Sponiebr Posted December 10, 2016 Share Posted December 10, 2016 I really have no idea where else to ask this so I'll ask it here, because "I, I, I, oh here I stand before me..." (somebody might get that reference, but I doubt they'll admit it... ) So, are all y'all doing pH testing and if (yes, I used "if"), so what are you using? Tester? Reagent solution? Strips? Bits of lichen off of rocks? The old drop-on-the-wrist-and-see-if-it-smokes? Cheers, Sponiebr the ______________ (meh, get creative and fill in the blank) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted December 10, 2016 Share Posted December 10, 2016 For soap a good tongue test IMO is the most accurate to tell if soap is lye heavy. Strips are notoriously inaccurate, and reagent solutions are unnecessary and expensive. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrazeKelly Posted December 10, 2016 Share Posted December 10, 2016 20 minutes ago, Jcandleattic said: For soap a good tongue test IMO is the most accurate to tell if soap is lye heavy. Strips are notoriously inaccurate, and reagent solutions are unnecessary and expensive. Same here ? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted December 10, 2016 Share Posted December 10, 2016 Ditto... schmitto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherry Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 Ditto. here to 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 At what point do you lick the soap (chuckling...) Do you tongue-test every batch? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 1 hour ago, Terry said: At what point do you lick the soap (chuckling...) Do you tongue-test every batch? You wait until after saponification is complete. I don't "lick" the soap. I wet my finger, rub it on the soap, then touch it to my tongue. If it zaps, lye heavy, if not, neutral. A lot of times, as long as it's not lye heavy by a LOT then I just wait a few days and test again. It usually just takes longer to saponify completely if I get a spot here or there. Honestly after so many years of soapmaking, I don't tongue test hardly any of my soaps anymore. The only time I do is if they look "off" or like something is not quite right. A lot of times it's just a FO pocket, but you just never know... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sponiebr Posted December 11, 2016 Author Share Posted December 11, 2016 1 hour ago, Jcandleattic said: You wait until after saponification is complete. I don't "lick" the soap. I wet my finger, rub it on the soap, then touch it to my tongue. If it zaps, lye heavy, if not, neutral. A lot of times, as long as it's not lye heavy by a LOT then I just wait a few days and test again. It usually just takes longer to saponify completely if I get a spot here or there. Honestly after so many years of soapmaking, I don't tongue test hardly any of my soaps anymore. The only time I do is if they look "off" or like something is not quite right. A lot of times it's just a FO pocket, but you just never know... Wait a sec! YOU DON'T actually LICK your soap!?!?! I mean I do... I lick my soap from time to time... (Don't judge me...) Does that make me a bad person? (gawd... NOW I feel dirty...) Zap testing is my standard for checking CP and that's just FINE for CP. I was just wondering about the testing equipment because, gosh, with that High Temp HP stuff I can't tell if the burning and blisters in my mouth are from the lye or just from the heat of the hot soap... I want to be accurate y'know! If I have to keep zap testing boiling hot soap with my body parts, so be it... But, I dunno... I thought I'd at least ASK if there was a easier, softer way... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 9 hours ago, Sponiebr said: Wait a sec! YOU DON'T actually LICK your soap!?!?! I mean I do... I lick my soap from time to time... (Don't judge me...) Does that make me a bad person? (gawd... NOW I feel dirty...) Zap testing is my standard for checking CP and that's just FINE for CP. I was just wondering about the testing equipment because, gosh, with that High Temp HP stuff I can't tell if the burning and blisters in my mouth are from the lye or just from the heat of the hot soap... I want to be accurate y'know! If I have to keep zap testing boiling hot soap with my body parts, so be it... But, I dunno... I thought I'd at least ASK if there was a easier, softer way... With HP you wait until after it's set up. You don't tongue test hot soap, just like you don't tongue test just poured CP soap. The only thing that HP does is speed up saponification. Even if it does zap immediately after, that doesn't mean it is bad soap, it will just need to sit until saponification is complete, which will happen whether cooking it to completion, or letting it sit like you do with CP. It's a popular belief that because saponification is immediate wiith HP, it's okay to use as soon as it's set. Well, yes, that is true, you can, but you can also use CP after saponification is complete as well. There is no active lye left in either process (if made right) however, like CP, HP can benefit greatly from a 3-4 week cure. No I do not actually lick my soap. I sell my soap, and if I actually licked them, those bars would have to come off the market, and I'm not in the habit of sabotaging my business by purposely ruining inventory. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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