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Tried sodium lactate on my latest batch. Didn't seem to help? (lemmy.world)
submitted 11 months ago by to c/soapmaking@sh.itjust.works
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Made olive oil soap 2-weeks ago, still soft enough to take a thumbprint. This is my 5th try, same recipe, doesn't seem any harder than the previous batches. Am I expecting too much from sodium lactate?

It's stashed on a BBG grill inside the house's HVAC intake. Usually a great place, but we're not running heat or air ATM. 🤷🏻

Should I try gently baking it? Scared to ruin it, can't really afford more olive oil. One reason I roll my own soap is to save money. We burn through a bar of Irish Spring every week. My previous olive oil bars lasted me (alone) a month or so.

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[–] 2 points 11 months ago

I haven't used sodium lactate in my bars so I can't really comment there, but I can suggest giving it more time to cure (say 6-10 weeks) before drawing any conclusions. I'd also suggest incorporating other oils to firm up your final product; coconut oil tends to set a bit firmer than olive oil alone. I recently tried a recipe with soy wax ($20/5 lbs) that set way firmer right off the bat than other OO/CO batches ive made in the past. I'll report back on the durability of that batch once its had time to cure.

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