soft soap after cure?

[bettycrackpot]

hey all!

i just checked on my first batch of soap. on monday it will be 4 weeks old, but its still kinda soft. (ie i can put a mark in with my finger nail) it has been sitting in my inlaws basement the whole time.which is mostly cool, but we have had a heat wave lately..... should it be harder? :? TIA !!!

 

[Guest]

That's difficult to say without the recipe. If your soap predominates in soft oils then it will turn out soft, or hard oils vice versa. What oils and percentages did you use?

 

[cdwinsby]

I wouldn't worry if your finger nail can make a mark. I think most soaps you could.

If you can noticably dent the shape of your soap by firmly squeezing it, however, then I would recommend redoing your recipe and adding more hard oils before you make your next batch. Run your recipe through SoapCalc to be sure you have the correct amount of water and lye as well...if you haven't already done so.

Another thing to think about (IMO).....if you used castor oil in your recipe then you will need to let it cure for a couple more weeks before it is firm enough to wash with.

If your soap is soft, it's probably still alright...it'll just disappear in the shower really quickly. That'll give you an excuse to make more.

 

[bettycrackpot]

i used the sandy maine recipe:

24 oz OO
24 oz coconut oil
38 oz crisco

12 oz lye
32 oz water

i ran it thru the soap calc, and it was ok.

i will probably just use it. i have 2 other batches curing, and they can sit for a couple of extra weeks.

 

[cdwinsby]

That recipe is a little on the softer side (compared to what I make) but is nice on the conditioning.

Mine are usually about 30% coconut; 30% palm (could sub crisco if you added a little of something like cocoa butter); 40% olive (sometimes sub 5 - 10% castor oil or other like avocado, etc.) This usually yeilds a fairly hard bar.

I think yours will be fine. Keep soaping.