soap crumbled when cut

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Lizayle

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Sep 21, 2015
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so I made soap using coconut oil, shea butter and olive oil. I used the lye calculator and I made a lb. It did everything it was supposed to do but I went to check on it an hour later and it was solid as a rock! When I went to cut it, I wasn't thinking I know I didn't wait long enough, but it crumbled into hard shards. I took the pieces lest over and tried again today... same thing.
 
Someone is going to ask to see your recipe. Was it mostly Shea? Mostly CO? How much lye/water, etc. It's the only way they will be able to really see what could be going on.
 
I have no idea what I used... I thought I did, but I must have measured something wrong because I used the "same recipe" the next day and it came out great. It seemed like it was an accelerated cure but I didn't add fragrances because I'm just starting and I wanted to just get the basics.

Maybe I'm going crazy... But the 2nd bar came out well!
 
Soaps with a high percentage of coconut oil will become rock hard in only a few hours. When I make 100 percent coconut oil soap for laundry I have to cut it before it is fully gelled. ( the center is still gooey) Even then the edges shatter.
 
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