Teach Soap

Hi My name is Debbie and I just recently became interesting in soap making(within the last 3 months). I've been reading books, watching videos, and searching the web. I just trying my first batch(1lb) of CP soap. I don't think it turned out, not sure, it wouldn't come out of the mold. So I looked and searched one of the books, and I think I may have just forgot to line the mold.

The batch was firm, yet a bit squishy Any hints, tips or suggestions as to what may have happened would be great before I try again would be appreciated.


Thnx,
Debbie

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Debbie

Welcome!
You definitely need to line your mold unless it silicone. What was your recipe and method? At what temp did you soap at? Do you have an accurate scale? For a small batch like 1 lb., I would convert the ozs. into grams for more accuracy.

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

Hi Debbie! Glad you're here! Sorry to hear about your first batch, and hope you don't get too discouraged. This forum is a wonderful resource!

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

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Debbie

For that size batch up to 6 ozs. of water (or liquid) will be fine. For a 6% superfat, you would need 2.3 ozs. of lye. How much lye did you use? Did it gel?

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

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Debbie

Ok then. It's possible that your batch didn't gel. Some ungelled soaps can be crumbly, or soft to get out of the mold. It's safe to peek. Take a look at this post I posted about soap geling. viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5450

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

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Debbie

The soap came out white/cream colored how could I tell if it gelled?

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Debbie

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

Well I think I did it!! I made a single 5oz bar/tester batch and it came out of the mold. Don't know if it gelled or not, but did the zap test too and it didn't zap. So now I think that the problem with the first test batch I did was NOT LINING the mold.

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Debbie

Congrats!

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

Thanks! I know it was just a SUPER SMALL "batch"(if you can call it that-LOL) but hey...guess I gotta start somewhere. I made it in a reusable KFC mashed potatoes container. So now I wanna try again.

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Debbie

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

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Debbie