My 1st attempt at Cold Pressed Soap making - where did I go wrong?

by Claire Benson
(Melbourne, VIC Australia)

Im new to this site so hello and l look forward to discussing soap making with you all.

So, I bought a soap making kit and I have to admit the instruction were hard to follow but I managed to make what looks like homemade soap.

I have just cut my block of soap into individual pieces of soap bars and I am happy with the colour and the smell. However around the soap edges it has come out really hard and crumbly, but on the inside its really soft and smooth, but sticky.

I know that when i mixed my lye and water with the oils I may have left it for too long before putting it in the moulds, however I was trying to reach the right PH level. In that time the mixture did start to go crumbly.

Is this where I went wrong? I would appreciate some advice from someone.

Also where is the best place to buy bulk oils from Australia?

Answer:

When I make soap, I pour the soap immediately after the soap reachs a nice thick trace. This stage looks like pudding and still flows quite well. I do not check for a certain pH level to be reached since the saponification stage will continue on its own in the soap mold.

I'm not sure what would cause your soap to be crumbly in the soap pan. Perhaps it was cooling rapidly? Or it was starting to sieze? Maybe the soap needed more insulation while in the soap mold.

Take a look at the instructions on my Cold Process Soap Making Tutorial page. Hopefully you will find them easier to follow.

For a list of soap making suppliers in Australia, click here.

Cathy