Teach Soap

Hi there,
I've been making soap for about a year and love it. I use the same recipe almost every time (Soap Essentials Bar from Susan Cavitch's book) yet adjust it for 1 pound, 2 pound and 4 pound batches. It is I have used the 1 pound recipe over and over and never had a problem.

However, the last 5 batches I have made have traced very very slowly (about an hour) and then after placing them in my wooden mold, covering them and insulating them for 24 hours, the do not harden, are extremely soft and gooey and unsuable. I have checked and my scale and electronic thermometer are accurate. I adjust my recipe using my Brambleberry Soap Calculator and I buy only Brambleberry products so I know its good stuff.
My recipe for 1 pound is:
149 g Olive Oil (I buy it at the grocery store)
114 g Coconut Oil
98 g Palm Oil
52.7 g Lye
119 g Distilled Water

**I didn't use any essential oils - is that the problem? Can anyone give me suggestions on what I am doing wrong? I'm very frustrated with myself. Thanks for any help you can provide and am about ready to give up.
Thanks. Darla

Is it possible that your olive oil is adultarated?

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

Hmm...I'm thinking maybe the olive oil, too.

Are you soaping at the same temp you've alays soaped at?

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Genny

There was a show on our local TV saying that 60% of ALL olive oils imported are adulterated with other oils. This is quite interesting:

IMPORTED OLIVE OILS:

Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Two out of three samples failed.
Bertolli Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Three of three samples failed.
Pompeian Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Three of three samples failed.
Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Two of three samples failed.
Star Extra Virgin Olive Oil: One of three samples failed.
Carapelli Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Three of three samples failed.
Newman's Own Organics Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Two of three samples failed.
Mezzetta Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Three of three samples failed.
Mazola Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Three of three samples failed.
Rachael Ray Extra Tasty Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Two of three samples failed.
Kirkland Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil: All samples passed.
Great Value 100 percent Extra Virgin Olive Oil: One of three samples failed.
Safeway Select Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Two of three samples failed.
365 Everyday Value 100 percent Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Two of three samples failed.

DOMESTIC OLIVE OILS:

Corto Olive Extra Virgin Olive Oil: All samples passed.
California Olive Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil: All samples passed.
McEvoy Ranch Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil: All samples passed.
Bariani Olive Oil Extra Virgin Olive Oil: One of two samples failed.
Lucero (Ascolano) Extra Virgin Olive Oil: All samples passed.

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

Well, I had tried a different olive oil but when the batch failed, I went back to the old olive oil that I used to use.

As for the temp, same temp I always used ...85degrees. Although I did try a batch at 90 and 100 and still no go.

Does lye ever go bad?

Olive at a low temp takes a loong time to trace. Try higher, like around 110 degrees (US).

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

Thanks for everyone's replies. As for the lye, it comes in a sealed container and I go a step further and put it in a iiplock baggie. I am trying one last batch today with a different thermometer. If that doesn't work, then I'm throwing out all the oils and starting anew by buying all new stuff. Thanks...keep your paws crossed.

Is your ziplock bag inside a heavy plastic container? Ziplock bags actually let air and moisture in (to an extent), so your lye could get ruined in one.

_________________
~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist