Teach Soap

Hi there,

I have been making soaps for two months now and I am hooked!
Can't believe how expensive things are in Australia in comparison to the USA, anyway.....

I made a soap two days ago, it was made with Almond Milk, Oatmeal and Honey
I froze the Milk, and I added the Lye to the milk, I also added a tablespoon of cream
I added 5 tablespoons of honey, it was a 5lb recipe and diluted the honey with 6 tablespoons of water
I poured it into a column mold and had some left over so I put it into a small round silicone mold....
the next day the top of the column is full of oil? The small round mold looks ok, it is just really soft?
I use Soapcalc, but I didn't include the tablespoon of double cream, nor the 6 tablespoons of water?
I used:
Sweet Almond 6.4oz
Olive Oil 26.5
Avocado 5.3
Castor 4.3
Coconut Oil 10.6
4 tablespoons of Oats (finely ground)
5 tablespoon of honey diluted with 6 tablespoons of water
4 oz of oatmeal milk and honey
The soap had a big crack in the top of it, so I stirred it around with a stick, the crack has gone, but the pool of oil on the top is still there?
I didn't insulate it because I read that honey can make the soap hot, but this is the first time I have used a column and can only assume that columns get hotter than the usual loaf molds, but I can't explain the oil?
Unless I made a mistake with the extra tablespoon of cream? The recipe called for 1.6 oz of fragrance and I put much more than that in, could that be the oil?
I superfatted at 6%
Do I wait and see if the oil gets absorbed?

_________________
Diane

Forgot to add:

Water (almond Milk) 20.1oz
Lye 7.2oz

_________________
Diane

I haven't run your recipe through a lye calc, but for that size batch, I would use 2.1 oz. of fragrance (depending on the strength). That's a lot of honey for that size batch. 1 Tablespoon is about a 1/2 oz. I think you have more then one problem going on. Column molds tend to trap heat. It sounds like the soap overheated. You have a lot of sugar in that batch, which can make the soap overheat. If the almond milk has any sugar, that's more sugar for your batch. So you have extra water, which can make the soap softer, extra cream which makes for a higher superfat (which can make soap softer) and lots of honey, which can overheat and possible cause separation. I would give it a day or two to see if the oil absorbs back in. If it doesn't, you might need to rebatch. How many ounces of the fragrance did you actually used? Did you use a scale?

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

Thanks for your reply!

I used 4oz of fragrance - and I didn't use a scale I measured it into 1/2 cup?
But I think Australian measurements are different to American cups?
The almond milk I made myself, I didn't add any sugar?

_________________
Diane

Almonds do have some sugar. You cannot go by cups. They are not accurate for soapmaking, especially for fragrances. Always go by weight. 1/2 cup is about 4 ozs. but each fragrance is used at a different rate, according to a safe % and strength. So it looks to me like you used too much fragrance.

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

Thanks Irene!

I guess I will have to rebatch?

_________________
Diane

Having never rebatched soap,
Do I need to add Lye because of the excessive oil?
If so how do I know how much to use?

_________________
Diane

You don't need more lye. You don't want to make the rebatch soap lye heavy. Since this batch is still pretty new, you will need VERY little water if at all. Chunk it up, put it in a crock pot (or an oven safe pot in the oven) and process on low (170 degrees US) til it's the consistency of mashed potatoes. Mix well, then glop into your mold. It will not be as pourable again as when you first started. Let cool, then cut.

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

Thanks soapbuddy!

I don't even think I will even have to chunk it! I think it will just ooze out of the mold!

_________________
Diane

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

Irena
I cooked the soap last night, and it looks great!
Plopped it into a log mold and I can't wait to unmold it and cut it!
Certainly looks different to CP soap, but being honey and oats it sort of suits the "natural" handmade look!
Thank you for saving my batch!

_________________
Diane

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