Thank you penelopejane , I don't make laundry soap as I have crazy hard water here, the hard water still ruins the clothes with the best laundry store bought detergent. How do I plug numbers to know the lye concentration in the batch? I usually plug the lye concentration I have determined using soapee, not the other way around.
What soapy mistake have you made today?
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Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
WHEW! Well done, Morpheus!
I was planning on making a beautiful white and purple swirl. In fact the swirl was turning out absolutely beautiful in the mold when I looked down and saw the full bottle of fragrance oils still sitting there. Needless to say I now have a solid purple soap.
penelopejane
Well-Known Member
Put your oils in soapee then fiddle with the numbers in soapee until you come up with the amount of lye you actually used and the amount of water you used. It might be a different SF and/or a different lye concentration. Just keep changing the numbers until you get the answers as close as you can to what you used.
Every single one I could ... I went so far out of my comfort zone that I reckon I would have had trouble spotting it with binoculars! 
Thank you, I'll do that. Would you please check my other thread Help Wanted Please, and tell me what you think.
Lin19687
Well-Known Member
yesterday I went to do a 3# batch so measured out the oils. Melted in my bigger plastic measure thing.
I forgot to think about the Lye water amount and how much that adds to the plastic measure thing ....
Glad I had a big glass Pyrex and it just fit. Ran out to Home Depot to get 5 qt jugs what a dope
I forgot to think about the Lye water amount and how much that adds to the plastic measure thing ....
Glad I had a big glass Pyrex and it just fit. Ran out to Home Depot to get 5 qt jugs
what a dopeNsMar42111
Well-Known Member
Made up a mini 1 lb batch for a new mold...all proud of myself because I was done and cleaned up in 15 minutes. Yea....until I look over and see my bottle of FO on the counter right next to the mold...full. *sigh*. Luckily it was CP and I had poured at light trace and the FO tends to slow trace. Dumped everything out of the mold back into the mixing container, add FO, whisk like a madwoman, pour it all back into the mold. Yea...when the little voice said "add it to the oils" I should've listened.
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I did just that on a 5 lbs batch last week so I feel your pain. Looks pretty though... sigh
SoapAddict415
Well-Known Member
I set everything up, mixed my colors and weighed out my oils last night so when I got home from work today, I could relax and make soap. I just realized that I forgot to make my lye water so it'd be at room temp like my oils.
I am in need of something to do to get my mind off of my car and get over my irritation, but am not sure making soap is the right way to go at this point. Maybe I'll go for a walk and burn off some energy and decide when I get back to the hotel.
I'd like to use up some of the oils I have with me so I can toss out the bottles before I leave tomorrow (IF my car is ready by the 'end of the day' which is apparently not a 'promise'). And I have some Utah Salt Flats salt I can use to make salt bars. So I might do that later today if I get over my bad mood. I'd go see my son, but I don't want to spread my bad mood around; it's just not fair to other people.
I'd like to use up some of the oils I have with me so I can toss out the bottles before I leave tomorrow (IF my car is ready by the 'end of the day' which is apparently not a 'promise'). And I have some Utah Salt Flats salt I can use to make salt bars. So I might do that later today if I get over my bad mood. I'd go see my son, but I don't want to spread my bad mood around; it's just not fair to other people.
Now that is a seriously bad mood
when you don't want to see and subject your son to it. Hopefully your walk helps and you get your Utah Salt bars made. Would be very interested how they turn out.
My containers are always Labled in large lettering LYE, no matter what size the container is, even if it only my hubby and I most of the time.Remind others what's going on in your space. Not really MY soapy mistake, but...
I always leave my lye solution to cool in our kitchen sink (it's close to a window and it makes me feel better about any potential spills or splatters). Last night, I go to check on the temperature and find my husband's used ice cream spoon in my solution, chocolate syrup and everything. He just thought it was other dirty dishes....
:headbanging:
It will only cure out okay if a large amount of water is used. I tried that when people here were playing with the lye heavy castile. I decided to try a high -superfat, do not remember the exact negative but I think it was a little less that the -40. Anyway even after 2 yrs on the shelf it zapped. If I remember correctly I went with the 38% water as % of oil. I figured there was just not enough extra liquid to carry out the excess lye to the outside of the soap
Lin19687
Well-Known Member
Darn DD came in bothering me and frazzled my mind.
