soap too soft - help me!

[Lil Outlaws]

I had a custom order for soap from one of my regulars.. I used ALL of this particular FO and can't get more anytime soon, and I really don't want to refund the entire batch she bought but this soap is not hardening up!

Is there a way to rebatch it, HP it, something to make it hard?

I can't find my slip with amounts but it was an olive/coconut/lard GM soap, also had some cocoa butter in there.. I've rechecked my calculations on soapcalc a bajillion times and it's spot on.

Nothing out of the ordinary for me.. so why on earth is it soft, and what can I do about it?

I'm up for anything - whipping, HP, rebatch... I'm all ears!

 

[JenniferSews]

You could maybe rebatch it, but then it wouldn't really be the soap she purchased anymore. IME (although limited) rebatched soap is never the same as the original and customers expect consistency. In this case I'd refund her (even if it's painful, I've been there!) and in the future not sell any soap that isn't 100% cured and ready. In the future I'd make it very clear in your listing that this is a custom and may not be ready/work out/be possible. I used to do all custom sewing and had policies for this type of situation.

 

[Lil Outlaws]

well I've told her and she said she's fine with it - she doesn't care the style of soap, just that it's moisturizing and has that scent.

I just need to make it harder now.

 

[JenniferSews]

well I've told her and she said she's fine with it - she doesn't care the style of soap, just that it's moisturizing and has that scent.

I just need to make it harder now.

Well in that case I'd try rebatching. It's not a guarantee, I've rebatched soft soap and ended up withstill soft soap. But it's worth the try!

 

[carebear]

it depends on why it's soft. if it's soft because you used excess water then rebatching it will help (assuming you don't add liquid, I guess).

if it's soft because you mis-measured or mis-calculated then you have to figure out what happened first!

Oh wait - when did you soap it? Is it still in the mold? If yes, did it gel? You might be able to force gel if that's the problem = even after several days you can still do this.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

Are you going to lose some of the scent by re-batching. I re-batched the other day and it doesn't smell the same.

 

[honor435]

ditto, when i rebatch i have to add more scent, do you have more fo? wonder why it didnt get hard, did you discount water?

 

[Lil Outlaws]

yeah it was already days out of the mold before I posted originally so not that it needed to gel..
I'm going to crock pot it tonight and see what happens.
I've gone over every measurement and it's spot on so I have NO idea.

Worth a shot. I have a tiny bit of FO left so I can add more after melting it if I need to.

Cross your fingers, I'm going to go for it!

 

[ohsoap]

it depends on why it's soft. if it's soft because you used excess water then rebatching it will help (assuming you don't add liquid, I guess).

if it's soft because you mis-measured or mis-calculated then you have to figure out what happened first!

Oh wait - when did you soap it? Is it still in the mold? If yes, did it gel? You might be able to force gel if that's the problem = even after several days you can still do this.

I'm having a similar problem with a new recipe I tried. I added lard for the first time, did a SF at 7% instead of 5, and my water discount to 33% (I usually leave this as the preset on soap calc). I also put it in the fridge to prevent gel... (I know I got carried away). It is hardening but not very fast. It's been a week now and is still very spongy.

How do you force gel?

 

[carebear]

heat!

 

[ohsoap]

I am on a roll of asking dumb questions today!

 

[carebear]

it's NOT a stupid question!

(a stupid question would be "This is my first batch ever. Ain't it purty? How much should I charge for it?")

 

[jadiebugs1]

(a stupid question would be "This is my first batch ever. Ain't it purty? How much should I charge for it?")

similarities???