# A picture of ricing, volcanos, separating, overheating



## newbie

I thought this could be helpful to people, to see what these things looks like.

Ricing, then 2 volcanos, then 2 separating in the mold, and one crack from overheating.


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## The Efficacious Gentleman

I've seen too many of these 

Great images as reference points.


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## Susie

I don't like that it happened to you, but I sure appreciate the pictures for references for newbies.  Does anyone happen to have a pic of "soap on a stick" they can post here, also?

Craig- me too!  I made a batch of soap yesterday that behaved wonderfully for 5 hours after pouring into the mold, then suddenly I see liquid pooling on the top and that tell-tale graininess poking up through it.  I had a flying fit trying to get ice and water in the sink so I could immerse the bottom of that mold before volcano.  I now have a partial gel soap that completely ruined my cocoa line.  But it cut fine, and partial gel is not the end of the world, so I will live with it.

Mods-It would be wonderful if this were made a stickie so we can just link it for newbies having issues!


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## shunt2011

I've seen every one of those at one time or another....hate when any one of them occurs.   Great pictures sorry you had to have it happened to get them though.  This will certainly help others identify some things that do go wrong.


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## Cactuslily

Thank you so much for posting. I've only made 8 batches so far. I've had 1 soap on a stick, but never have seen ricing, or volcanos...yet. I sure hope I get more experienced before soap throws me a volcano! How do you clean that up? Can you try and save some by HP?


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## IrishLass

Excellent show-and-tell! A picture is worth a thousand words. Thanks for sharing, Newbie!


IrishLass


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## lpstephy85

I had a post awhile back when I got an instant seize so this is my soap on a stick. As you can see in pic 2 my stick blender was in there good enough I could move the whole bowl around:


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## lillybella

Hi 
What can we do when we see any of these happening? 
Thank you for the pics!

Ricing
volcanoes
separating in the mold
cracking from overheating
soap on a stick


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## IrishLass

lillybella said:


> Hi
> What can we do when we see any of these happening?
> Thank you for the pics!
> 
> Ricing
> volcanoes
> separating in the mold
> cracking from overheating
> soap on a stick


 
Re: Ricing: Speaking only for myself, if I see my batter beginning to rice, I beat it into submission with my stick blender, which (so far) has always worked well for me. 

Re: Volcanoes: Thankfully, this has never happened to me in all the years I've been soaping, but if it did, I think I'd try to scoop up the volcano-ing mess into a pot and stir it into submission, maybe adding a little water and possibly applying low heat if needed in order to keep it fluid enough to re-pour.

Re: Separating in the mold: I've never had this happen either (so far), but if it did, I think I'd either try stick blending right in the mold or else just dump it out into a pot and stick blend it into submission that way.

Re: Cracking from overheating: If I catch it in the act, I remove my mold to a cooler place and smooth the crack over with a wet (gloved) finger and then babysit it until it cools back down from gel, which has worked well for me in my 100% CO soaps, which are notorious for cracking on me. If I don't catch it in the act, then I either just plane the crack off or try to repair it by rubbing over it with the back of my fingernail. By the way- I found a good trick to prevent cracks from forming in my 100% CO soaps- by placing bubble wrap on top of my soap batter in the mold. Works every time (so far). 

Re: Soap-on-a-stick: Emergency HP on the spot....or else I grate it up and use it as confetti decorations in other batches.


IrishLass


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## lillybella

Thank you SO MUCH IrishLass!
This is VERY HELPFUL 

I appreciate your time.


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## jules92207

What a fabulous thread!


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## The Efficacious Gentleman

Not a sure fire list, by any means -

Ricing - stick blend like mad. Avoid by looking at ingredients, especially scents

volcanoes - stir and cool. Avoid by soaping colder and/or looking at additives such as sugar & alcohol water replacements

separating in the mold - blend and cool. Avoid by soaping colder or making sure you have a good trace or (if you know how to spot it) emulsion.


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## newbie

Thankfully not all these have happened to me. Well, everything but the volcanos have, unfortunately. I found a picture of ricing while I was browsing and thought new people might like to see it. Then I found pics of some other problems we encounter. I do better with visuals so I thought it might be helpful. It's hard to find a single picture that tells the whole soap on a stick story. That one would be best depicted in a video, I think.

