Lin19687
Well-Known Member
It rebatched ok, but man is it ugly
What soapy mistake have you made today?
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Lin19687
Well-Known Member
Can't find the 'What soap mistake have you made today' so I guess this is a new one.
Soapy Mistake.... Did a new scent for me last night 6th batch for the night when I got home from work.
Sat for almost an hour trying to think of a color to use and not sure I thought of a good one. I didn't know what it would do in my batter as there were mix reviews on the R & A for this scent. I went with a blah 2 color and colored before Lye. I didn't like the way the colors were but LOVE the scent OOB.
I did 2 batches of the 1st and 2nd scents so thought I should just do 2 of this one.
..........forgot the scent on the 2nd batch
Good thing out of it was that I am not sure I like the colors I picked. So many it was a blessing to have a batch of Color No Scent
What have you goofed on lately?
Soapy Mistake.... Did a new scent for me last night 6th batch for the night when I got home from work.
Sat for almost an hour trying to think of a color to use and not sure I thought of a good one. I didn't know what it would do in my batter as there were mix reviews on the R & A for this scent. I went with a blah 2 color and colored before Lye. I didn't like the way the colors were but LOVE the scent OOB.
I did 2 batches of the 1st and 2nd scents so thought I should just do 2 of this one.
..........forgot the scent on the 2nd batch
Good thing out of it was that I am not sure I like the colors I picked. So many it was a blessing to have a batch of Color No Scent
What have you goofed on lately?
artemis
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I found the thread.
Michelle0803
Well-Known Member
I made a batch of our very favorite soap and completely forgot the FO. The soap turned out beautifully, but unscented.
Lin19687
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techiemeka
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I substituted a surfactant shampoo for castor oil today. Got much out and replaced with castor but it was gloppy and jelly. Still in the molds so will see if any is salvageable - I doubt it tho.
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
Hmmm... 
Lin19687
Well-Known Member
None Today lol
well, I still have 6 batches to cut later so it may still be bad
hahahhaa
lolwell, I still have 6 batches to cut later so it may still be bad
hahahhaa
My soapy mistake(s) actually happened a few weeks ago:
I am moving soon and the movers will not pack any of my oils that have been opened. So I thought I'd just make as much soap as possible and take it with me rather than throw away the oils. I also didn't want to waste the lye water master batch I have mixed up. But - I was heading off for a two week work/house-hunting trip in my new location the very next day. No problem, I'm thinking. It will be half-way cured by the time I get back.
First mistake: I over-estimated how much liquid oils I had so I'm running new recipes through the lye calculator using more hard oils than I had planned (cocoa butter, shea butter, kokum butter - none of which I have very much of on their own - I'm getting ready to move and down to scraps of everything.) I decide on a two color soap - deep blue swirled into a creamy white base. I'm ready to go. I'm going to move without throwing away any of my supplies - yay!
Second mistake: while the recipe looked pretty good on paper I had never made a soap with that much hard butters and was unprepared for the acceleration once I started to SB. Oh my goodness - the batter was like pudding in seconds. I know that I'm probably dealing with a false trace, and I just keep blending as much as I can. When I think my SB is going to die - I start pouring - or plopping really! I just got the two colors in as soon as I could and when I tried to swirl with a chopstick I notice hardened white bits all over the place. Uh-oh. I'm seriously worried that the soap isn't emulsified and it's going to have lye pockets or something. But I have to leave for the airport tomorrow!
Third mistake: I totally forgot that I needed to have time to unmold and cut!! Seriously, how could I be so stupid! This move has my brain fried. So I got up super early, and the soap seems pretty hard after only 8 hours, and since I don't have much choice I decide to unmold and cut. While cutting it I notice there are solid bits all througout the soap, and areas that are kind of translucent and I'm sure that it's going to ooze all over while I'm gone. So I spread everything out in a bin and have to leave for the airport. I'm pretty sure that the batch is lost and I might as well have thrown everything out from the get go.
