Another Batch of Soap Ruined *sob*

May 18, 2011 by | 12 Comments

Yep, it happened to me AGAIN. I made a double batch of Bye Bye Bugs Soap on Monday, and left out the olive oil. DOUBLE BATCH. It makes me ill just thinking about it.

The worst part is that I ignored all the warning signs – and they were there!

    1. I shouldn’t have been trying to make two batches at the same time. In addition to the Bye Bye Bugs batch, I was making the Caribbean Diva at the same time. Probably got me distracted when I was measuring. (Thankfully THAT batch turned out fantastic!)
    2. It’s been several months since I’ve made a double batch in the big soap pot, but I was still thinking it seemed a bit low when I added the lye solution. I brushed it off, pridefully thinking, “Of course everything is in there! I remember adding all of it!”
    3. It actually traced rather quickly. This time I attributed it to the steep water discount.
    4. Then of course the molds weren’t all the way full. That should have really set off the alarms. Guess what I told myself at that point – “Oh, it’s just because of the water discount, and I think I recalculated this recipe so I wouldn’t have so much scrap left over after I cut it.”
    5. Final straw – very hard and brittle soap the next day. My poor soap cutter could hardly handle it!
Ruined Bye Bye Bugs Soap

Now I have 30 pounds of soap to send to Clean the World, which includes the batches I made in the Story of Two Soaps. This could make me incredibly depressed, but I’m choosing to see it as a blessing for those who will receive the soap from Clean the World in its rebatched state.

All the Bye Bye Bugs Soap that will be going bye-bye!

Today, I’m melting more oils for another double batch of Bye Bye Bugs. Oh and another regular batch of soap – something new and summery. I’m thinking it will either be Sweet & Sassy (which I’ve made before) or Tahitian Vanilla (a fragrance I’ve been holding onto for no good reason). I’m also making my first test batch of shampoo bars. I think that’s it. You would think I would learn my lesson about making more than one batch at a time. But have you seen my curing rack??? It’s nearly empty!

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  2. Oh Amy, I feel your pain, my sister! I’ve goofed up a batch of Poison Ivy Soap recently, as well as my “spongy” Palmarosa-Mimosa -BOTH double-batches! AAAARRRRRGH! Oh well, it keeps me humble. 🙂

  3. Oh, how sad! I’m sorry! The last time I tried to make two batches at once, I put the fragrance in the wrong colored soap. It shouldn’t be difficult, but it is!

  4. Thank you for commiserating in my pain! Seems we’ve all had our “not so finer” moments! Like The Soap Sister said, “keeps me humble”!

  7. Hi Amy,

    I agree with your positive and giving attitude about a not-so-successful initiative turning out to help others in need. By the way, Leslie can very much relate, as many other soap makers can, to trying to be as practical and multi-tasking as possible. Don’t beat yourself up for that. It was complete understandable to try to tackle the Bye Bye Bugs batch and Caribbean Diva soap together. And so many people through Clean the World will benefit from our ambitious effort:)

    I look forward to finding how how Tahitian Vanilla turns out. All the best!

  8. At least it traced and set – my personal favourite disasters usually involve coconut oil batches that separate out even after they looked to have traced well. It’s so horrible ending up with a mess of slime and mush, and it’s the only time I ever get my hands burned working with my soap. 🙁 I find that not all coconut oils are created equal, and some don’t play nice!

  9. After 8 years of soaping I still prefer to make one batch at a time because I find it stressful to try and do more then once at a time. Also I like to give my full focus to each batch. Every now and then I’ll split a batch in half but make sure one is very simple in it’s design. My last batch was Kailua Bay which was a full log and it got lumpy and seized so I had to rebatch it all the next day. It’s fine but not at all the design I had in mind and take more time in the end. That’s great yours will be used for a good cause.

  10. Oh Amy, you’re not the only one. I have done this before and, like you, convinced myself the whole time that I’d done it all correctly. It makes GREAT laundry soap for all my friends and family 🙂 Stay positive!

  11. Amy, keep your spirits up. Your “mistake” may help save the lives of children and families in desperate need of better hygiene.

    We at Clean the World (www.cleantheworld.org) appreciate your soap donation and will distribute the soaps to people in need — all around the world.

    As you know, in two years we’ve worked with more than 1,000 hotel partners in North America, and handmade soap makers like you, to put lifesaving soap in the hands of children who suffer from the spread of preventable diseases.

    Soap saves lives — even if the bars are imperfect. After all, we’re all imperfect, aren’t we?

    Thanks for helping Clean the World.

  12. @MattG – I just love your organization!!! Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. It really does help me feel better! 🙂

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