Teach Soap

I have read different things about this and am wondering what the truth is. Some websites on soap-making (David Fisher on About.com and others) say that saponification is complete within about 48 hours of pouring the soap, and that the pH won't change much after that--the 4 week-cure time is for water to evaporate. Others say (Wholesale Supplies Plus FAQs) that the entire cure time is necessary to complete saponification, and that soap can be too harsh until the end of the cure time. Which is it?

I ask because, going from the first advice, I pH tested my first batch of CP soap at 2 weeks--pH 10, within normal, "safe" soap range. So I washed my hands and it seemed okay. So I took it in the shower. Bad idea! It soooo irritated my skin--itchy/dry all day and I don't have sensitive skin. Should I expect it to finish saponifying over the next two weeks and be okay to use, or is it indeed irreparably lye heavy? (Note, I was very careful to run the recipe through a lye calculator and with my scale got the lye amount between 4%-5% superfat--my scale does not measure 100ths of ounces, just tenths.)

What do I do with this batch? Please help! Thanks for any advice.

Soap gets milder as it cures. My soap is in the 9 pH range. If all your calculations were correct and the scale is accurate, put that soap away for a while and try it again in about four weeks. Next time go with a 7% superfat.

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

Thank you. Any suggestions for testing the accuracy of the scale?

Weigh your nickel. It should weigh 5 grams. There are 28 grams in one ounce.

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

Scale weighed the nickel at 5 grams. (sigh of relief)