Teach Soap

Hello, peoples!

I am new to the forum, and soap making. I am a beekeeper, and have been making candles for several years now. I am looking to expand my line with beeswax and honey soaps.

I have made MP in the past, and was always .... well, bored, actually. From the very first, I was one of those who thought, "what if I did THIS?" or, "why couldn't I do THAT?" "Why do they make THAT rule?"

So, I've been reading and studying, and studying and reading. I made my first batch last night, and am very pleased. No it didn't turn out exactly right. Actually, I tried HP last night. Very interesting!

Here is what I learned:
This was a 32 oz batch with 2% beeswax, and the rest lard. (Lard soap a local fave.) Water and FO.
Lye water got hotter than I expected -- but I was totally safe, just surprised.
My crockpot is too big for "only" a 2 lb. batch, because things happened FAST.
I blended for 5 minutes and it was still totally liquid, so I let it rest for 5 minutes, and it went to THICK trace. I should have stood there and stirred it with a spoon!
I put it in my CP for 20 minutes.
By then, the edges started gelling, I stirred it well. By the time I was done stirring, it looked like Vaseline/mashed potatoes!
I stirred in FO, glopped it into my molds, and by the last cavity, it was getting dry and crumbly!
It passed the zap test, unmolded this morning perfectly. It IS crumbly, but smells great.
Verdict: overcooked, crumbly, could probably be rebatched later. But I learned A LOT! Can't wait to try the next batch! I already have a list of combos I want to try!

It's not an addiction if I admit upfront it's (going to be) a problem, right?

HoneyLady

Pure lard soap won't give you many bubbles. With added beeswax, it might lather even less. If you have a small stainless steel pot, you can cook the soap in a low degree (170 US) oven.
My lye water always gets very hot. I let it cool, while I'm melting my oils. Lard takes longer to trace. Did you use a mixer or a stick blender? You need to stay there til the soap reaches at least a thin trace. At what temp did you combine the oils and lye? The hotter the oils and lye the faster the reaction. Sounds like the soap either overheated or you cooked it for too long. I presume you ran your recipe through a lye calculator and superfated; at least 5%? Which FO did you use and how much?

Welcome to your new addiction!

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

Hi, Soapbuddy!

I knew the soap would not lather much w/o coconut, palm, or castor. Just wanted a soap to walk through the mechanics.

The lard did not take long at all to trace !! Five minutes with a stick blender then 5 minutes rest, and it was thick ! Lye/H2O was about 120 F and oils 122. With the melted beeswax, I had concerns about how much to let it cool before the wax hardened. Next time, I will let the SOAP rest instead of ME, and stand and watch it. Obviously, this is not paint !

It only cooked 20 minutes, on Low. I don't have a small steel pot, but I will get one.

Yes, ran the soap thru the BB calculators, used a digi scale, and measured by weight, NOT volume. FO was BB's Soapy Clean at the levels the fragrance calc recommended. SF 5%.

Yes, I figured the overheat/cook verdict, too. BUT, it was very informative ! And I'll keep it for rebatching later.

I think results = C-. Lessons learned = A -.

Thanx for the feedback !
HoneyLady

Good luck on your next batch!
I would stick blend for a minute, then with it turned off keep stirring. Turn it back on, stick blend, turn off and mix. Do this til you reach a trace. That way you don't burn out your stick blender. Your soap does not need to gel in order for it to become soap. Once you reach trace, you can pour it into your mold, lightly cover it and let it be.

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