Teach Soap

Hi everyone,

I have made 100% coconut oil with a 20% superfat, no problems at all with that. The trace took a looong time but I was told that just mixing it and dumping it before trace was ok and I did that and it turned out wonderful.

I have attempted 100% lard on two occasions using soapcalc and a 5% superfat. Cold Process. The lard I rendered pure white myself. 33% water to oil ratio. On both occasions I have ended up with an oily mess. I mixed it at around 35 degrees centigrade with the lye and it VERY quickly came to trace. I read on other forums that lard was very slow to trace but I find that the opposite is true. It went to trace in under 3 minutes and from light trace to heavy in less than a minute. The oil and water did not separate and it's sitting in the moulds again but I can see what is going to happen again. I am going to end up with a lard block that is oily and I can't figure out why. If it isn't separating then it should be a proper trace, am I correct?

It's in the mould and it's not gelling, I'm not sure if this one gels or not but last time it was the same thing. After a couple of days it will finally get hard but it will be too oily to use.

What is the problem here? Can someone tell me?

I use lard all the time and love how much time it gives me to play. I think you may be soaping too cool. 35 C is about 95 F correct? You may be getting a false trace because the lard is starting to re-solidify - so even though it looks like trace, it's really not. You may want to try going to about 105-110. When stick blending, just blend until emulsified and then try hand stirring. You could also try more water. Are you gelling the soap? Lard can have a fairly hot gel and that could be why it's separating. You could try not gelling to see if it does the same thing.

Goo luck! I hope you can figure out what's happening because lard makes a wonderful soap!

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

I loved using lard as well, but have never made a bar with 100%. I don't find it to trace that quick! Did you use an accelerating fragrance? That can sometimes give false trace, and some will leak out of soap if you used too much. I don't soap as cool as you do, so what the previous poster said sounds right on to me but I thought I would mention the fragrance as well.

My question is why are you doing a bar that is 100% lard? We usually formulate a recipe because the other oils\butters bring some different properties to the soap. I would do 100% if I was looking to make laundry soap but then that would be grated to add with other things. I use lard in my recipe to replace the palm oil, not only is it easier to work with but I like the end results.

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Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!

The reason why I did 100% lard is because I wanted to see the properties of the oil as it is. That's also why I did the 100% coconut with a 20% superfat and that turned out wonderful.

So if I have the oil at around 110 or 120F the lye will prevent it from solidifying as the temp decreases?

What should I do with this batch, is it ok to rebatch it or is it garbage?

would you be wanting to make laundry soap? Or could you grate it\ cut it in chunks to use as imbeds in other soap?
Why don't you try a recipe with your lard in it and let us know what you think?
There was a post a long time ago about single oil soaps... if I get a chance I will see if I can find it.

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Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!

You might find this useful: http://www.zensoaps.com/singleoil.htm