquestionable zap!

 

[AlicesWonderhands]

I thought heat processed the lye out. I'm so confused. What are lye pockets and how do they form? Should I put them in the freezer?

 

[newbie]

If a soap overheats, the oil can separate from the lye and the lye will gather in little (or big) gaps in the soap. When you cut, the lye liquid will ooze out and it will be very caustic. Quite dangerous and not a pocket you want to accidentally come upon while washing your face, for instance. If a soap has overheated and developed this sort of separation, cooling or freezing won't reverse it. The only thing it do is to save everything and rebatch it, so all the lye is with all the oils and you reheat so you can remix them together. Or you toss it in the garbage, safely (ie wrapped). I'll pull a pic from the pic thread to show you.

Heat by itself doesn't process the lye out. The lye forming salts with the oils generates heat but too much heat can cause the emulsion created by blending to break apart into the oils and lye and water. What was your oven temp and how long was the soap in there? What FO did you use? A lot of factors play into how hot a soap gets as the ye is reacting with the oils.

 

[kchaystack]

OK first, calm down. Panicking like this doesn't do anything productive.

If it looked like pudding when you took it out, it might have just been in gel phase. Is it still hot? If not just leave it on the counter. If it is, then it might be a good idea to put it in the fridge or freezer

Second - don't assume lye pockets. Wait until tomorrow or the next day and cut one of the bars in half. If there are little caves of weeping liquid- that COULD be a bad sign.

If not, then zap test it. If it zaps, leave it for a couple more days. Then zap test again. If it still zaps leave it for a couple more. If it is still zapping after a week - then you probably need to rebatch. Or let it sit for about a year. From what I have read a very long cure fixes lye heavy soap.

But if you measured your lye correctly, the the chances of the soap being lye heavy are pretty slim

 

[newbie]

I don't think she is panicking. She's asking pretty normal questions. She won't know what she has until she can cut into it but we were talking about possibilities, not absolutes. I am eager to see if her soap came out overheated but fine to use!

 

[AlicesWonderhands]

No, no panicking. At this point I just want it out of the mold so I can try another recipe.
The oven was 170. I usually turn it OFF and work with very high coconut oil soaps/salt bars. This time I left it on. (STUPID MISTAKE)
this was a first go round with high % O.O. soap. Violet leaf tea for the water, lavender and geranium E.O.....
I think I am going to put it in the freezer so I can get it out of my molds. I'll watch for the pockets as I'm unmolding.

 

[newbie]

Let me know what you've got. I'm eager to know and I would love to see it, either way.

 

[AlicesWonderhands]

Let me know what you've got. I'm eager to know and I would love to see it, either way.

Will do.
Now it has oil leaking out of the top of the mold. We just threw them in the freezer. Think I should leave it over night?

 

[Jstar]

If they aren't hot, Id take them out of the freezer and let them sit overnight.

 

[newbie]

Nah, not overnight. Just until they are cool enough to unmold. If it's leaky, maybe unmold it into something with sides on it so it's not too messy.

 

[AlicesWonderhands]

Ok. I took them out of the freeze. They would have been gorgeous. It looks like the mica bubbled up and out... I had it mixed in a tiny bit of olive oil that i then stick blended in to the soap. think that did it? (Im sure leaving the oven on didnt help! :crazy

As you can see there is oil on my hands from the soap. Feels like castor oil. I am not burned. I did not zap yet, my partner has to do that as I am expecting, but I suspect it will pass. It smells good. Feels like it would be an awesome bar of soap!
I just feel like i should remelt them and repour. sucks, cause the swirls were my first real attempt, and some of them were pretty dern cool! Shows me what I know.... LOL

 

[newbie]

Definitely got too hot. I doubt it was the mica. I would sacrifice one bar and cut into it just to check that no separation occurred. If not, leave them sit and most of the oil will resorb. Then just trim them up. Your swirls may have survived! Oh, just saw the rest of your pics. I bet if you plane the tops and sides, you will have fine bars of soap. Given how hot it got, I would still sacrifice one bar, just for safety's sake.