Teach Soap

As much as I want to jump in and start doing fun things like milk soaps, I know that I really need to ensure that I have the basics mastered first. (Patience is a virtue, just not one that I possess.)

I didn't keep great notes on the first 2 batches I made, but they took forever to trace, and didn't really reach full trace at all. I am wondering if the ambient temperature is impacting things. I keep my house pretty chilly - 65ish.

The first batch was 8% superfat:

coconut oil 76 deg - 16 oz
pomance - 16 oz
palm oil - 16 oz
Shea butter - 4 oz
lye -7.2 oz
water 17.2 oz

I don't have a stick blender, but I do have a cheap hand held mixer that I was using with only one beater to reduce the amount of air that would be incorporated. There was a definite transformation from clear oils to opaque soap, but it never really got anywhere close to pudding like. At best, it was like thin gravy. I ran the numbers through brambleberry's lye calculator. I will say I love the soap once it finally cured enough.

I am thinking that next time I will up my ambient temp and possibly discount the water a bit.

Thoughts/opinions from veterans?

That's weird that your recipe didn't reach trace. With those oils I would think you'd have no problem reaching trace. When you say it took forever, how long exactly?

We keep our house thermostat at 60 all winter long. Pretty much all my soap recipes contain high percentages of EVOO (pomace accelerates on me, big time) and it can take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour to reach trace. I think I'm weird though, I like that it traces slow, because then I don't have to rush to add anything, or swirl anything. A lot of times when blending it, I walk away for a while & do something else, then I come back and blend it some more.

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Genny

Somewhere around the hour mark I gave up and dumped into my mold. It took several days to harden up enough to unmold. I thought all was lost at first because by day 3 I could still smoosh it little bit. At the 3 month mark it is fine and the bars last a reasonable amount of time in the shower.

My kiddos have some wildly sensitive skin, so the only EO that I am using is tea tree oil to help with rashes on my 4 year old daughter. It has helped tremendously for her.

My next go round will be a straight lard soap with a 1% superfat (margin of error for a rookie) to use for laundry.

I have enough stuff to remake the first batch again, but I'd really like to find a way to shorten up the time to trace if possible. (Again with the whole patience isn't my virtue thing...)

I suggest that you get a stick blender. Regular mixers don't have enough shear. Sometimes you can find them in thrift stores or second hand shops. I bet that will make a difference for you.

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

I use a Hamilton Beach stick blender I got at Walmart for just under $20. I like that it comes apart for cleaning. It also comes with a whip. Once I pour my lye water into my oils it takes 5 seconds (not a typo) to reach a thin trace. It takes another 5 seconds for a heavier trace.

I usually only go as far as the first 5 seconds. Then I pour the soap into my pitchers of colorants and hand stir them. Whatever remains in the big pot gets the fragrance stirred in by hand. Then I quickly pour into my mold.

The really nice thing about the stick blender is that I can mix my titanium dioxide (TD) in my big pot of oils before adding the lye water if I want my soap base to be more white. Makes things a snap!

Get a cheap stick blender!

Jill

April, I would pass out at 65 degrees in the winter! In the summer though, I'll let the house get up to almost 90 before turning the AC on. I've come to the conclusion that I just like natural temps.

To bring this back on topic, I'm on my 3rd batch of soap and patience is not a virtue of mine for sure! I do like to smell the roses but wow stirring - yech!

I bought the inexpensive stick blender from Walmart and that made all the difference. I did a batch this morning of 16 oz lard and 8 oz CO to make laundry soap (the lard I bought had a distinct odor to it) at 1% SF. It achieved trace in under 10 minutes! I split the batter into two batches and used 2 different scents, one for me and one for my sister. I cannot wait to try these out!

This now means that soaping is something I can do after the kids go to bed if I want! Now I am off to make repeat batch of previous recipe and am going to use my new PVC pipe molds. I am very excited.

Thank you all for your helpful advice and for generously sharing your knowledge.

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

I've scented my laundry soap and it gives a very slight scent to the clothes. Nothing at all like a regular detergent does, though.

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

With the batch I made, I used Vermont Soap's liquid "castile" with an orange scent. I can smell it faintly when I pull them out of the wash and very very little after they are dried.

I made a second batch yesterday using the same recipe of CO/PO/OO/Shea Butter. I split the batter into two batches and scented one with Tea Tree Oil and the other with Lavender. I used 3" PVC pipes as molds. The TTO batch was approximately 1.5# and I added the TTO while it was still at a medium trace. I added the lavender to the rest when it was at full trace.

I stuck both pipes in a box to hold them upright and insulated it. The lavender came out beautifully, but there might be some air pockets in it because it was so thick when I stuck it in the mold. I didn't find any when cutting it last night, but *shrug* it is possible. However the top of the TTO cracked. This isn't a big deal because it is in a vertical mold, but I am curious as to why one cracked and the other didn't. Again, they both look great when cut. (Well, except for my inexact cutting, but that is a different issue!)

It sounds like the TTO soap may have gelled at a higher temp. It's not a problem, just something to be aware of the next time you use it.

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