Teach Soap

I tried my first batch of soap with a fragrance oil. I know the calculations were correct for 5% superfat. I split the batch in half at trace, added the FO to one and cocoa powder to the other, then swirled in the mold. 24 hours later (now), the soap had an oily pool on the top with what look like bubbles or crystals under it. I wiped all that off and cut it into bars, shearing off the bubbly/crystally looking stuff. There seem to be pockets of it inside. So--how do I save this in a re-batch? (lye heavy, I take it? Or did the FO foul things up?)

Did you check for zap? Did you reach true trace? Was the fragrance "soap safe" and incorporated well? Next time, I would go for a higher superfat; like 7%. I would leave that soap alone for now and check it again in a couple of days.

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

The soap was tracing when I added the FO, and it is one made for soapmaking. I blended it in with a stick blender. If the soap "zaps" in a few days, so I re-melt it, adding oil, and hope for the best?

The FO was vanilla.

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

After going through all my notes and thinking through my making of that batch, I know I did not forget an oil, weigh them incorrectly, or mess up on the lye amount. Maybe I had a false trace, as I usually pour at light trace (yes, I should develop more patience). Since the swirl didn't turn out anyway (the dark just overwhelmed the white), I decided this morning to cut it all up (44 oz), add a can of coconut milk, pour in some more olive oil (not much) for good measure, and re-melt and re-pour. If it is lye heavy, then the olive oil and fat in the coconut milk MIGHT solve the problem. Or I added too much extra fat. It doesn't really matter--I do this as a hobby for fun and personal use, and experimenting is fun, so if the soap ends up too soft or with DOS, so be it. I guess I will only know if I corrected any extra lye when I pH test it in a day or two. It will be super soft for a while due to the large amount of liquid I added; however, I added a lot of coconut milk to another re-batch of soap and at five weeks it has hardened up and is very usable (and super creamy).

Is there any reason to be concerned about too much fat in soap, besides DOS and the bars being soft?

If I decide it is too soft, can I re-batch a second time with beeswax to harden it up? Or does that just not work?

If it is still lye heavy, can I melt again and add more fat to try and correct again? I guess I could experiment and see what happens. That's part of why I enjoy this.

Some people do 100% coconut soap with 20% superfat. I think you will be fine. It just might take longer to harden. Do not add beeswax to any soap after it's been already made. That doesn't work. If you remelt it again a second time, be aware that it might make your soap a little crumbly.

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

Ok, thanks. Hopefully it will end up alright.

Why would anyone want to make a 100% coconut oil bar with 20% superfat? To sud up in salt water? Is the high superfat content to offset the drying effects of too much coconut oil? Interesting.

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

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