Two weeks later - I come home and the bars don't look too bad. But those translucent areas have me so worried. I can't find my pH strips anywhere, and I have never had the nerve to do the zap test. I decide that to be safe, I will rebatch the soap and see if I can at least get something safe and usable.
It was so soft and easy to cut and it melted down pretty easy. The dark blue and creamy white turned into a grayish blue colored batter. It didn't look very pretty in the mold.
I unmolded and cut the loaf a week ago. I just tested a bar, I got a creamy lather with some bubbles and feels great on the skin. I think the batch is saved! I think I will make this recipe as a HP soap from the get go next time. Scent with clean cotton or something like that - the rustic bars look just like faded denim jeans.
Sorry this was so long - but I made lots of mistakes with this soap and I learned a few important lessons. Don't get in a hurry and don't soap the night before a trip lol. I am lucky it turned out well, and I think that the look of the final bars is even prettier than the original swirl I had planned.
I do not sell my soap - this is just for me, and what I give away to family and friends. But I still hate the idea of a batch being ruined, so I consider myself super lucky this time.
I am moving soon and the movers will not pack any of my oils that have been opened. So I thought I'd just make as much soap as possible and take it with me rather than throw away the oils. I also didn't want to waste the lye water master batch I have mixed up. But - I was heading off for a two week work/house-hunting trip in my new location the very next day. No problem, I'm thinking. It will be half-way cured by the time I get back.
First mistake: I over-estimated how much liquid oils I had so I'm running new recipes through the lye calculator using more hard oils than I had planned (cocoa butter, shea butter, kokum butter - none of which I have very much of on their own - I'm getting ready to move and down to scraps of everything.) I decide on a two color soap - deep blue swirled into a creamy white base. I'm ready to go. I'm going to move without throwing away any of my supplies - yay!
Second mistake: while the recipe looked pretty good on paper I had never made a soap with that much hard butters and was unprepared for the acceleration once I started to SB. Oh my goodness - the batter was like pudding in seconds. I know that I'm probably dealing with a false trace, and I just keep blending as much as I can. When I think my SB is going to die - I start pouring - or plopping really! I just got the two colors in as soon as I could and when I tried to swirl with a chopstick I notice hardened white bits all over the place. Uh-oh. I'm seriously worried that the soap isn't emulsified and it's going to have lye pockets or something. But I have to leave for the airport tomorrow!
Third mistake: I totally forgot that I needed to have time to unmold and cut!! Seriously, how could I be so stupid! This move has my brain fried. So I got up super early, and the soap seems pretty hard after only 8 hours, and since I don't have much choice I decide to unmold and cut. While cutting it I notice there are solid bits all througout the soap, and areas that are kind of translucent and I'm sure that it's going to ooze all over while I'm gone. So I spread everything out in a bin and have to leave for the airport. I'm pretty sure that the batch is lost and I might as well have thrown everything out from the get go.
Two weeks later - I come home and the bars don't look too bad. But those translucent areas have me so worried. I can't find my pH strips anywhere, and I have never had the nerve to do the zap test. I decide that to be safe, I will rebatch the soap and see if I can at least get something safe and usable.
It was so soft and easy to cut and it melted down pretty easy. The dark blue and creamy white turned into a grayish blue colored batter. It didn't look very pretty in the mold.
I unmolded and cut the loaf a week ago. I just tested a bar, I got a creamy lather with some bubbles and feels great on the skin. I think the batch is saved! I think I will make this recipe as a HP soap from the get go next time. Scent with clean cotton or something like that - the rustic bars look just like faded denim jeans.
Sorry this was so long - but I made lots of mistakes with this soap and I learned a few important lessons. Don't get in a hurry and don't soap the night before a trip lol. I am lucky it turned out well, and I think that the look of the final bars is even prettier than the original swirl I had planned.