Left the FO out after a swirl Yup, couldn't let that go so I mixed it in by hand, puke blueish grey color so I dumped a ton of white into the last 1/4 and plopped on top. Thick thick batter at that point.
Hoping I can call it Mountain top but think it will be more like Smoggy mountain top
Left the FO out after a swirl
Yup, couldn't let that go so I mixed it in by hand, puke blueish grey color so I dumped a ton of white into the last 1/4 and plopped on top. Thick thick batter at that point.Hoping I can call it Mountain top but think it will be more like Smoggy mountain top
Well today I thought I would test some fragrances....in soap....ended up testing them on the table instead.... After BF graciously helped me number a bunch of plastic cups (first mistake) and line them up on a sheet tray (lucky save), I proceeded to add the fragrances to their designated cups....did I mention I had 52 fragrances I wanted to test (second mistake)? Momentarily thinking I had magical powers to pull this off, I filled 17 by the time I noticed pooling fragrance on the sheet pan. First I thought I missed a cup with the pipette, but the leaning tower of Dixie Cup (#1 & 2) clued me in that they had given up the ghost. It when at this moment my brain turned back on and I remembered why I don't use these cups to soap other than mixing colors in. I saved about 3/4 if them by transferring the FO contents to a silicone ice mold (one crisis averted), chunked the sheet pan in the sink then proceeded to regroup. Luckily I hadn't made any soap! Still thinking I had a shot at accomplishing this, I started to measure the next FO, pineapple....well, that FO wasn't on board with my plan, so it dumped itself all over my table. At this point, everything smelled like a pineapple-barbershop-blue agave-strawberry mess, I decided to throw in the towel for the night. Lessons learned - keep goals reasonable and manageable!!
So sorry for you FO troubles, Alzie. Yes, I've had fragrance eat through thin plastic, too. What a mess, huh? Just FYI, if you use an oilcloth table cloth or plastic table cloth, fragrance will eat through it as well. It did mine, when I spilled some on my table cloth that I use to cover my work table. Since then, I always line the workspace with towels so clean up is easier. Fresh towels for each session.
Another lesson I've learned with fragrance is that even if I use a (small) glazed ceramic container, the fragrance will be absorbed by the ceramic and last for weeks in that container. Granted the glaze may have cracked or not sufficiently fired in the first place; I don't know. But another lesson learned: don't use those cute little ceramic creamers my Mom used to love for measuring fragrance. The smell is nice, but I can't know how much of it did not end up in the soap.
So now I tend to use Stainless steel or glass to measure my fragrances. There are some plastics that won't be eaten by fragrances, but I have these alternatives, so I use them and no more problems.
Another lesson I've learned with fragrance is that even if I use a (small) glazed ceramic container, the fragrance will be absorbed by the ceramic and last for weeks in that container. Granted the glaze may have cracked or not sufficiently fired in the first place; I don't know. But another lesson learned: don't use those cute little ceramic creamers my Mom used to love for measuring fragrance. The smell is nice, but I can't know how much of it did not end up in the soap.
So now I tend to use Stainless steel or glass to measure my fragrances. There are some plastics that won't be eaten by fragrances, but I have these alternatives, so I use them and no more problems.
It most definitely was a mess! but it gave me more insight that I need to slow down and do a thorough assessment before I start. Good to know about the oil cloth and ceramic! Funny story, I keep my spatulas separate from the cooking ones and one morning my bf wondered why his eggs tasted like perfume....I just shook my head because he couldn't believe how much the fragrance lasted on it lol. I just made 12 in silicone baking cups and pre measured the fragrance before the pour. Seemed to work well and incorporate fully... Fingers crossed! I'm hoping to streamline my process by testing small before committing to the fragrance, I recently had one (purple cow, RE) that smells great but when being used it smells reminiscent of Colorado's favorite plant lol.
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Now you have me wondering. What is Colorado's favorite plant?
Lol, Marijuana is the favorite of some here...I personally prefer my asiatic lillies, but to each their own . It's just strange it doesn't smell like purple cow after the cure. I think this spurred my fragrance test experiment lol.
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