bugtussle Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 My pots are fine today, scrapped out "soap" and washed. But the dummy is back! I unmolded the fresh soap. It is very, very soft and kinda crumbly. Is this normal? It is staying together in the big block (5x10), but I doubt I could cut it. Do I just let it dry out a little more. I touched it and it did not zap me. TIA Carole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 It probably won't zap to the touch. If it's gonna zap you have to taste it. Either wet your finger and rub it on the soap then taste or just stick your tongue on the soap. If it zaps, let it sit a few more days and try again. It takes a few days for the saponification to be complete. Crumbly many times does signal lye heavy but not always. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountainmadness Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 The two things that I have found that cause soap to crumble...1) lye heavy2) generic brand shortening (soybean oil) You might want to post your recipe so we can look at the oils and amount of lye that you used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugtussle Posted January 30, 2007 Author Share Posted January 30, 2007 Thks, Carrie. So when directions talk about letting it sit covered for 12-24 hrs and then cutting it, this is not always the case? This is only my 2nd time & the 1st time, I know I was NOT at trace, but I'm sure this soap was. The last time I put it in a cooker and made HP, it came out pretty good. If I can ever help you (with candles), let me know. Carole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugtussle Posted January 30, 2007 Author Share Posted January 30, 2007 Mountain:I used Rich's recipe from BC 16oz Coconut Oil16oz Palm Oil20oz Apricot Kernel Oil3oz Castor Oil3oz Soap Safe Fragrance Oil15.5oz Distilled Water7.9oz Lye (Sodium Hydroxide)Gel Tone Dye (optionalI did not run it thru a calculator and probably should have. Thks, CaroleJust ran thru Millers - 8.3 lye and 18.3 ozs water. Is this why it goofed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 I ran this thru the-sage.com calc and it says 7.89oz lye. That looks fine.Sometimes if the soap is still too soft it will be kinda crumbly and it will also crumble if it's too lye heavy. 12-24 hours is a general guideline but you have to gauge that for yourself based on your recipe. If it's too soft, it's fine to let it stay in the mold for another day, or longer.Always, always, always run recipes thru a soap calc. Never rely on someone else. There are many recipes out there with the wrong lye amounts posted. This one happened to be correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugtussle Posted January 30, 2007 Author Share Posted January 30, 2007 Thank you, Carrie. I'll just wait a few days. Carole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinInOR Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 Might be the FO that softened it up a bit - the recipe uses 1 oz per pound oil, which is fine, but some FOs do very weird things. Which FO did you use? Many times a site will say "soap safe", but only mean M&P, not cold process. My other question would be, where did you get your lye? With people searching for local sources, sometimes they get something that isnt' quite 100% lye. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bette Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 Just ran thru Millers - 8.3 lye and 18.3 ozs water. Is this why it goofed?Carole - Actually, your recipe is fine. I would have kept it in the mold longer - at least 24 hrs made with this recipe. The water discount will probably help it cure faster. The recipe is on the soft side tho, IMO. It will probably need a good, long cure (6-8 weeks) to harden up. Give it at least another 24 hrs before you try to cut. In any event, you're in range and your soap will be really nice after a good long cure. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugtussle Posted January 30, 2007 Author Share Posted January 30, 2007 I used WSP's, Blk Rasp Vanilla. It is on the CP list here on CT. The lye was bought from Robert at Taylored Concepts in Dallas. It was a little cool in the candle shop last night, but I did have it wrapped in towels. Think I will try again just use another recipe. Need to do a lot more studying. Making CP is a lot harder than whipping out a few candles. Thks, Carole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scent Cellar Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 My mold is a breakapart mold and I take my soap out of the mold after 18 hours or so. If it still feels a little wet or sticky I just leave it sit for another 6 hours or so and it seems to dry down enough that I can cut it easily without finger marks. The point is sometimes you should wait a bit longer to cut the soap. I know it's a hard thing to do especially when you make your first batches but it's worth the extra wait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CareBear Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 Making CP is a lot harder than whipping out a few candles. Thks, CaroleI beg to differ LOL!!! I can whip up a perfect batch of CP 8-10 times of 10 (depending on my swirl LOL), but candles are NOT coming easy!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeavenScentU Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 I just tossed 10 lbs. of soap that I made two days ago. It was soft like butter and I thought it was fine, but it had beads of what I thought was water on top and on the sides. It was a pretty loaf, but I found out it was lye not water. My hands were burning because I wiped off the beads not thinking what they were. Now I know to where gloves... I felt the burn....Ouch... I spoke with a chemical engineer friend and he told me what was the cause and to just toss it. What a waste... So I had to just make another batch after following a recipe that works.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugtussle Posted January 31, 2007 Author Share Posted January 31, 2007 Think I made soap!!!!! Still a little soft, but it's cut. Color off a little for Blk Rasp Vanilla. Thank all of you. Carole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scent Cellar Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Very pretty and I think the colors are great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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