What soapy mistake have you made today?

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Messing about last night I melted base and it didn't seem to be melting so being a genuis (HA!) I put it on longer..

When the timer went off I looked and oh yes its melted. Got my oven gloves on.

Took the container out and the bottom stayed behind! I'd melted a hole in the base.

So then I had this mess of soap and melted plastic all over the place. Had to wait for the mix to cool down before I could scrape it off the worktop
 
Lesley Susan Madigan said:
Messing about last night I melted base and it didn't seem to be melting so being a genuis (HA!) I put it on longer..

When the timer went off I looked and oh yes its melted. Got my oven gloves on.

Took the container out and the bottom stayed behind! I'd melted a hole in the base.

So then I had this mess of soap and melted plastic all over the place. Had to wait for the mix to cool down before I could scrape it off the worktop
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Oh no! That's terrible! I completely understand, it's an "imagine my surprise...." Moment for sure. Hopefully no damage to the worktop!

NsMar42111 said:
I needed that laugh Primrose :mrgreen::mrgreen:! Man...well, at least it wasn't activated charcoal?
Click to expand...
Nope, that would be my move last night! Full container of AC over the table and floor...I have hippy feet now per my bf lol I thought glitter was bad to clean up!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I created a recipe, ordered the oils and then lost the recipe! I usually create them on my phone using Soapcalc and I take a screenshot of it. I have NO idea what I was thinking or what I did with the recipe. Guess I'll have to start over.
 
I did this a few weeks ago... but thought I would document here in case anyone would like to know what NOT to do with an accelerating FO.

I made this soap for the first time about a year ago, so I knew that the FO accelerates (Crafter's Choice Wild Peach Poppies Type). I made it with buttermilk powder, and poured it in 3 layers, making each layer individually. It was a lovely soap and a good seller for me last Christmas, and have already had ten requests for it in the last month. I scaled up from 2lbs to 4lbs, which usually isn't a problem for me. But then I did this...
  • Changed recipe from standard 65% hard oil recipe to 66% hard oil recipe, the 1% increase due to the addition of stearic acid which I know heats up my soap and increases acceleration. I was being lazy and did not want to masterbatch a new batch of oils, and the 1% stearic was already masterbatched.
  • Decreased my water to lye ratio from 3:1 to 2:1. I still have no idea why I did that. It was a complete spur of the moment change when I was measuring my lye solution and water.
  • Added buttermilk powder to the oils without any kind of pre-mixing or slurry.
End result: soap batter instantly accelerated within 5 seconds of stick blending. By the time I had the mold in place to put the batter in, it was a crumbly HOT mess that I had to smoosh into the mold. When I cut the soap it was heavily burnt, and had visible chunks of buttermilk powder that didn't get incorporated correctly. (You can watch the making YouTube video here, although I did edit out the part where I cried, and the cutting video here.)

I am happy to report that I re-made the soap yesterday, removing all three of the bad decisions. I did replace the buttermilk powder with fresh buttermilk and it soaped even better than the first time I made this soap. I don't think I could have done swirls with this particular FO, but it behaved lovely for making layers, which is all I needed. I did make a video, and will make one of the cut too, but it will be a few weeks before it gets posted (my editing queue is full right now).
 
Not really a mistake but more of a battle. I added my "Lucky Green" Mica to a batch tonight and it promptly turned a muddy pink. I spent te entire cook time trying to fix it and it did wind up a good color but lord only knows what the texture will be with kaolin clay (A lot of it) and TD and Yellow and darker green mica. I have never seen a color morph that far from the original before.
 
