Teach Soap

can anyone help me please. My last few batches of soaps are sticky and dragging and leave sticky soap stuck to the knife when i cut them. My recipe stays the same 100% EO 8% SF, with no water reduction. The first soaps I made were in the winter and they came out fine. Any ideas on whats causing this,,many thanks

What is your actual recipe? Are you using a stick blender? At what temp do you soap at? Are you reaching true trace? Did the soap gel? I don't know what " 100% EO" means? Which essential oil are you using and at what %? Did you run the recipe through a lye calculator? Do you have an accurate scale? How big is this batch? The more info you give, the better we can help you troubleshoot.

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

Are you talking grams? ounces? Your scale should be fine. You can check it easily enough by weighing something you know weighs a certain amount (plus the weight of the container).

Are you letting your soap set long enough before you try to cut it? I unmold mine and then let it sit another day or two before trying to cut it. With the last batch, I let it sit a day after unmolding, cut it into thirds and let them sit a day before cutting into bars. My mold holds 160 + ounces (about 10 lbs.). Then, of course, the bars have to cure.

I think you're cutting too soon. But I don't know the oils you're using. If it's all olive, it'll be a very very soft bar. That much I know.

Castile can be sticky; especially a batch that doesn't gel.

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

I would check your olive oil. It could be adultarated.

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

That's an interesting thought. If her olive oil IS adulterated, what would that do to the saponification process. Isn't it still oil? Wouldn't it still saponify? I was thinking that when all the oils were put together perhaps they weren't stirred together enough and maybe there was a pool of olive oil in one section that just is keeping the bar soft there. An olive oil soap is very soft. It was a thought at any rate. (Hey, have to use my one brain cell sometimes )

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

Then your thoughts that the olive oil soap is adulterated makes perfect sense. Would it be a good idea then, to always presume your olive oil IS adulterated and pretend a percentage of it is canola and soy in order for the lye calculator to come up with a better calculation so that the soap does properly saponify?

A second question, will she be able to rebatch this soap without the spongy/sticky effect?

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

Room temp soaping doesn't work well with castille. I would combine both oils and lye water when they are about 110 degrees. If you aren't adding anything else, you can also discount your water or make a stronger lye solution.

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