Oil on Top

by Cher Kilgore
(Illinois)

I made a batch of Goat milk, honey, Oatmeal soap. It came to a nice thick trace. I even hand stirred for a few minutes to make sure it wasn't a false trace.

Poured into my wood mold and lightly covered because I was told that milk and honey soaps should not be over insulated. I waited 24 hours and I now have a soft squishy soap on bottom and about a 1/2 inch to an Inch of Oil across the top of the mold.

I may have been a little short with the lye (my scale battery was dying and I didn't have another one handy.. I may have only put in 13oz instead of 16... could this be the problem? And is there any way to save it since I know for a fact it can't be lye heavy?

I've seen yes answers and no answers but no one will tell me how to save it! Please help it's sitting on my table and I'd hate to throw away 100 oz of oil!

Answer:

If your recipe contains 100 oz of oil then 3 oz is quite a bit of lye to be short.

To be honest, I haven't repaired a batch that was lye short before but I think I would try to rebatch the soap with a small amount of water and the missing lye.

Try rebatching the soap until it has gelled and then add in the small amount of lye solution and use the stick blender to mix it in. Pour into a mold and allow to cool.

I'm also going to refer you to Kathy Millers site...specifically her page on Troubleshooting Help...she has lots of good useful information.


Good luck,
Cathy