Soap mold is soft this morning

[CPADRIAN]

Hello everyone I'm new to the forum and having a little bit of an issue last night I made an 8 pound batch of charcoal activated soap I read somewhere that it was best to mix activated charcoal with oils before introducing lye I'm not sure if that played a factor in my end result, that and my stick blender broke down about 2 minutes into blending. After the blender went out I stirred by hand an hour later and still no trace and 2 hours after that I went inside to make my kids food I came back out and started to mix vigorously one last time and lo and behold I got trace. I poured it into my mold just fine, had a nice cake batter texture. This morning before work I feel on my molds like I do every time I make a batch and theyre always firm this batch wasn't it had firmness around edges and a little in the middle and seemed a little deflated. does anyone know what could have happened? can I attribute this to not having the stick blender and maybe oils not fully mixing? I'm attaching the recipe as well. thank you

 

[DeeAnna]

With mostly hand mixing, all liquid oils including 37% canola, and a very low 25% lye concentration, it's a fact that this recipe is going to be slower to saponify and firm up than you're expecting. You are going to have to give it the time it needs to firm up -- don't be in a hurry.

You say you're a beginner -- that's a huge batch size for a beginner. Why not make smaller batches especially while you're learning what works and what doesn't? This recipe could use some serious tweaks, in my opinion, to improve the behavior of the recipe when you make the soap and the quality of the finished soap when it's used in the bath.

 

[CPADRIAN]

With mostly hand mixing, all liquid oils including 37% canola, and a very low 25% lye concentration, it's a fact that this recipe is going to be slower to saponify and firm up than you're expecting. You are going to have to give it the time it needs to firm up -- don't be in a hurry.

You say you're a beginner -- that's a huge batch size for a beginner. Why not make smaller batches especially while you're learning what works and what doesn't? This recipe could use some serious tweaks, in my opinion, to improve the behavior of the recipe when you make the soap and the quality of the finished soap when it's used in the bath.

Great thanks for the information. That's the only oil I had on hand I originally was just going to do an all olive oil bar but I didn't have enough so I scavenged what I could from the kitchen. This is my 4th 8 pound batch and this is was the first time I had an issue and ive made a couple 4 pound batches as well. In the future ill go with a smaller batch when experimenting. You said that the lye percentage was low, should I use a different calculator if that one doesn't seem to calculate right?

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

...............You said that the lye percentage was low, should I use a different calculator if that one doesn't seem to calculate right?

It's not the calculator at fault! It calculates the water based on the options that are set, so I imagine you haven't been playing much with those settings. No need to change the calc itself.

As you use Soapcalc, look at section 3 of the entry page and it deals with water. A good option is the second on, lye concentration. At a 25% concentration, it means that you have a solution made with 3 parts water and 1 part lye - for a recipe with a lot of soft oils, that is a lot of water. Many people use a 40% solution when making a 100% olive recipe

 

[CPADRIAN]

It's not the calculator at fault! It calculates the water based on the options that are set, so I imagine you haven't been playing much with those settings. No need to change the calc itself.

As you use Soapcalc, look at section 3 of the entry page and it deals with water. A good option is the second on, lye concentration. At a 25% concentration, it means that you have a solution made with 3 parts water and 1 part lye - for a recipe with a lot of soft oils, that is a lot of water. Many people use a 40% solution when making a 100% olive recipe

yes to be honest ive been using some pretty basic recipes mostly coconut and olive oil that have turned out great this was my first time that I didn't have a good amount of oils on hand so I just ventured off the beaten path. lesson learned. ill definitely have to read up a lot more, theres still a lot I need to learn especially with water and lye percentages. thanks a lot for the information.

 

[DeeAnna]

"...ive been using some pretty basic recipes ... that have turned out great..."

Ah, give yourself a year of formulating recipes and I suspect the soaps you think are "great" now won't seem quite as amazingly wonderful later on.