I do not sell my soap - this is just for me, and what I give away to family and friends. But I still hate the idea of a batch being ruined, so I consider myself super lucky this time.
Marilyn Norgart
Well-Known Member
kind of hard to make soapy mistakes when I cant motivate my self to do anything soapy---otherwise I am sure I would have something to share . not trying to be mean but am glad to see I am not the only one who forgets the scent...………………...well I just thought of something I did yesterday. I was makin a plain coconut milk soap and was going to do 50-50 with the rest of liquid being the coconut milk. I went ahead and mixed it with the full water. made up a batch of 50-50 but now I have a batch of lye solution that I need to use up. I have never done that--do I use the oils hotter so the cooler lye doesn't harden up the oils. maybe I need to just go make something and try
. not trying to be mean but am glad to see I am not the only one who forgets the scent...………………...well I just thought of something I did yesterday. I was makin a plain coconut milk soap and was going to do 50-50 with the rest of liquid being the coconut milk. I went ahead and mixed it with the full water. made up a batch of 50-50 but now I have a batch of lye solution that I need to use up. I have never done that--do I use the oils hotter so the cooler lye doesn't harden up the oils. maybe I need to just go make something and try
Last edited:
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
I don't master batch lye, but in your situation, I wouldn't worry about the temperature of the lye. Just melt your oils/fats, add your additives, stir or SB for one full minutes before adding the lye solution. SB to trace. Should work fine.
On the other hand, if you're "not motivated"... might be best to wait until you are.
Marilyn Norgart
Well-Known Member
thanks for that info Zany--I planned on never master batching
--now at least I get a taste of it. maybe some mistakes ARENT all badRobinRogers
Well-Known Member
I don’t usually master batch lye. I do mix it the night before on most occasions. I find if I melt my hard oils and let them cool to room temp, I have a much better soaping experience. I like soaping with everything at room temp.I don't master batch lye, but in your situation, I wouldn't worry about the temperature of the lye. Just melt your oils/fats, add your additives, stir or SB for one full minutes before adding the lye solution. SB to trace. Should work fine.
On the other hand, if you're "not motivated"... might be best to wait until you are.
Marilyn Norgart
Well-Known Member
well I just soaped with the cool lye and my oils at 110. I think the result was ricing--it didn't happen until I started putting it in the mold. pulled it out and SB it out--it worked out more than ok cuz I had only planned on mica veins. I have used this scent before with no ricing so I am thinking it was the cooler lye--hopefully I wont wind up with that again and if I do I will make sure its something I am not doing a design in
kaysejean
Active Member
Ugh, my fragrance played hide and seek on me yesterday. It's super annoying because I wasted a soap rim and embeds, and the color I was trying to match came out perfect and now I get to do it all over.
Didn't find it until clean up at which point the soap was already firm.
It hid behind the bag of TD...
FO:1 Soaper: 0
Didn't find it until clean up at which point the soap was already firm.
It hid behind the bag of TD...
FO:1 Soaper: 0
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
Way ta go, kaysejean... blame it on the FO!
Lin19687
Well-Known Member
FYI, I missed another FO because I was too busy trying to get a in the mold swirl .....
But not all is lost. I have 1 no color no scent, and now have a No Scent but color soap
But not all is lost. I have 1 no color no scent, and now have a No Scent but color soap
Marilyn Norgart
Well-Known Member
FYI, I missed another FO because I was too busy trying to get a in the mold swirl .....
But not all is lost. I have 1 no color no scent, and now have a No Scent but color soap
I hate that "moment" when you see the scent still sitting there!!!!!
Lin19687
Well-Known Member
Yup, just as you are scrapping out the bowl into the mold
Marilyn Norgart
Well-Known Member
sounds about right!! I try to keep my scent right in front of the colors--I find it hides in back of my mixing pail pretty easy though. I work on a small space and I am always afraid the cord from the SB is going to knock it over
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