Soap not hardening...Help!!!

[dibbles]

Also remember @Dean uses a high amount of soy wax, which would make a difference.

I agree with the others that gelling your soaps will help them firm up faster. I use a heating pad and wrap the mold on the pad in a thick blanket rather than use the oven.

 

[Dean]

Also remember @Dean uses a high amount of soy wax, which would make a difference.

I agree with the others that gelling your soaps will help them firm up faster. I use a heating pad and wrap the mold on the pad in a thick blanket rather than use the oven.

I've always used AO w/o softening issues, even with low to no soy wax in the recipe. The exception is if I gel or HP. AO may preform differently with heat. I did a 80% AO, no SW, CP recently that was rock hard the next day. I really think its too much water that is causing the softening, which AMD's solution should remedy.

 

[dibbles]

I've always used AO w/o softening issues, even with low to no soy wax in the recipe. The exception is if I gel or HP. AO may preform differently with heat. I did a 80% AO, no SW, CP recently that was rock hard the next day. I really think its too much water that is causing the softening, which AMD's solution should remedy.

I will agree with you then. I’ve not used almond oil in that high of an amount.

 

[Menny]

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I soap with a higher water content (such as used in OP's post) and I can usually cut within 18 hours, however whenever I have used Sweet Almond Oil or Sunflower oil in recipes they take longer to setup, I haven't used a combination of the two in a soap (shocking...) so I would guess it's probably a combination of the oils and the water content. You can preheat your oven to the lowest temp it goes to (For me this is 170°F), turn off your oven, and put your soap in there overnight. This is called CPOP. I do it quite often with a soap that is setting up too slowly for my patience. ... DON'T forget to put a sticky over the controls on the oven so that everyone in the house knows there is soap in the oven.

Amd that's a great idea, thank you, I'll do so! And by the way, me as well, just like you do, usually I use around that content of water but with differebnt oils. I've checked a soap recepie that I did last week and I find out that the water content was 38 %, Lye was 27.7 with SF of 10 % and the soap was hard enough for cutting after around 20 hours ( I've attached a foto of that recepie ).

Good tip on CPOP.

I use AO in much higher amts w0 any softness.

I wonder if his water measuring was off.

Dean dear, you use these abbreviations I can hardly understand what you mean... Please explain to me

 

[Menny]

I've always used AO w/o softening issues, even with low to no soy wax in the recipe. The exception is if I gel or HP. AO may preform differently with heat. I did a 80% AO, no SW, CP recently that was rock hard the next day. I really think its too much water that is causing the softening, which AMD's solution should remedy.

Dean, what was the amount of water you used for that 80% AO? or, what makes it to be rock hard the day after? I generally want to learn how to harden the soap so it could be of use for long time.

 

[Dean]

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Amd that's a great idea, thank you, I'll do so! And by the way, me as well, just like you do, usually I use around that content of water but with differebnt oils. I've checked a soap recepie that I did last week and I find out that the water content was 38 %, Lye was 27.7 with SF of 10 % and the soap was hard enough for cutting after around 20 hours ( I've attached a foto of that recepie ).


Dean dear, you use these abbreviations I can hardly understand what you mean... Please explain to me

CPOP...Cold Process Oven Process. Putting it in a warmed oven (turned off) to gel. AMD suggested it. I think it the oven would dry it out which was u need to do.

AO...almond oil

 

[dibbles]

Here you go Menny - this might help with the abbreviations
https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/the-acronym-and-abbreviation-definition-thread.51841/

 

[Dean]

Dean, what was the amount of water you used for that 80% AO? or, what makes it to be rock hard the day after? I generally want to learn how to harden the soap so it could be of use for long time.

The rock hard bar used @Zany_in_CO' a faux sea water at 1.7:1.

Don't confuse hardness with longevity. Coconut oil (lauric and myristric acids) makes a hard bar but is soluble. For longevity (insolubility) you need palmitic and/or stearic acids. They also make a bar hard. You are getting those acids from palm.

 

[Menny]

The rock hard bar used @Zany_in_CO' a faux sea water at 1.7:1.

