Need some quick advice please

[classiccandle]

I'm attempting, for the first time, to make CP soap. I ordered a CP soap kit from Brambleberry and despite calling them yesterday and today and even emailing them I can't seem to get anyone to answer the phone or the email so I'm hoping someone here can help.

The coconut oil and palm oil I received are both liquid. Well, the palm oil is more like really thin pudding but the coconut oil is totally liquid. I thought they were both supposed to be a solid that needed melting but I guess I was mistaken (we keep our house at 79°). Anyway the recipe included in the kit calls for 6 oz of coconut oil, 6 oz of palm oil, 9 oz of olive oil and 1 oz of castor oil. Can I combine all of these in one bowl, taring each time I add one, and then heat them in a microwave?

Thank you!

[Misty]

It sounds like your oils got warm. They should be okay. I usually add all my oils together. I don't usually warm them in the microwave though. When I heated my oils, I did it on the stove. I don't tare the scale, I just put in say 6 oz coconut, and add palm until it weighs 12 oz, olive until it weighs 21 oz and castor at 22 oz.

[classiccandle]

Thanks Misty! I asked about the microwave because I do have Pyrex measuring cups but don't have a stainless steel pan for soap making and don't feel like going to Target to get one....lol. Will the microwave work or should I just suck it up and go get a pan? Is there an advantage to doing it on the stove?

[KrazeKelly]

I use the microwave 30 seconds at a time til almost all is melted. I stir til the rest melts so it doesn't get too hot.

[Misty]

No advantages I guess I'm just too impatient to microwave a little and check and re-microwave. But, I don't melt mine these days anyway, I use my hot lye mixture to do that for me.

[classiccandle]

That was going to be my next question. What happens if you don't heat up the oils and add your lye/water solution to them when it gets around 80-90°?

[Misty]

See I don't wait for 80 90 degrees. I add my lye to my water and stir until it is dissolved, and then add the hot mixture to my oils. This melts my oils without using any source of heat, other than the natural heat that the lye makes in the water. It saves time and electricity or gas.

[classiccandle]

And there's no adverse affects to doing it that way? I would definitely do it that way too if the soap turns out fine. I'm not expecting much since it's my first time so I think I'll give your method a shot. Plus, my co and po are pretty much liquid already...lol.

[TallTayl]

Congratulations on your new kit! Now the fun can start.

As for the liquidy state of the oils - as others have mentioned they should be perfectly fine. Coconut oil is liquid at 76 degrees.

I use the lye heat to melt my oils as others have mentioned. It can move things along pretty quickly, so it's best IMO to understand how to make soap before taking shortcuts. If this is your first batch, I'd stick to the basic 'rules', branching out to other methods once you get your feet under you. This way, if something goes awry it will be simpler for people to help you troubleshoot what happened.

Have fun! Welcome to the CP addiction.

[Misty]

Well, if your oils are already melted, let your lye solution cool down a little. But there are no adverse effects. Usually my oils are still hard and the hot solution melts them, so if yours are already liquid, you won't need to add real hot lye mixture. Let it cool down to maybe 115.

[classiccandle]

Thanks ladies for the advice and encouragement! One more question regarding Palm Oil. In one of her videos, Ann-Marie from Brambleberry, says it's important that the entire batch of palm oil gets melted each time you add some to your recipe because the fatty acid chains separate when the oil hardens and melting the entire batch helps get those fatty acid chains into the recipe. I watched another YouTube video by EdentiaFarms and she said to never scoop palm oil. She too says to melt the entire contents down. She buys palm oil in 55lb pails, melts the entire thing down and pours into one gallon containers. So, does it matter whether you melt the entire palm oil batch down and then add what you need to your recipe or not?

Thanks again!

Edited May 3, 2012 by classiccandle

[TallTayl]

Palm oil that has not been homogenized will tend to have the stearic acid portions settle out as it cools. This will result in very different soap qualities between the top of the container and the bottom of the same pail. The advice to melt and mix is wise.

I switched to the Homogenized after my first few 55 lb pails because dealing with that volume was a total pain in the rump.

[classiccandle]

Oh great, another subject I need to add to my research list - homogenized vs non-homogenized palm oil...lol! Well, I melted the entire palm oil batch down (it really isn't that much) and then added it to the recipe. We'll see how it turns out. Waiting for the lye solution to cool down just a bit before adding it to the oils.

[classiccandle]

Okay. I got it poured. I think I waited too long to add my fragrance. The recipe called for 1.4 oz so I added Sweet Pea and Vanilla from Candle Science and it set up pretty fast. It was almost like pudding by the time I got it into the container. Again though I think I also waited too long to add it. Another question. Do you just rinse the rest of the soap out of the bowl and the utensils in the sink in order to clean up? Is it safe?

I wrapped it in a towel and will post pics of it tomorrow. Should I try removing the soap in the morning or wait until later in the afternoon?

Thanks again for all the help!

[Misty]

I usually let the leftover soap in the bowl harden and clean it out the next day. I fill it with hot water and let it sit a spell and then it should rinse clean. I then wash it with some dish soap. Just check the soap in the mold and see if it is hard. If so, you can take it out. I usually take mine out the next day. Pudding consistency is okay.

[classiccandle]

Thanks Misty. I read somewhere where they recommended letting the utensils set out overnight before cleaning them so that's what I did. They're soaking in hot water now.

As promised I'm including pics. The soap probably isn't much to write home about but it's my very first batch so I'm just happy to see it solidified. I poured the soap into a cardboard box that came with the kit, lined with Reynolds Wax Paper, and wrapped it in a towel for almost 24 hours. Even though it was lined with wax paper the bottom of the box became very oily. Is that normal? Also, as you'll see in the pics, there appear to be small liquid droplets on top of the soap. Is that normal? Is it the oils that haven't saponified (hope I used that term right) yet? Will they go away? It's an ugly brown color because I used CS Sweet Pea and Vanilla FO and didn't put vanilla stabilizer in the recipe for two reasons; 1) I didn't have any and, 2) I wanted to see what color the FO turned the soap. It isn't very pretty. At least not to me. Is it ready to cut or should I wait another day?

Any suggestions or comments? Be brutally honest.

Edited May 4, 2012 by classiccandle

[Candybee]

First off-- a big congrats on your first batch! I think your first attempt teaches you so much that your next one you should feel a lot more confident. It doesn't look so bad to me. The 'drop's on the surface may be from the batch sweating. I get that sometimes when my batch overheats and its wrapped up in wax paper and covered with towels. So I quit covering in towels and no more sweating. But then I don't force gel so I don't know how others who do approach this.

Bet it smells awesome. I'm sure you are eager to test it out. I would cut off slivers each week and wash with them to see how the soap is effected by each week of curing. I'm guessing you may have already done this!

Sounds like when your kit arrived the oils had already liquified during transport in the heat. Coconut oil is typically liquid during the summer months and solid during the winter. If you oils are already liquid you don't need to bother with heating them. They would be 'room temp' soap ready. I prefer to soap with my oils at room temp.

[classiccandle]

Thanks Candybee! I haven't tried washing with it yet. Heck, I haven't even cut it yet...lol. I wasn't sure if I could test it so soon. I thought it had to cure 4-6 weeks before you could use it. If it is safe I'll try your method.

Is it best to just pat the top of the soap dry? Next time I won't wrap in a towel and see what happens.

I've learned one thing already. I do NOT like lining the mold. If this becomes something I want to pursue further I'm going to splurge and get the wooden molds with the silicone inserts. I've seen videos of people who use those and they look so much easier and the soap, at least to me, looks better coming out of the mold.

Now I need to find a good, reliable, reasonably priced supplier for my oils and such...

[Misty]

It looks good. It will however, depending on the amount of vanilla, darken over the next few days. I don't like lining either, so I use silicone lined molds.