contaminated lye

[tijuanad]

Just a word of caution. I have been as soapmaker for 8 years and this year alone I have made 12,000 soaps via hot process. I buy my lye from a local chemical company. I have had good results with Thialand lye and Spanish lye. My chem company switched to lye from China, and I ordered 4 55 kg bags to get me through the winter, and when I started using the lye, my soap didn't turn out. Sometimes it separated, sometimes it just was soft and crumbly. I replaced all my utensils, scales, pots, blender, etc. and the only thing left was the lye. I got a bag of Spanish lye from another supplier and did two batches simultaneously to see the difference. the Chinese lye didn't totally dissolve in the water, but left grainy white bits. Also the Chinese lye was not like the little pearls, but rather like a powder, although it said "pearls" on the bag. The spanish lye soap turned out beautifully and the Chinese lye failed. So after 15 failed batches and lotsa money spent, I realized there was something in the Chinese lye that inhibited the saponification process. My supplier replaced my bags, from another one of their fellow chemical companies (very good of them) but I realize now that I can only use the Spanish or Thailand lye. Chinese lye is probably a good price for chem companies to buy, and for most uses it is great. But, like, me, if you are tearing your hair out trying to figure what went wrong--check your lye!

[SavonSoap]

Thank You!
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Too blessed to be stressed!

[Confused]

Anything from China is suspect. I HATE when I find out that something I have bought is from China. You just never know what the hell they've added to their stuff to 'stretch' it. So many chinese suppliers are totally without conscience.

I bought some hyaluronic acid from a supplier who sourced it from China. I used it at .5% in my formula. When I switched to another brand from a U.S. supplier, I had to reduce that amount to .2% for the same recipe. So that tells me the original was not pure. This ingredient thickens and I only need .2% of the U.S. product.

[debwya]

I wonder if thats whats happening with the lye you purchase at Home Hardware? Previous posts have said that the texture is different and it's not turning out now.
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Debra

[caz]

Crap - don't say that about Home Hardware lye.

Thus far (fingers crossed) I have not had any issues, and I buy my lye from Home Hardware.

I wonder if I should call the manufacturer of the lye they carry to see if they have changed their ingredients.

I would sure hate to make soap and have it fail because of it - I can't afford that!

[soapbuddy]

Thank you for the heads up.
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Irena
My ArtFire Shop - Ginger's Garden Shop

[lily]

Thank you for posting that.

As I had so (too) many problems with my soap batches recently - that is not normal - I seriously was wonderfing about the lye.

I will ask my supplier if this lye comes from China.

As some of you, I HATE buying ANYTHING that comes from China. I don't know if you heard about this problem with honey we had some years ago. It was honey coming from China and it had been packed into jars that had contained petrochemicals before (obviously, they had "cleaned" them before putting the honey in) Tons of honey delivered all over the world were contaminated. ...

this without telling about so many other "scandals".

I would NEVER buy ANYTHING coming from China that can be eaten. Even if it is well packed and cheaper. I think I am a maniac about it. It is impossible not to buy anything coming from China nowadays, but I try to avoid.

Poor you, this is really a waste of money and energy. This makes me shiver. The problem is that the suppliers, more and more, import many things from China.

Even at New Directions, I check if something comes from China and honestly, I boycott any product coming from that country.
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lily

[Purple]

you know, i feel terrible saying it but i feel the same way. nothing against anyone of chinese nationality who might read this thread. it seems the country is so huge and grew so fast that there's not real quality control. the bit with the contaminated baby formula is the one that upset me the most. killing off innocent babies...their OWN babies. it made me sick.

i will not buy an EO made in china.

to be fair, i am sure that if i dug around there are similar horror stories in the US manufacturing past...it would be an interesting read, i'm sure.

all in the name of the money.
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www.petfinder.com
The Pedantic Pecking Preening Purple Pullet of Pandemonium

[lily]

You are right, Purple.

Myself, I should have mentioned that my opinion is not directed against Chinese people but against a system that makes them work very much for little salaries and everything is in the boss' pockets.

People's exploitation is not Chinese ! You are right that there are lots of problems here too (so many). And we have our own scandals.

