Soap that never traced

[Escopolamina]

Hello

Im fairly new to making soap and when i was making a batch, i spent around 2 hours and half waiting for it to trace, but it never happened.
I still poured it into a mold, what's gonna happen with it?

Cheers!

 

[lpstephy85]

First thing would be to post your full recipe so we can diagnose what might be the issues. I take it you were hand mixing and not using a stick blender, correct?

When you say it didn't trace, what do you think trace is? If you poured it in the mold without it tracing it probably won't set up and just desperate in the mold.

 

[Escopolamina]

Hello again

I was using a mechanical mixer.

The trace is the pattern that is left on top of the mixture which remains before sinking back into the mass.

This was not the first time i make soap, yet it was the first time it didnt trace.

Heres the recipe:

201 gr Lye
538 gr Destilled dwater
595 gr olive oil
545 gr coconut oil
396 gr palm oil

The batch did set, i mean, its solid now, but i still ahve the doubt regarding its result; im kind of afriad of using it without knowing whats with a soap that never got to trace.

 

[lpstephy85]

I ran it through Soap calc and nothing seems a miss there. It is possible you got it right to emulsification and not a full trace. Some soapers just go to emulsification. I would say if it has set up in the mold just let it be for a day and see what happens. If it stays sold and you can unmold and cut it, let it cure for a couple of days and then zap test it. No zap then you are good. If it separates, I would dump it into a crockpot or double boiler and cook it.

I used soap calc and put in the oil numbers but my calculations came back with 583g of water and 224g of lye.

Is it possible you made a mistake and didn't add enough lye? If that's what happened and it set up, at least it wouldn't be lye heavy.

When I ran it to get the amount of lye the OP has it would be a 15% SF. Not sure if that is what they were going for...

 

[MzMolly65]

yeahhh .. I deleted my post because I realized I didn't have all the details or a clue what I was talking about, LOL!

 

[Susie]

Hey Escopolamina!

My first soap did not trace either.(no stick blender then) I was so upset! Then I came here and they assured me that much could be fixed, but I needed to go ahead and cut it and check it. I did, and that sneaky stuff turned into soap without my help! Lesson learned. If your recipe checks out, then just pour it and cut when it is firm. Then test it.

One thing you are going to want to get with all possible haste is a stick blender. It turns the 2 hour stir into just a couple of minutes.

 

[AF_SOAP]

One of the first soaps i ever did was in a pvc mold. After mixing like crazy for 45 minutes and no "trace" i just decided to pour into the mold anyway. There was what people called emulsification just no trace or even light trace. It did set up though. Mine was a mix of 65% olive oil, 25% canola oil, 10% canola with a superfat of %5. This was just a test batch and I would not recommend those numbers again (ha ha ) but still it may still set up even though you never did reach trace, at least mine did.

 

[pamielynn]

When I get a slow tracer - I will stop mixing and let it just sit for a few minutes. That always helps.

 

[Escopolamina]

Here's a picture. I cut it yesterday and it has definitely set.

Regarding the zap test that lpstephy mentioned, dont soap still have some lye in it after a few days, even if you got it to trace? I mean, wouldnt it be better to test it once a month has passed?
I'm still new to soapmaking so i have all these newby questions hehe.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

In cold process the lye will be gone within a few days if it is going to go at all. If you cool it down to prevent it gelling, it might well take longer to fully saponify, but generally speaking a test at a few days after pouring will be okay.

 

[grayceworks]

How pretty! It looks like the ocean at this one place I went where it was black rocks and black sand with the water and the sea foam. Beautiful swirls!

 

[Susie]

That soap is gorgeous! I zap test when I cut the soap, usually at 18-24 hours. I have yet to be zapped from any recipe I ran through a lye calculator.

 

[Obsidian]

Those look great. I LOVE the blue color, what did you use? I zap test after 2-3 days, used to do it when I cut but I got zapped too much lol.

 

[Dennis]

I see a lady's face and she has big hair. Look at the right middle bar. :-D

 

[Relle]

Would you like my reading glasses Dennis ?

 

[Dennis]

Would you like my reading glasses Dennis ?

Me? You can't see her? Look again. I'm not particularly fond of the face tattoo around her right eye. Either you need more coffee or I need less.

 

[judymoody]

Very pretty soap. I'd wait a few days before zap testing because if it didn't gel it will take a little longer to saponify.

As you are a beginner, you might want to work with smaller batches until you get the hang of things - 500-1000 grams of oils is a good size.

 

[GrantLee63]

I see her VERY clearly Dennis - must be a guy thing ...