# Well, I Tried....



## H Diamond Farms (Jun 3, 2011)

And failed, lol. My soap never traced... What are causes of this? Can lye go bad? I ran my recipe through the lye calculator. The only thing that seemed odd is the lye/milk didn't seem to get as hot as I thought it would.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

I have had an all oil batch not trace, but I poured it anyway and it set up perfectly.

Lye can't go bad unless moisture gets to it. Even then I have remelted clumpy lye and it did fine. Vicki


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## H Diamond Farms (Jun 3, 2011)

Hmm, it's lard palm oil and safflower


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## a4patch (Oct 7, 2009)

Rachel, Have you made soap successfully with water yet?


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## H Diamond Farms (Jun 3, 2011)

Do I have to answer that question? Lol. 
I will be following the Walmart recipe next round, promise! 
I put this stuff in the molds. It's kinda setting up. We'll see what happens with it, lol


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

It is so important to get some successful batches under your belt. Use water, ditch the whole goatmilk thing so you succeed. Then move slowly into milk and color and scent and swirling and and and


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## H Diamond Farms (Jun 3, 2011)

But what's the fun in that? Lol


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## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

Did you freeze your milk? Mine doesn't heat up like it would with water using frozen milk (and I ALWAYS use frozen milk). Try changing out the palm with coconut. How long did you wait for trace and are you using a stick blender?



H Diamond Farms said:


> But what's the fun in that? Lol


LOL! You're right!!!


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## H Diamond Farms (Jun 3, 2011)

I used slushy milk. It is definitely getting firmer. More so than my oils would be. I stirred by hand. And stirred for about an hour and a half.


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## Faye Farms (Sep 14, 2009)

Stick blenders are your friend. Trust me! Instead of stirring for 1 1/2 hours you just buzz it a couple of times with the stick blender and it's ready. We're talking maybe a minute or two at most.


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## H Diamond Farms (Jun 3, 2011)

My mom decided to go to town and get one about 45 minutes in. Then she got a flat tire, lol. So, we didn't get one


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## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

Yes, get a stickblender. Although I have to say, the WM recipe does not trace for me in a minute or two. It seems like forever. A lot of times, I'll stick blend it, walk away, then go back and finish.


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## a4patch (Oct 7, 2009)

H Diamond Farms said:


> But what's the fun in that? Lol


 The fun is....that once you have some successful soap under your belt, you will be so hooked you will not want to stop. If you do not have a successful batch you will get discouraged and quit. We do not want that happening.


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## Caprine Beings (Sep 19, 2008)

"Hmm, it's lard palm oil and safflower" Rachael . 

:biggrin You will find that safflower will take longer to trace...it will take a little longer to cure...but its worth the wait. I make a crude safflower so thats how I know. With the other ingredients your should have come to trace later but hardened faster (lard and palm  ).

Tam


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## tlcnubians (Jan 21, 2011)

Without a stick blender it will wear you out trying to get it to trace. I seldom stick blend my soap for more than 30-40 seconds. . .


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## H Diamond Farms (Jun 3, 2011)

I bought me a stick blender, it was $10 off at the register to boot, so that made me happy, lol. 
My soap has set up and I unmolded it last night. Now we wait, lol.


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## tlcnubians (Jan 21, 2011)

It will be just fine. Congratulations! Ultimately, most soap is pretty forgiving.


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