Don't confuse hardness with longevity. Coconut oil (lauric and myristric acids) makes a hard bar but is soluble. For longevity (insolubility) you need palmitic and/or stearic acids. They also make a bar hard. You are getting those acids from palm.

Dean, as allways, your tips are a gold mine for me! Thank you! By the way, is there a recommended amount of palm oil to use in CP soaping?

Here you go Menny - this might help with the abbreviations
https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/the-acronym-and-abbreviation-definition-thread.51841/

Thanks dibbles

 

[Dean]

Dean, as allways, your tips are a gold mine for me! Thank you! By the way, is there a recommended amount of palm oil to use in CP soaping?

For environmental reasons, I use soy wax instead of palm for hardness and longevity. Vegan commercial soap is typically 80% palm.

 

[Dawni]

I'd up the Castor and superfat slightly, and/or add one conditioning oil if it were me soaping that. More than minimum cleansing and minimum conditioning won't work for me and mine.

Just to confuse Menny more lol

 

[lobosolo]

I thought sugars slow down the Lye's sopanification, I wonder if thats the issues here.

 

[Dawni]

I thought sugars slow down the Lye's sopanification, I wonder if thats the issues here.

And I thought the opposite lol.

I thought that since sugars create heat, they'd sort of help gel along in some way and therefore, would harden faster... Not sure how I arrived at that thought though lol

 

[amd]

@Dawni I think you're right! Sugar makes heat which speeds up saponification. The sugars in honey soaps or milk soaps get hot, which is why some soapers will put those types of soaps in the fridge or freezer. There's a way better explanation than I gave here, but I'm crunched for time so can't go into it. A search on the forum will yield the full answer.

 

[Dawni]

@Dawni I think you're right! Sugar makes heat which speeds up saponification. The sugars in honey soaps or milk soaps get hot, which is why some soapers will put those types of soaps in the fridge or freezer. There's a way better explanation than I gave here, but I'm crunched for time so can't go into it. A search on the forum will yield the full answer.

Great! My common sense and logic must be in top shape tonight lol

Lemme go find those explanations.....

 

[Donee']

Sta

I have one more question on another issue so I'll take advantage on this thread and ask you here:
If you want to write the name of your lover for example on the soap, how do you do it?
I've attached a foto of soap that I made and try to write on it. I wrote wite a match and it doesn't look as accurate as I expected...

Start out with a soldering iron - its like a pen but just hot

 

[Menny]

I'm quite excited to inform you all that the soap seems like going in the right direction! Last night I listen to amd suggestion and put in in the warm (turned off) oven till morning. Wake up early to check it I found out it became much harder then it was. Took it out and let it sunbathe for the rest of the day as it was a sunny springlike day in Israel. So now its much firm then it was yesterday but still needs its time to harden.

And I thought the opposite lol.

I thought that since sugars create heat, they'd sort of help gel along in some way and therefore, would harden faster... Not sure how I arrived at that thought though lol

@Dawni I think you're right! Sugar makes heat which speeds up saponification. The sugars in honey soaps or milk soaps get hot, which is why some soapers will put those types of soaps in the fridge or freezer. There's a way better explanation than I gave here, but I'm crunched for time so can't go into it. A search on the forum will yield the full answer.

Dawni and amd, I used 1 tsp of salt as well, is that tsp of salt in addition to the soft oils and the big quantity of water might be one of the reasons to this delay?

 

[amd]

Dawni and amd, I used 1 tsp of salt as well, is that tsp of salt in addition to the soft oils and the big quantity of water might be one of the reasons to this delay?

No, salt will actually make your soap easier to unmold.

 

[Menny]

Cut it today and set it down for cure.
Thank you all
And hey, as far as I'm a new beginner in soap making, I'de love to do as much as aoaps as I can for experimenting and learning and I was wondering what size of batches were you doing as a beginners? You see the smallest batch I did was around 450 grams. As far as I'm learning I'de like to do smaller ones.

 

[Dawni]

That looks good!

That's a nice small batch for most. If your scale is the kind that can weigh very small quantities accurately I guess you can go even smaller but there might be more room for error.