# Why is my pre-soap separating?



## marusempai (Sep 16, 2007)

I tried to make soap for the first time today. Olive oil and coconut oil, water, lye, very, very basic. I (now clearly foolishly) decided to hand stir my first batch, because I had heard several stories about first time soapers stick-blending it to a rock because they didn't recognize the trace... but now my pre-soap, though slooooowly thickening, also keeps seperating. Is it supposed to do that? Did I do something wrong? I just keep stirring it back together, is there something else I'm supposed to do?


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

olive oil is a slow-to-trace oil, at least when it's blended by hand. i did the same thing when i started out and i swear it took nearly 3 hours.

i would opt for the stick blender and the threat of making a "brick in a pot" before i would try that again.


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

one thing i did was to set a burner on the stove to low and move the pot on and off to keep the oils warm. you don't want the oils to heat very much at all, but if they get cold, it will take forever if it happens at all.


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## marusempai (Sep 16, 2007)

Uh-oh, I thought it was supposed to get cold.  It is in a plastic container (one I don't mind loosing to the soap, lol), would it be the end of the world if I microwaved it a little?


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

you should get advice from some of the experienced hot process soap makers. that may save the ingredients for you. i am not one of the experienced HP people, so i defer to their experience. 

good luck!


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## marusempai (Sep 16, 2007)

Well, I put it in a larger container full of toasty warm water, so it is at least warm now. I am also hovering over it now, so it is getting stirred more often. If anybody has any more/better ideas, please let me know, I'm feeling a little foolish right now... :doh:


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

take a few tylenol before you go to bed because your arm may be a bit sore, lol. the oils need to be warm for saponification to happen. it can happen in nature in cold conditions...like when an animal dies near a pile of ashes from a forest fire, but in that case all of the extra stuff gets washed away. saponification also continues in soap when it finishes curing, but most of it has already been done. beyond that, you really need to have warm oils for it to happen in front of you. also, the choice of olive oil as a major player in the oil mix is a tough one if you choose to stir and the oils get cold. you just have a lot of tough conditions to overcome.

i wish i could advise you on hot process because that would probably be the best thing to do now, but i just don't have that experience. i guess the best you can do is to keep the oils warm and keep on stirring.


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## marinemomtatt (Oct 8, 2006)

My first soap making experience I also did by hand...never again!
The stick blender is FAST and it's very easy to recognize trace.
When you notice the mixture slightly thickening turn off the blender and lift it just over the mixture and drizzle some of the stuff on the surface, if it leaves trails you are about there. Let it rest about 5 minutes, blend a couple of minutes and it should be ready to pour into your molds. If not keep blending a couple more minutes and check for the trace trails again.
I have had a couple of soap batches trace and ready to pour in about 7 minutes...freaked me out because I thought I had done something wrong...~lol~...
I use EVOO, Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Cocoa Butter and Beeswax. I get great lather and firm bars.


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## marusempai (Sep 16, 2007)

Well, it finally did trace, so I poured it into its molds and it's currently about the consistency of cream cheese... so I think I saved it, thank you so much! Now I just have to wait for it to hard up enough to pop out of the molds without mushing it (it has only been in there for about twelve hours, so I'm doing ok now... right?).


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

if you made individual soaps, give them plenty of time in the moldor they may really stick and pull apart when you remove them. it's also a good idea to insulate the soap so it retains it's heat while it cures...so use a blanket or something to help it retain it's heat.

good luck.


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## marinemomtatt (Oct 8, 2006)

Yup...wouldn't hurt the soap at all to stay in the molds several days.


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