Teach Soap

Because I have a friend that got the "itch" to make soap today...because I made soap, SHE finally gave it a go....okay....I'm happy for her...but I dunno....

Well...I have WARNED HER to NOT TRUST youtube...I have TOLD HER to read here, to lurk and to learn...she didn't so much do that....

What she did was this: she followed a youtube video...recipe is:

4lbs olive oil
1lb lard
470 grams lye
6cups goat milk
oatmeal
honey
something else like fragrance oil I think.....

I have tried several times running this several ways through every soap calculator thing I can find online and it just seems like WAY WAY too much lye...she says it is on a shelf doing it's thing as we speak....but I'm a little worried...

SHOULD I BE? Or am I just crazy over protective and worried for no reason? It just seems like an odd recipe by weights and volumes all mismatched and such...and when I convert things it doesn't come out right for me....input ya'll...I CRAVE hearing what you with more experience think....

For that size batch you would need 10.13 ozs. of lye (287.181 grams). Hers will be VERY lye heavy!
She would also need 20 to 30 fluid ounces of milk. If each cup is 8 ozs. then she added 48 ozs. of milk.
Even if the milk has some natural fats, it won't be enough to neutralize all the lye!
Sooo...it will be very lye heavy and with that much milk also soft.

I've seen this recipe online and it's a disaster waiting to happen.

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

Thank you...that's what I thought and the same numbers I kept coming up with in regards to the lye and the milk....

Explain something VERY clearly to me...please keep in mind BOTH she and I have been hanging around goat people who MAINLY focus in life on goat milk soaps...so I think as a group we have missing and misleading information A PLENTY....

Anywho...a lye heavy soap will be: A) potentially dangerous? B) VERY drying and harsh on the skin? C) no hope in high heaven of fixing that is there?

Just wondering what the outcome of this experiment will be....

Yes, The recipe as is is very dangerous. It will be so drying that it could take a layer of skin off and seriously burn someone.

470 grams of lye is 16.57 ozs.
You would need 104 ozs. of olive oil and 26 ozs. of lard, (16.57 ozs of lye) for a 7% superfat. Total milk for this size recipe would be 32 to 49 ozs. Original recipe called for about 48 ozs. of milk.

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

It's crazy with which self satisfaction and conceit people publish videos, tutorials , recipes and even books. It's not only somehow stupid but irresponsible. What happens when other obey those stupid instructions and recipes step by step?
I recently watched a German tutorial in which a young girl sat on the floor, weighing NaOH and adding it to water just in front of her lap as sitting on the floor. I couldn't watch the video to the end to detect more technical and hygienic mistakes, I only changed the site.
This is one of those case. Internet could be very helpful but you can not trust everything you watch and read in it.

Well, by the way, anybody should make his own mistakes to learn.

_________________
Genius is 1 % inspiration and 99 % perspiration

The problem I'm seeing over and over again is from people that think they can make soap today and sell it tomorrow. They are "experts" after only a couple of batches under their belt. There are e-zines and tuts all over the net (and some you need to pay for) that don't take into account ANY safety issues, they measure in cups and/or spoons, which are grossly innacurate, use lye from the store that is not pure and has metal flecks in it!!! (a big no no), use things like crayons for color, use candle fragrances, which should NEVER be used on the skin... the list goes on and on.

Did you know there was a "soaper" and I call her that very loosely, that advocated using those gel air fresheners as a fragrance in soap? I know my mouth must have gaped open a mile wide.

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

This problem is only confounded when well known soapers advocate and encourage selling CP soap after only 10 or batches.

_________________
The Soapinatrix! *whip-crack*
- Posting the trials and tribulations of my Soaping Journey!

Could you get your friend to join this forum?

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

She's not a big forum person...haven't talked to her today...but after finding and watching the video...though questionable in some aspects I am thinking A) she either left out VERBALLY last night something she used (one of the oils) or B) REALLY DID forget one and will be disappointed a bit...

Yes, I agree too many people preach that soaping is just like cooking...follow the recipe and it should work and be viable...both can also be a disaster if you do something wrong along the way...

How much experience is enough to say your are "experienced"? Who knows for sure...some people can nail stuff in no time and just KNOW what they are doing...others are like me and ALWAYS second guessing...

What gets me is the inconsistancies you find ALL OVER - books, the net, etc....with cooking chicken must always reach a certain temp to be considered "safe" but it seems there is no rule book safety stuff in regards to soaps...and honestly....I don't want to even go there....not worth...

Suffice it to say I hope she made a mistake in telling me her ingredients...and I REALLY hope she has something resembling soap in the end....

_________________
Making soap one loaf at a time - it's better than bread 'cause soap doesn't have calories!

I don't know her, but I really, really hope that she doesn't try to sell or even give away this batch.

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

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

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

I have had a problem with my soap oozing some. I find it very concerning but I know the recipe is good since it is the one I have used for the past year. People tell me it is because of the heat. It seems to suck back in as the soap ages

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

That's a HUGE batch for a first time soaper.

This won't end well.

_________________
www.facebook.com/Semplice-Naturals