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Cleaning Up:  castile soap  |
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LenaSassafrass
True Blue Farmgirl
69 Posts
Leanne
Hamilton
Montana
USA
69 Posts |
 Posted - Sep 25 2010 : 11:01:19 PM
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Hey ladies:) Who here has made castile soap? I tried making my first batch lastnight and was not sure if I was seeing the tracing correctly or not...I stirred it for about 50 min and then put it in my mold. The recipe that I used says that newbies have a hard time seeing trace with castile soap so if you've stirred for nearly and hour the tracing is probably there...you're just not seeing it. I checked it this morning and had to restir the little bit of olive oil on top back into the rest...Excited to see how it ends up turning out! So far I think all is well as this batch doesn't have that harsh lye smell like my first one did; so we'll see!
Leanne
Maizy-brownswiss/jersey
Sassafrass-06/20/10 |
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melody
True Blue Farmgirl
3317 Posts
Melody
The Great North Woods in the Land of Hiawatha
USA
3317 Posts |
Posted - Sep 26 2010 : 01:20:54 AM
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I have been making soap a very long time and you have mentioned before a harsh lye smell? I have never experienced that at all.
Also....are you using a stick blender? It works much better than "stirring" and doesn't take me 50 minutes to achieve trace.
Are you following a recipe?
I know of a tried and true web site sponsored by a good friend of mine and she is a very good soapmaker with a lot of experience. She might be able to give you advice... here is her link. You might want to pop on over there and take a look Leanne!
http://www.millersoap.com/trouble.html
Melody
Farmgirl #525
www.lemonverbenasoap.etsy.com
www.bythebayhandcraftedsoap.blogspot.com |
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LenaSassafrass
True Blue Farmgirl
69 Posts
Leanne
Hamilton
Montana
USA
69 Posts |
Posted - Sep 26 2010 : 8:04:14 PM
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I did follow a recipe for the castile soap. The lye smell was really strong in the last batch I made. I even let it sit for 2 months to see if time was all it needed and it still smelled very strong of lye fumes. This soap is beginning to harden up and doesn't have a smell really to it now. The olive oil isn't trying to seperate anymore so I'm going to let it sit until its harder. I guess castile soap just takes much longer to saponify.
I have not used a stick blender yet...I am looking into getting one though because the 50 min of stirring was pretty long!
Maizy-brownswiss/jersey
Sassafrass-06/20/10 |
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melody
True Blue Farmgirl
3317 Posts
Melody
The Great North Woods in the Land of Hiawatha
USA
3317 Posts |
Posted - Sep 26 2010 : 8:52:40 PM
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All soap is made with lye-Can't make soap without it. Saponification is the chemical reaction that occurs when a vegetable oil or animal fat is mixed with a strong alkali (lye). However, once the lye is mixed with distilled water and with your oils, soap is formed, thereby eliminating the lye completely. Handcrafted soap, as well as any soap has to have lye in it to get true soap, but soap has NO lye in the final product because it has all been reacted with the oils to form soap and glycerin.
I really don't think what you are "smelling" is the lye. If your soap went through the process of saponification the lye is gone-I think what you are smelling is the vegetable oil or animal fat or whatever you used to make your soap. I have never heard of soap smelling of lye fumes after a period of 2 months.
Leanne, maybe you should check your recipe again.
Can you tell me what you used for ingredients? Maybe I can give you some advice...
Melody
www.lemonverbenasoap.etsy.com
www.bythebayhandcraftedsoap.blogspot.com |
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msdoolittle
True Blue Farmgirl
1143 Posts
Amanda
East Texas
USA
1143 Posts |
Posted - Sep 28 2010 : 07:15:59 AM
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I just watched soap being made on Sunday, and our soapmaker used her "Magic Wand" AKA electric drink mixer to stir the soap. She said otherwise you'd have to stir for about an hour, so I think a "Magic wand" would be a very worthwhile investment!
Also, the only time we smelled lye was when it was combined with the water before adding fats, before saponification. At no time otherwise did we smell lye, so something doesn't sound right here.
FarmGirl #1390
www.mylittlecountry.wordpress.com |
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SusieK
True Blue Farmgirl
167 Posts
Texas
167 Posts |
Posted - Oct 01 2010 : 09:36:54 AM
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Could someone give me a good basic recipe for homemade soap? Where does everyone get there supplies from?? Thank you
Be Safe & Be Blessed |
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Cleaning Up: castile soap |
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castile soap