Was it added after the cook or did it change from you added the lye ?
If the latter I would think that maybe it might morph back ?
Where was the mics from, just curious if they might have reviews that this is a known issue
 
View attachment 31722
Lin19687 said:
Was it added after the cook or did it change from you added the lye ?
If the latter I would think that maybe it might morph back ?
Where was the mics from, just curious if they might have reviews that this is a known issue
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I added it at trace since this was a one color soap. I waited a bit and it stayed that aweful color. It was Lucky Green from tkb.
I was able to play with it until I got a green out of it but it wasn't exactly the green I was looking for
20180828_061700.jpg
 
L
Lisa B.
Verified Buyer
12/27/17
Pretty color but Morphs in
Pretty color but Morphs in CP soap

But someone in Feb 2017 said it was nice in their soap but didn't say what kind so Maybe it was MP.
Also they didn't say what it morphs too :smallshrug:
 
Lin19687 said:
L
Lisa B.
Verified Buyer
12/27/17
Pretty color but Morphs in
Pretty color but Morphs in CP soap

But someone in Feb 2017 said it was nice in their soap but didn't say what kind so Maybe it was MP.
Also they didn't say what it morphs too :smallshrug:
Click to expand...
Hmm, You know I bought it as a part of a collection. It was called the basic colors collection. I should have checked the reviews on the individual colors
 
Now I wonder what it would have turned out like if you left it.
I had one color morph with the FO but had read somewhere that it happens.
one more thing I love about NG, all the reviews.
I also get my Mica from Mica & More as she tests them in CP too. Plus her FB page with everyone elses soap pics that I just drool over ;)
 
@amd you are a saint. I would have ended up with a video that was very much against the rules of this forum in terms of language/behavior. I panic if I get even slight acceleration and it’s something I need to work on. Bravo for a job well done and a cheerful demeanor to boot!!
 
LOL thank you. I did edit the part where I cried after smooshing the second layer. The only person I had to be mad at was myself because I knew better, I really did... but I was feeling 10 feet tall and bulletproof that day. Once I got the crying out of the way, I had no choice really but to laugh at myself and just accept what a disaster it was. That's just how soaping goes sometimes. You learn, toss the mistake in the bin, and move on to make better soap.
 
I am a beginner for cold process.
I was on to my 5th batch, still figuring what's wrong, why it's not curing, so yesterday night I spent around 30 mins just looking at the soap what's going wrong and suddenly I realise it reached gel phase so soon and expanded and I was stupid to keep my soaps on top of a fridge (lack of space)... After that I made another small batch and kept it in a cooler place and finally I had my first successful cold process soap !
 
maitri said:
I am a beginner for cold process.
I was on to my 5th batch, still figuring what's wrong, why it's not curing, so yesterday night I spent around 30 mins just looking at the soap what's going wrong and suddenly I realise it reached gel phase so soon and expanded and I was stupid to keep my soaps on top of a fridge (lack of space)... After that I made another small batch and kept it in a cooler place and finally I had my first successful cold process soap !
Click to expand...

Welcome @maitri ! Just to clarify, "curing" is the process that we refer to after soap has finished saponifying. It is the 4-6 week (or longer depending on soap type!) that water is allowed to evaporate out of the soap and the molecular crystals are formed. The process that you are referring to, when soap is in the mold doing its thing, is part of the saponification process - although the soap may not be completely saponified when you unmold, it should be mostly done - usually we refer to it as "setting up". Sounds like you had the beginnings of volcanos, so a good idea to move it off the fridge! I look forward to seeing your successful soaps :D
 
amd said:
Welcome @maitri ! Just to clarify, "curing" is the process that we refer to after soap has finished saponifying. It is the 4-6 week (or longer depending on soap type!) that water is allowed to evaporate out of the soap and the molecular crystals are formed. The process that you are referring to, when soap is in the mold doing its thing, is part of the saponification process - although the soap may not be completely saponified when you unmold, it should be mostly done - usually we refer to it as "setting up". Sounds like you had the beginnings of volcanos, so a good idea to move it off the fridge! I look forward to seeing your successful soaps :D
Click to expand...
Oh Kay. Thank you so much :)
 
Deleted. For some weird reason my post ended up here instead of where I meant to post it. (Scratches head, shrugs shoulders).
 

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