Lumps in Soap

by Sally
(Mossel Bay, South Africa)

How do you know that your soap is a flop, or that there is still some unconverted lye somewhere in your soap.


After tracing and adding EO and molasses, my dark brown mixture suddenly had many small light-colored lumps.

Some websites suggest the mixture was not mixed well enough and that the lumps are actually pure lye pockets! But the soap set well within 24 hours.

Answer:

One quick and easy way to find out if the lumps are hard pockets of lye is to dig one out of the soap, moisten it and place it on a white paper towel. If a brown, burnt like spot appears under the white chunk then I would not suggest using the soap.

If it does not burn the paper then let it cure and test it with some litmus paper or phenolphthalein. Handmade soap should have a pH somewhere between 7 and 10. Lye has a pH of 14 so anything over 10 is likely too harsh.

Cathy

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