Teach Soap

Hi all,

I made a batch of soap about 2 weeks ago and it's still pretty crumbly. At the time I made it, I thought i'd reached a light trace, took some out to add color. The cup that I added color to did trace and started to get thick. I went back to the main batch and stirred more with the stick blender. Poured in my tray (a cordboard box) and swirled it. I unmolded it the next day and found it a little crumbly on top. It's been a couple of weeks and it's still crumbly on top, the bottom up until just about the top looks like it has cured fine. Do you think it will eventually cure on top, too? If it, indeed, didn't reach trace, should I be concerned about my soap still having unmixed lye in it? Go figure, it was my best swirl yet!
Thanks so much.

Did you weigh all your oils correctly? At what temp did you soap at? It sounds like it didn't reach thin trace and some of the lye precipitated to the top of your soap. Did you check for zap?

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

I measured out my oils and double checked everything before adding to the bucket. My lye was around 100 and the oils slightly higher. I made the recipe again a couple of days later, it does take a while for it to reach trace, probably 15 minutes or so. The longest time I've ever had to stir by far since I started soaping. No zap, but I do remember why I didn't want to sass my mom, yuck. Smells great, but taste gross! I think it was well blended, but just not blended enough for trace.

How big of a batch was it that it would take 15 minutes to reach trace? I can get trace in less than 10 minutes for a 25 lb. batch. Did you use a stick blender?

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

It was right over 4 lb batch. Yes, I used a stick blender. I added my fragrance oil to my oils before adding the lye and water. I'm thinking the lye and water might have to be a little bit warmer. My last batch (the one after this one) the lye and water was about 90 degrees and it took a while for it to thicken up. I got the recipe off of Craft Server forum. Here it is.
Quietgirl's Basic Soap
Crisco 7.5 oz
Coconut 7.5 oz
Palm Kernal Flakes 7.5 oz
Cocoa Butter 2.5 oz
Canola 12.5 oz
Olive 12.5 oz
Lye 7.05 oz
water 19 oz

Thanks again

Try soaping at around 110 degrees and see if that makes a difference. I no longer use canola as it has a short shelf life and makes the soap more prone to DOS. If I was you I would recalculate the recipe and leave the canola oil out. Canola makes for a soft soap, as it's a soft oil. What is in your Crisco? I know a long time ago it was just hydrogenated soybean oil, but someone mentioned it now has other additives like cottonseed oil.

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

Thanks, I'll try the higher temps on the oils and lye. The crisco is new, so I guess the new formulation. What about safflower, is that as soft as canola or about the same? I'll probably try this soap recipe again, but I have at least three other recipes I'm going to be using for the next couple of batches of soap. I'll let you know how it goes the next try. Thanks for all your help.

If these are your tester formulas, I would make the recipe as a 1 lb. In case it doesn't work out, you would have had less ingredients to waste.

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