Teach Soap

Hi you soap veterans out there,

I just made my first batch of soap following instructions and recipe from Melinda Coss' book. I followed everything to the T, including the mixing temperature, which is 130 F in her book. The soap came out brittle. I was sure I didn't use too much lye, since I check several online lye calculator before proceeding. After hours of troubleshooting, I found one lady on youtube who tried 140 F and the soap came out brittle.

The following day, I tried the same recipe again, this time I mixed at 100 F, the second try came out beautiful.

Now, my question. Can the first batch be used since the failure was caused by the temperature, not the excess lye? Or do I have to rebatch it

Thanks so much!

I normally soap at around 110 degrees. Does the first batch zap? If it's that brittle, I would try to rebatch it.

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

That's such a good question about the temperature affecting the brittleness of the soap. Is it true? I've been paying so much attention to the correct measurements, and not the temperature. I try to make sure the lye/mix and oils are similar in temp., but some batches I mix hotter than others. And occasionally I will have a brittle batch. I took college chemistry (I won't say how long ago), and I still have more questions than answers.

I would get yourself a thermometer til you get the hang of it.

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

Thanks, I use a thermometer, just tend to over-think. I'm reading Anne Watson's "Smart Soapmaking". She gives some good advice about just relaxing and having fun with the process, at the same time, staying safe. Aargh!

You can get some good hints, tips and recipes here> http://www.millersoap.com/#Soap Contents

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

You're right. Thanks for the tip!