Teach Soap

So last night I did my first batch of CP soap. Now I have a few questions.

1. I cut it tonight and it was very wet. Wet as in water on top of and below, it was covered with plastic wrap and lined with it as well. Is that normal? It is now sitting on a rack to cure.
2. After I cut it I of course washed my hands and there was a slight foul smell ... it went away and now my hands smell like the scent. Will that be the same once it is cured?
3. I washed/rinsed off my hands after cutting it and they were really slimy... like when you have soft water and can't get the soap washed off your body. Is that normal?
4. My hands are now dry... is that because the soap is not yet cured?

All in all I think my first batch was a success. I didnt have any weird experiences like I have seen/read from so many! Lucky me... guess that means my homework paid off.

* some day I will figure out how to post a photo here!
for now check out my blog for the picture.
http://landlockedshores.blogspot.com/

Thanks for all your help in advance!
Nicki

It looks ok to me from the pics, did you do the zap test thingy to make sure that wet stuff wasn't lye? I'm following your blog as "The Caravan" that's my etsy shop I see you have an etsy shop too!
I'm new at this too, only made 5 batches so far, but have not had the wet or slimy problem *yet* *knock on wood*. Just wait till one of your soaps seize up that's tons of fun LOL.

If you hands are slimey, the liquid on your soap could be caustic lye. What was your recipe? What temps did you use? Did you use a stick blender? Was your fragrance soap safe?

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

I'm at work now but will post the recipe later tonight (hopefully).
Is the zap test the touch it with your tongue thing? I'm not so sure I want to do that!
My fragrances came directly from the local soap shop.. I know how lucky I am to have one of those!
Regarding temps: I used a method where I didnt have to check the temps, the hot lye melts the solid oils. It worked pretty well as far as I could tell. The liquid is gone now since the soap has been cut and is sitting to cure.
Yes, I used a stick blender.
Regarding the slimy-ness: I did notice this morning in the shower that my regular soap had a bit of a slime to it also. Maybe they treated the water system in the apartment complex recently???
Anyone else in DFW and recommend the length of time it might take to cure?

Thanks,
Nicki

Hey there. I am in Fort Worth. It takes the normal 4 weeks to cure to a good hard bar. I also do a lot of cpop (cold process oven process) and that cuts the cure time in half for me.

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Haven

Thanks, I will have to look into the CPOP method....

Here is one way you can test for zap. Run some water over your finger. Then run that finger over your soap Lightly touch it to your tongue. If it tastes soapy, you should be ok. If it zaps like a 9 volt battery, than it could be lye heavy, or you could have mismeasured.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Thanks. I did use the lye calculator so hope thats no an issue. I will test it later.
Nicki

so I did the zap test and the results... nasty tasting soap! yay!!