Teach Soap

So in the next few weeks I plan to make my first batch of CP soap from a recipe I found online for beginners. I don't plan on spending a lot on the oils because chances are something will go wrong and I don't want it to be a waste. But what I want to know is, is there a bad batch that you can still use?? I've heard of soap doing a soap volcano or caving in, crumbling and a few other problems. But are they in fact still usable? I know about the ph and I have ph paper from when I taught science last year so I plan to test all soap. But like I said can a bad batch still be used? If and I mean a BIG IF I get good at this I want to sell it but that won't be happening anytime in the near future so the "bad" soap would just be used by my family and myself.

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@!BuG!@

The answer is maybe....
It really depends on the ingredients used, the superfat and a slew of other things. Can you post the recipe? Some recipes on the net are pretty bad and full of serious errors. If it is a waste and you've done your best to make sure that everything was weighed correctly with an accurate scale, the oils are not udultarated with other oils, you ran the recipe through a lye calc and it still came out wrong, think of it as a learning experience, chuck it and move on. Keep good notes, so you won't repeat any mistakes.

PS. pH papers are not very accurate for CP soap. Either get a pH meter or phenopthalein liquid.

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

The recipe I found which said it's for beginners is
Coconut oil 2.84 oz
Corn oil 18.48 oz
Olive oil 32.70 oz
Lye 7.03 oz
Water 17.83 oz
yields 78.89 oz

But in grams I guess it would probably be

Coconut oil 80.51g
corn oil 523.90g
olive oil 927.03g
lye 199.313g
DI 2236.13g

It should be shy of 5 pounds, I heard grams were better then oz's.

I am not Irena, but as this recipe is written it is way too soft. Did you make a typo on the coconut oil by any chance?

Also, on a batch that is this size (about 3 lbs) you don't need to convert to grams. You will want to convert small batches to grams for better accuracy, so your 1 pound or smaller ones really need to be changed, but larger ones only need changed if that is your preference.

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy

No it's exactly what the site had said. Should I add more coconut?? I saw on soapqueen that you can add salt water would that help in this case?

You have
Coconut oil 5.26%
Corn 34.21%
Olive 60.53%

Corn is considered a soft oil with a short shelf life and could be prone to DOS (rancidity and rancid orange spots). Coconut is normally used up to 20%. For this size recipe, the coconut oil at this % won't do much. At 60%, olive oil could give your soap a slimy feel. I don't see anything for bubbles. Do you have any castor oil? That would give you bubbles.

Small batches like 1 lb. are the ones that should be converted to grams. For bigger batches, it's not as crucial. What other oils or butters do you have available?

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

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

Actually I do have castor oil but that's about it. Should I use less corn or olive oil and use more coconut?

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

I went back and changed the coconut oil to 12.84 ounces and that would bring the hardness up to the minimum acceptable hardness number, so they probably made a typo. But still, it will be a pretty soft soap, with a very low ins. Personally, I would rather it be harder. If these are the oils that you have and want to work with I would change it to;

coconut (76) 22%
corn oil 12%
olive oil 66%

These numbers are out of the typicals too (as Irena said we usually stay 20% or lower on coconut, but you can go higher without issues, especially when you adjust other oils and your superfat), but this will make a better bar of soap than the original recipe. BUT, I think there are much better first recipes. It is your choice though. If you have these 3 oils and only these oils and don't want to make any more purchases right now, the above ratios should give you an okay soap bar with a descent soaping experience.

If you have other oils, what do you have?

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy

I took too long letting the dogs out and writing, sorry! I see you have castor and I would definitely add that, but I usually use 8% to 10% castor oil in every batch. I don't ever use corn oil, so I would tend to agree with Irena there.

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy

So last question, sorry for all the question, but if I do the palm free vertical twist recipe on soapqueen would that be better? Would it still work if I don't use any of the colors or scents? I haven't even made a batch and I'm about to give up. Because truthfully I don't have the money to pay the price of buying stuff online. The prices themselves not bad shipping well all the site kinds of suck on that. So I need to only use oils that I could get in safeway, walmart, hispanic stores or even health stores.

If your choice of oils is limited and you haven't made a batch yet, what about using just lard? Or make a batch of 100% coconut with a 20% superfat. that way you won't waste too many oils til you get the hang of it.

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

Don't get discouraged! I don't know the recipe you are speaking of, but any soap queen recipe is going to be a tested and good one, so yes it will be better! And yes, you can leave out fragrance and colorants from any recipe, and that is a good idea when you are beginning.
I understand monetary issues for sure, and I don't blame you a bit for wanting to limit your investment. However, I would not assume that a health food store will be better priced than some of the on-line suppliers. Often times they are quite a bit higher and have inferior quality products as well. I'd try to find a local supplier (look for restaurant supply stores) for whatever I couldn't find at the grocery for a reasonable price. I hunt for the least expensive place too, in this day and age I think we are all cost conscious! I buy my olive oil at Sams club cuz it is cheaper there than the grocery or on line after I add shipping. But everything varies by location, so do some calling and some shopping around.

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy