Seized Soap

[Jaypee]

Disastrous day! Made a batter which thickened quickly, but manageable, but just as I finished pouring the 3 colours I see the fragrance oil still on the bench. After that I didn't even bother with a swirl. I tell myself no matter, I will grate it. Rebatching might be tricky as the colours were Cocoa, Soft Green & Dark green, as the missing fragrance was Avocado & Mint. Indignant, I begin a second batch with Black Tie Fragrance. I've watched many You Tubers use this, but I would get cocky and branch to a 1400gm (49oz) batch. I now know what soap on a stick is. It was so bad my spatula broke in my attempts to stir it back to something recognizable & it got very hot. I managed to get it into a 2 moulds even though it was setting hard right in front of me. (Saving my big mould for something that works) So what went wrong? I mixed lye & water together at 78 degrees. My oils were 60% Coconut, 20% Castor & 20% Olive (first time I've used castor) & I used the Lye Calculator. Should I have had the lye & water hotter? Was it the fragrance oil or was it the quantity of Castor Oil? The photo on Left was me swirling & banging air out of it. I didn't try anything with the other as I knew that was fruitless. It looks hot processed & thankfully it passed the zap test. The 2nd lot of photos is a soap I made last week. My first attempt with colours & swirling, so was pretty pleased with myself ...... "Bad Mistake!"

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Is that 78 degrees c or f? What was your superfat % on this and where did you get this recipe? If you came up with it yourself, what was the basis for your decisions?

FOs can be really tricky. Did you check for any reviews on these to see what they would do?

 

[Susie]

Fragrance oils can give you soap on a stick. Even the most experienced soaper has had this happen.

What kind of soap were you trying to make with that recipe? I ask because unless you were trying for something specific (that I have never seen before), it is not going to make good soap.

 

[Jaypee]

Ok, so the novice in me choose this recipe based on the lye calculator telling me all the right boxes were ticked (so to speak). The hardness, bubbles, creaminess, conditioning & cleansing were all at or above the recommended percentages. Sadly, I assumed that I was attaining a good soap. Superfat was 5%.

 

[Jaypee]

It was 78C (I alsway check the F too which was 169 or near that)

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Susie alluded to it - that is not a nice recipe. Have a look back through the older treads in the two recipe, beginner, and lye soap sections (I suggest 10 pages in each) to get a great basis in what oils and combinations of them do in a recipe, as well as pitfalls and great tips.

 

[shunt2011]

I agree with the others that it's not a good recipe at all.

Also, if you were soaping at 173 F it's no wonder it seized on you. I would never soap above 110-115 though I generally soap much cooler than that. Then on top of that you may have used a FO that was prone to making things move quick or seizing.

You really do need to do some reading and research on this forum. You will gain a lot of very helpful information and tips to avoid issues like this most times.

As stated we all experience some seizing or really fast moving batches. I just had one a few weeks ago that was truly soap on a stick.

 

[Rusti]

You really do need to do some reading and research on this forum. You will gain a lot of very helpful information and tips to avoid issues like this most times.

As a baby soaper coming up on the 1 year mark (December), I have to agree with this advice. I read this forum obsessively in the beginning, picking up tidbits of information along the way. I have learned loads, and my soap has improved tremendously, so it was worth it.

Put down the tools for a moment and spend an afternoon reading, you'll be glad you did.

 

[dillsandwitch]

since no one has really mentioned it, (or if they did my tired self didnt see it) most people stick to around 5% Castor oil in their recipes. The more castor you add the more it can make a sticky soap

 

[lsg]

I agree that the recipe calls for a lot of coconut oil. When using a high percentage of coconut oil, a recipe should call for a high percentage superfat.