Too much lye?

[nicky]

Hi everyone, I'm new here and in need of some assistance. I just finished making a large batch of cp soap. In 3 separate molds. When running it through the lye calculator I started messing with my amounts to see if I could get more bubbles. I was happy with the amount and went about prepping. I forgot to add the extra 10oz of avacado oil.

Now I think I have too much lye.. I'm just not sure how much is too much. In total my oils were 63oz and I used 9.4oz of lye in 27.7oz of water. Those numbers work with 73oz of oil but not 63.

I've since run it through all the calculators I could find and I know there is too much lye, I'm wondering if it's going to be too caustic or if it might be ok.

Any help would be appreciated... how much lye is too much?

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

It might well calm down if you let it cure out long enough - I've not run the actual numbers on the recipe (mainly because the exact amounts would require all of your oils and their %)

If it still isn't totally set you could mix in the other oil. Sure, any swirling would get messed up, but then it's not going to be a perfect soap either way.

 

[nicky]

Thanks for the reply. Sadly it's already set. I guess I'll know more once I unmold it tomorrow. Fingers crossed! They're my best looking soaps so far.

 

[HorseCreek]

You can always shred it for laundry soap, but that's a lot of oil to leave out.
If it were me and it's already set up, I would just rebatch it.

 

[IrishLass]

Welcome Nicky!

Since the soap has already set-up, if it were me, I would rebatch it by grating/shredding the soap (or cutting it into small chunks), mixing in your missing 10 oz. of avocado oil, then heating it all up in a covered crockpot on set low, or in a covered stainless pot in an oven set to 170F, stirring occasionally, until soft and melty, much like mashed potato consistency. If things look too dry as it's heating, you can spray it with water from a spray bottle, or sprinkle some water in (the trick is to not add too much because your soap will warp too much from evaporation during cure). Then, when all looks cohesive and melty and the soap does not zap when the tongue-test is applied, you can smoosh it into your molds. Once it has set up and cooled down, you can unmold and cut and let it cure for 4 weeks. It most likely won't win any beauty pageants and will look somewhat on the rustic side, but it will be perfectly good and safe to use in the shower or bath.

IrishLass

 

[Susie]

Hey and welcome!

I would rebatch. I just would never trust it otherwise.

This is why I triple check everything. I learned it at the cost of a rebatch also.

 

[nicky]

Thanks for the help guys, I unmolded it today and was it was full of lye spots. Thanks for the tips anyway. Lesson learned