Poisoning the earth is not only a Chinese problem. Therefore, I cannot think otherwise about products imported from China. MOstly anything that has a concern with foods, cosmetics, etc.
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lily

[jackisayswhat]

Unfortunately this is a self-perpetuating problem... the Western world bemoans China when there's a recall or whatnot without EVER taking responsibility for propagating the problem! We outsource jobs over there because it's cheaper... we send all our manufacturing over there because it's cheaper... well, HELLO PEOPLE!!! There's a reason it's cheaper! Because they have looser restrictions.... and why in the world would they tighten up when it's so profitable for them as it stands? ARGHHH!!! And everyone's fine and dandy with all their Chinese made crap until there's a recall on baby formula (like Purple mentioned) and then it's CHINA'S fault. Meanwhile the poor Chinese people work so hard for so little (like lily said) and have low qualities of life.

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! (Where's Randi's thread? LOL)

Disclaimer: Rant not directed at anyone here but rather at the abstract powers that be that eff everything up for the sake of saving half of a penny.
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"There never was a good war or a bad peace." -Benjamin Franklin

[Purple]

srsly, you're right, we get what "they" pay for!

you know, in my ignorance i USED to think that the old "buy american" slogans were cheesy. i mean, i'm a patriot but i don't get all mushy about it and all. mostly because the weasels running the biz in this country make me ashamed of us. many europeans have told me that they dislike america but love americans, so, that helps me feel a bit better about the whole thing.

but over the years i've seen so much go wrong, with work being outsourced in the name of the $, that i have FINALLY seen the light about the "cheesy" slogan. and it's not just the U.S. that's been had.

i KNOW that you were not knocking folks from china and all, i just put that out there in case someone read and took it personally is all. i mean, it would be hard not to, you know? it would be weird, "look at us, contaminating the universe - EVIL!" when the only people suffering are the workers there and the workers in other countries. it's total b.s. cripes, i AM ramblin'! sorry...little OT.

basically, yeah, it's not fair, i am sure there are very good manufacturers in CN. they just scare me, is all. and i have to wonder about the stuff we DON'T hear about. yikes!

i am sorry you had so many batches ruined and lost time, money and sanity! that's lousy! but i'm glad you figured it out and have good lye now! sigh. chemistry. gah!
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www.petfinder.com
The Pedantic Pecking Preening Purple Pullet of Pandemonium

[lily]

It is true that many Europeans don't like USA (the previous gorvernment has helped sooooo much !!!) but like Americans "one by one".
My daughter lives in Berlin and this summer, her (German) boyfriend met "an American" (an event!). Then, he found the guy so sympathetic but could not understand why he called his girlfirend "honey".

That made me laugh but also figure out at what point we know nothing about other cultures. Calling your boyfriend "honey" is as "logic" for a German as if you would call him "maple syrup" or else.

So when it is about China... we have everything to learn ! Except that I would not buy Chinese honey and this, I know why.
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lily

[Michelle]

Please keep in mind the Chinese stretch their products because western countries want them ridiculously cheap. If a base ingredient is going to cost $1 a pound, its going to cost that no matter where you get it, so if I want the best value for money, I get it from China because they ask .50c per pound. It still costs them $1 per pound, but they cut it with something else simply because we in the west demand it be so cheap. We focus on bottom line dollar instead of quality.

The Chinese aren't the bad guys, they are simply responding to a market that is demanding them product magic out of their nostrils. (didn't want to be rude). We want 100% quality of an item that costs $1 per pound but only want to pay .50c per pound for it. If we can't achieve that miracle, why should we expect anyone else to be able to?
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www.zalibeauty.com
Fundamentalists are never FUN, only MENTAL

[lily]

You are right that too often, people prefer paying less than keeping a quality standard. They don't read laabels, they just read the price.

I prefer to buy a quality product and pay more than buy a product that is cut with anything bad.

As individuals, we don't have the same wishes about the quality of the products we buy. We can understand that all countries have not the same quality standards, and not the same hygienic standards.

Maybe I have prejudices, but I know that for now, I don't trust the quality and hygienic standards from all that is coming from China.

Even in our countries, many people don't mind if a celery has been sprayed 15 times with pesticides : this is allowed in Mexico but not in Quebec. That's why some unscrupulous producers moved in Mexico, as some move in China or elsewhere.
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lily