Teach Soap

Today was my 4th batch of soap. First 3 turned out great. I was starting to feel more confident. Today I wanted to try a fragrance called orange spice cybilla from BB. I had purchased some Great Value 5 oz. plastic drinking cups. I was using them to measure my small amounts of oils. I used one to measure the os fo. Took my off of it for about a minute. Then I noticed there was fo oozing from the bottom of the cup on to my work area. The os fo had melted the bottom of the cup. Are all fos this caustic? I will never use these cups again for measuring fos. I guess only glass is safe. Hope this saves another newbie the same problem.

MaryLou

FO's are not caustic, but they will melt plastic cups. Use a glass, like a shot glass for small amounts of fragrance oils.

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

I had a plastic measuring spoon get melted by an FO.

I also use silicone cups for measuring fo/eo's.

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Linda

I learn so much when I can't leave well enough alone!

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Anna Rose @-}--
blog

Usually the smell comes out eventually. A good scrubbing w soap and an air dry does it for mine but you can either bleach it (a 5% bath will do) or use a baking soda paste (just some soda w water).

FYI, Eo's will also melt that thin plastic, so be cautious.

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

Tammy

thanks lavender lady I will try!

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Anna Rose @-}--
blog

I haven't tried bleach solution for this but the baking soda works well. I also try to minimize how long a fo/eo is left in the silicone measuring cup.

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Linda

I learn so much when I can't leave well enough alone!

i did not know that about FO's. WOW

Wow... I didn't know that either. Thanks for sharing your disaster so we can learn from it!

I have glass lab beakers I bought off of amazon, but I didn't buy them for soap. I bought them for melting very very small amounts of beeswax for lip balm and solid fragrance, so I could make smaller batches of colors and scents and pour them easily without switching containers. I had been using a small plastic measure, but it cracked from the heat. The beakers were cheap (I got a set of 3- 50ml, 100ml, and 250ml, plus two 25ml) for under $20, and free shipping because I have Amazon prime. They're pyrex and meant for use with heat, but the glass is thinner than most kitchen pyrex. The smaller ones, the 25 ml and the 50 ml, are perfect for measuring fragrance oils.

An update on my soaping disaster. I managed to save most of the fo. I made my first batch of soap using lard . I did an in the pot swirl using yellow oxide with a tiny bit of brick red oxide to make orange. I learned to color a smaller amount of the soap for the swirl the next time. It is more orange than I wanted. The orange spice fo began heating as soon as I poured . So I put into the fridge right away. I peaked after a bit and it was gelling and beginning to crack in the fridge. I took it out and put it in the freezer to stop a volcano. Left it in the freezer long enough for it to cool a bit and then took it out and left it on the counter to finish gelling. Another lesson I learned with this batch. Sometimes it is going to gell if you want it to or not. Cut it after 48 hours. It's pretty and has a nice scent. After the spill the scent in my house was so strong I was afraid the soap would smell way to strong but it is nice. So all is well that ends well.

Thank You to all you experienced soapers for so generously sharing your knowledge with us newbies.

MaryLou

Glad you were able to save it. Spice scents tend to overheat. For ones that are big overheaters (cinnamons, cloves, etc), I throw them in the freezer overnight.

Like everyone said, plastic & fo's or eo's do not go well together. I ruined part of my kitchen cupboard by putting eo in a solo cup when first starting out. I ended up finding some great shot glasses at a thrift store. Best $1.50 I ever spent

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Genny