what have i been doing all this time?

[zanzalawi]

so i decided while i was learning i'd make the same recipe over and over to get the cold process down, changing only small things like color and scent.
i cant find in my notes where i got this initial recipe but this is what i've been using. i was trying to figure out how to run it through soap calc and had to adjust the water % quite a bit to get my numbers to work correctly for what i actually did
this particular batch i soaped cold
other batches i've soaped warmer and things seemed to thicken up quickly on me, ive struggled to do swirls and designs because often by the time i color and scent it, its rather thick and i end up spooning it into my mold
is this just a bad recipe?
did i just make a noob mistake with a low water percentage?
do i need to increase my water to give me more time to try swirls and what not?

8 oz olive oil
6 oz coconut oil
4 oz palm oil
1 oz castor oil
1 oz sweet almond

2.83 oz lye (80.22g)
5.33 oz water (151.1g)

.5 oz fragrance
.5t white cloud mica
1t emerald green mica
sprinkle of jojoba beads

oils ~ 80 degrees
lye water ~ 60 degrees
fast to trace? too cold?
split 1/3rd of batch for white
as i mixed in micas with oils- looked like the process reversed back to emulsified? no trace?
poured in with separators, swirled with chop stick
wrapped in heating pad

 

[cmzaha]

You are soaping with a Lye Concentration of 34.6%, try lowering it to a 33% concentration and you should pick up more working time. Palm can trace quickly but is very workable at 20%. Just make sure your oils are warm enough to be clear especially with such cold lye solution, which in my opinion is a little cool, my room temp lye is usually around 70º F