Teach Soap

Soi have ordered my oils and lye and they will be here tomorrow ( YAY!!! ) but i still have a few questions. I was originally planning on doing HP but figured i would do a CP batch also to see which I like best. first question, what is the best thing to mix the lye water in? I have a 8qt ss stock pot but i would like something a little smaller. Next do you add the lye water to the oils or vice versa or does it matter. Also from what I have read the cure time depends on what oils you use in your recipie since they all saponify at different times. My recipie is as follows:
Castor Oil: 2.93oz.
Coconut Oil: 5.85oz.
Olive Oil: 7.31oz.
Palm Oil: 5.27oz.
Mango Butter: 4.39oz.
Shea Butter: 3.51oz.
7% Lye 3.94oz.
Water 9.65oz.
What would the minimum cure time be for this? I have seen anything from 3 to 6 weeks. Also my scale only weighs at a .05 accuracy what would happen if i rounded everything up to the nearest 5? ( Like castor oil 2.95oz and the lye to 3.95oz. ) I also read that if you are going to be using a silicone mold in cp ( which is all i have at the moment ) that you should use sodium lactate ( which i dont have ) so you dont leave dents in it when unmolding. Csn I just line the silicone mold like I would a wooden one so I could just pull it out?

I would convert the ounces into grams for better accuracy. Cold process soap (whether gelled or not) needs at least a full 4 weeks to cure. Six weeks is even better.

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

A good rule of thumb is to round oils up and lye down. I agree with Irena 100%, convert to grams for better accuracy! You can also use salt to make a harder bar, in place of sodium lactate. I used to use 1/2tsp PPO, dissolved in the lye water.

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

ok so i converted everything to grams would i just use the first number ( Lye converted to 111.838 gm would i just use the 111? ) Never used grams to measure anything before. Also forgot to ask when i measure out my solid oils/butters, do i need to measure them in solid form or melted?

Yep, 111g.

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

You can measure the solid oils either way - hard or melted - whichever is easiest for you. This time of year, my coconut is always liquid and my palm stays very soft!

Also - you don't need to line a silicone mold. If your soap gels, it will usually harden more quickly and will be easier to remove. If it doesn't gel, it may take a couple of days before it's hard enough to unmold without denting it. I agree with Hestey about using salt added to the lye water. You can use up to 1 tsp per pound of oils.

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

Ok so i made it today! My lye water cooled down way faster than i thought it would so my oils ended up being about 20 degrees hotter than the lye water. Will that cause any complications i should know about? Also should i try to unmold in 24 hrs or wait 48?

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

ok here it is ta da! i do have a question about the tounge zapping thing. Im not real sure what to expect from doing that bu ti did it and didnt feel anything weird so its done saponifing right?

by , on Flickr

by , on Flickr

Very nice looking soap, ahutchins9!! Good job

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Carrie
Wife to my Best Friend and Homeschool mom to 7 beautiful gifts

Those are beautiful!! So creamy white, and the tops are lovely! Great job!!

Temp difference shouldn't matter, obviously If that happens again though, it's okay to wait an let your oils cool down. You can use your lye water at room temp.

And if you got a tongue zap you would know it! It's like licking a battery.

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Laura<3

Haha never licked a battery so I guess I'm good :p

You'd get a shock, hehe.

I just noticed all those soaps in the background of your second photo. If this is your first batch, what are those? Rebatch? Some of them are quite lovely from what I can see!

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Laura<3

Yes this was my first batch from scratch. The others are rebatched with bb's rebatch base

Very nice!! Looks extra creamy!

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist