Soap making Question

[ametauss]

I'm new to soap making and I think it is just the BEST!!!

I was using the cucumber receipe from the hobby forum but didn't have palm oil... I did the substitue and ran it thru the lye calc....

Here's what happened....

I mixed almost frozen fresh goat's milk with lye....

let sit until it was 100 degrees...

Heated the oil but it got too hot so I put it in a sink with ice and a bit of water to bring the temp down to 100 degrees....

While my back was turned DDH decided to rinse his hands over my pot of oil....

so not sure how much water got in... I continued with the soap making and it did trace to a lovely dark cream color....

I added the cucumbers and a bit of honey and poured it in rinsed out, tops cut off 1/2 and 1/2 containers....

They're square and it seemed easier than finding or making a shallow box...

I waited 24 hrs before unmolding and when I cut them with a cheese cutter some of the slices had holes filled with oil....

Is this because of the extra water DH added?? Is it okay to still use???

 

[HarlansHollowFarms]

Quote:
I don't see where the extra H2O would cause oil pockets, at most the added water would just require more curing time so it could evaporate. Did you add your honey after trace, could it be honey pockets with air? If your oils and lye traced, I do not see it having water pockets.

 

[ametauss]

Soap was like heavy watery mashed potatoes.... just like everyone says it should.... I didn't let it get too thick like I did last time as it was harder to pour....

I added the honey and cuc's after it was potatoy and then mixed it some more.....

I didn't know if it was because I used the 1/2 and 1/2 containers instead of a flat mold.... it does seem to be drying so I'll just let it cure... cure... cure...

Thanks.

 

[cockadoodlemom]

Maybe if you post your ? on the soap makers help thread someone with a lot more experience than me could help you out.

 

[Morgaine]

Do the oil spots have any zap to them? If they do I would rebatch it. If there is no zap, I would let it sit for a couple of days and see if the soap re absorbs it. What superfat % did you use? You used the goats milk and it may have pushed your superfat up too high. I would give them a good 8 weeks to cure sice you don't know how much water got in there.

 

[Sherielu]

I have to admit that I love rebatching!

If soap does not look right, simply shred it or cube it up, put it in a slow cooker set on warm or low and leave it for a few hours.

Some recipes are just touchy. When in doubt rebatch and say it’s double milled.

 

[ametauss]

Do you have to add anything when you rebatch???

Is it as simple as melting the soap and pouring it into the molds again when it melts??

Do I have to use the stick mixer to get it to the mashed potato stage???

For this batch, I put in fresh cucumbers... will that make a different in rebatching???

 

[RockyToggRanch]

That's what happened to my first batch of goats milk and honey soap. Oily pockets. Someone said they could be lye pockets and not to use it. So I rebatched it and it came out fine. I just cubed it up in a big pot on low heat and added a tiny bit of water.