Coconut Oil Soap Seized

This is my first time making 100% coconut oil soap and when I mixed the lye water mix to the coconut oil it started to thicken very quickly.


I hand wisked it for about 10 seconds and saw that it was like thick pudding. Afraid that it did not mix well, I stick blended to a stand still. Then just scooped it into the mold 15 minutes or less it stated to gel with no insulation.

While scooping it into the mold, I noticed liquids here and there, it was thick mash potato by the time I stuffed it into a mold, plenty of air pockets in there too I am sure.

SO could someone please tell me if this soap is any good or what can I do with it PLEASE.

I had the 5lb coconut oil at room temperature and the lye water mixture sat for about an hour before I mixed it, It felt hot, not warm, to the touch.

Answer:

The room temperature method requires that the lye water be poured onto the hard oils as soon as the crystals have dissolved. This ensures that the hard oils completely melt.

I'm not sure that I would attempt to use the room temperature method on a batch that was using only hard oils either. Definitely a situation where an ultra fast trace will occur.

I would also check your recipe to make sure the right amount of lye was used. The lye water should not still be hot after a whole hour.

The only way to tell if the soap is okay is to test it. Some people put the tip of their tongue on the soap and if it zaps like a nine volt battery, it may be lye heavy, especially if a week or so has passed. I personally am not a fan of putting my tongue on the soap so I would use pH strips to check the pH level. The soap should be between 7 and 10.

Cathy

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starstarstarstarstar 		100% Coconut Oil Soap
by: Anonymous

I make 100% coconut oil soap all the time. I tried the RT method and I found that my soap never hardened properly. Perhaps all hard oil is to much to get the lye to melt them properly?? Anyhow, when I use the cold process and get both the oil and the lye to 115 farenheit I have never had any problems and it even takes at least 6 to 8 minutes to get to trace. I've never had any seizing problems either even when I add my EOs or natural additives like oatmeal or poppy seeds, etc. It produces such a white bar. I love it. Cures quickly too. 3 weeks is all I've ever needed.
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starstarstarstarstar 		Temperature
by: Anonymous

I read on Bramble Berry that temperature is key. That between 120 and 130 degrees is the ideal temp for the oil and lye solution to be combined.
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starstarstarstarstar 		Recipe Information for 100% Coconut Oil Soap
by: asterickstar

These numbers were from soapcalc
My lye water was
Ingredient Pounds Ounces Grams
Water 1.9 30.4 861.825
Lye - NaOH 0.733 11.728 332.472

Total oil weight 5lbs
Water as percent of oil weight 38 %
Super Fat/Discount 20 %
Lye Concentration 27.838 %
Water : Lye Ratio 2.592:1

As per david fisher suggested on about.com to 20% superfat to make up the super cleaning effect which would dry the skin.

My oil is completely melted, liquid; as the weather here is hot in Cambodia.

Does it look like there is too much lye, I left the water at full 38%, I am too afraid to bring the number down, is it better to discount the water?

Answer:

Discounting the water will only speed up the trace time so I wouldn't do that.

Your recipe looks fine so I honestly don't know what might have gone wrong. Perhaps there was a miss-measure when you were doing the weighing? What about your water? Did you use the same water source as usual? If not, perhaps it contained some impurities that reacted with the lye? I'm just guessing now!

I suggest checking the soap's pH level to see if it is ok to use.

Cathy

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