Have you ever had soap seize up on you when you added a certain fragrance oil or additive?
Have you ever had soap separate when in the mold due to not enough stirring?
I think every soapmaker at one time or another has experienced one of these issues. I had something happen just the other day and I wanted to share it with you.
I was making a beautiful layered soap using fresh avocado. I divided my soap out, colored each container, grabbed my mold and BAM! Each of the containers of soap got super thick!
My essential oil blend included some spice essential oils. I knew it would move quickly, but didn’t anticipate that it would move this quickly.
I managed to get the first layer poured, then the second…then went to pour the third layer. It was instant soap on a stick.
I added a bit of warm water and tried to stir into submission. It help to loosen it up a bit. I glopped it into the mold.
A few minutes later the water started to come out of that last layer. I soon had a soupy mess! What to do?
I grabbed my Crock-Pot and dumped my soap into it.
I used a spoon and chopped it up in the pot. I laughed at how much it looked like chopped avocado, since it did contain fresh avocado puree! Who brought the chips to this party?
I set my CrockPot on high and let the soap warm up. This pushes it through gel phase. Once the soap is completely in gel phase, you can mix it up well to get everything blended back together.
Once it was all mixed up, I glopped it into my mold. Not the most beautiful soap, but it will be nice to use!
And here is what the soap ended up looking like! For being an avocado soap it actually turned out looking like avocado!
Photo by Busy Bee Creative – Product Photography
So I want to encourage you to never throw a batch of soap out if something happens when making it. As long as you have the correct oils and lye, you can dump it into a CrockPot and hot process it.
Happy Soaping!
Amanda Gail
My very first attempt at soap making. I’m doing hot process and the recipe said to NOT stir. Oh my gosh it is all clumpy and still zaps my tongue. It’s been cooking for 50 minutes and it’s beginning to burn!! What am I doing wrong and can it be saved?
Has anyone ever used crockpot liners to do soap in?
Can a batch of soft soap be saved? It was a hot processed soap and I think the lye and water ratio was wrong. The recipe was Nerdy Farm Wife’s Dandelion Soap. When I ran it through Bramble Berry’s recipe calculator the liquid is 1.1 oz over and the lye is .07 oz under. Can this soap be saved?
Hi! The same thing happened to me and with avocado soap,as well.Once I poured the lye in, it took about 30 seconds,I’m not kiding, and the spoon got stuck like King Arthur’s sword.Into the pot it went,and just like any other rescued soap, dind’d look all that good, but turned out really great to use.And I like the rustic look,so, it all came together well. Thankyou for sharing all your knowlege, It´s so helpful to all. Big hud all the way from Portugal to you ♥
Am I able to add a little more fragrance to it? I have one batch that I made w bedtime and I hate it so would love to.add a little chanel to it :/ I’ve never done hot process but I really want to try it 🙂
I absolutely love your soaps!
Hi, I am make CPS just one time, and my first experience was terrible ,
Then I read more about HPS, and for my, was more easy I plan make soaps only for hobby, and family , and help me with some Deprecion days…and you helping me in this,…thank you, …cuestion, my daughter is going to have a baby, I like to make some soap to give away,… Recommendations ? I only make 3-4 different soaps for me,,
Hi Miss Amanda! I am new to soaping and didn’t know about rebatching soap. I just had my first batch seize up so fast that I panicked. I did put it in my mold and it didn’t get as hard as I thought it would be. Can I still do a rebatching? And how much oil can I still add? It was a small test batch, just under 1 lb.
thanks Lucy.
Thank you for this information, Amanda. This is so helpful to me. When I first started to make soap, which is only about 6 months ago, my 3rd batch seized. It turned rock hard as soon as i put the fragrance in. It was a wonderful apple scent, but at the time, I thought my only choice was to toss it. If I had only known! It smelled soooo good! Really made me sick, not to be able to save it. I will never throw a seized batch away again, thanks to you. One other question for you…if I had known to do this, could I have put a little color in it while hot processing it? Thank you for all you teach us. Your avocado soap looks amazing!
Hi Barbara! Yes, you could add some color to HP soap. Pre-mix dry color with a little glycerin or oil to make it easier to mix in.
Good thinking Amanda! This has been my process for almost 16 years now! I love Hot Process Soap making.
Love it! I totally want to lick that soap…and the soap dish is killer (not gonna lie; I might hurt somebody to have that soap on display in my WC). Thx for the HP love. 🙂
Great tip, Amanda. Excellent save! I can’t believe how good that avocado soap looks! Yum! I need to get me some guacamole. It’s like you actually meant to do that.
I’m so pleased with it! The end result totally matches the theme. 🙂