Pictures of trace can be helpful too.

First is a picture of light trace. It can be detected before this but is difficult to photograph.

Second is what I would consider about a moderate trace. Kind of pudding-ish, mounds a bit, very workable, can swirl nicely with less risk of colors getting muddy.

Third is pretty heavy trace. This won't pour very well or at all and you'd most likely have to spoon it into the mold. Not completely set but getting there.

The last is a picture of a soap in gel stage. The middle is gelling but it hasn't reached the corners yet.

Different looks of stearic in soap. Spots, rivers, crackle.

Lye pockets in finished soap


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## ariella42

Thank you so much for this thread! As a newbie, it's wonderful to have actual photos of these problems to reference.


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## newbie

Ash is not a problem on soap but some people prefer the look without. It can have various looks, from dusty to clumps to crystals.


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## DeeAnna

Post #15, bottom photo -- Also sometimes called "alien brains" or "alien teeth". May be a sign of overheating.


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## Cindy2428

Thanks for the pictures and the thread. Very educational


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## navigator9

Whoa momma......what amazing pictures! I wish I had thought to take a pic of some of my brainy soaps. I've experienced ricing a couple of times, and soap on a stick, never a crack, and thank God never a volcano like the one pictured......that was SCARY looking!!! My most common unintended result has been brains, and I've always pretended that it was a design choice......yeah, it's supposed to look like that. LOL The only thing I could find was another example of glycerine rivers, which often end up looking rather pretty.


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## newbie

Alien brains- the surface gets rippled and wrinkly


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## Cookie

Thanks for this thread,it's very helpful. I'm going to put it into a word document and print it out to have on hand in case of issues so I can have some hope of dealing with them. 

Is there a shot of emulsion out there so I don't go past it next time?

ETA a link from soap queen pics of 'pre emulsion', emulsion and trace
http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/trace/


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## franinfrance

*Great pictures*

I'd like to also say - thanks for those pictures.  I know now I have had; a couple of batches of glycerine rivers (cause TD I think), one mild alien brain (hidden well under some dried orange peel decoration)and maybe a mini lye problem - very small clear spots in a coconut soap.  The day I can do those beautiful herring bone patterns in a soap is the day I know I've made it!!!:shock:


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## navigator9

Cookie said:


> Thanks for this thread,it's very helpful. I'm going to put it into a word document and print it out to have on hand in case of issues so I can have some hope of dealing with them.
> 
> Is there a shot of emulsion out there so I don't go past it next time?
> 
> ETA a link from soap queen pics of 'pre emulsion', emulsion and trace
> http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/trace/



Cookie, I think it's difficult to look at a picture of soap batter and say, "That's emulsified." Emulsion is a tricky thing, and not so very easy to recognize. It's one of those things that becomes easier with experience. Lots and lots of batches, and watching carefully what happens as you mix. It took me years to be confident that I was seeing emulsion. I was always worried it wasn't quite there yet, and before you know it......trace!  As you mix, watch for the oily sheen to disappear, but depending on your recipe, your stick blender, temp of the batter, things can move really quickly past emulsion, so you have watch closely, and you will become more confident at identifying the stages of your soap batter.


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## Cookie

Thanks navigator9, that description helps. So sad to have to make more soap to get more experience :wink: :wink:


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## The Efficacious Gentleman

Just made this in to a sticky so that the images are easy to find and reference.


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## newbie

Lye crystals in soap


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## jules92207

That's a great picture. I have gotten one or two but that's an army of crystals.


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## The Efficacious Gentleman

Can we keep this thread for examples of issues rather than "is this such-and-such" please?  Will make it easier for people to quickly see what different issues actually look like.


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## BugSoap

Well, this is interesting, some things I've never seen before, YET. LOL

That overflowing or exploding Volcano got my attention as I been putting my soap into an oven I'm not using right now. I think after seeing that one I'll be putting a LARGE pan under my soaps. Not a mess I'd want to be cleaning out of the oven!


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## newbie

Partial gel- different degrees and in different colors.


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## newbie

Dreaded ORange Spots- DOS. Varying degrees


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## newbie

A few side by sides of gelled versus ungelled bars. Gelled bars are generally darker in color and are slightly more translucent- appearing.


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## newbie

*EPIC* separation


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## lpstephy85

newbie said:


> *EPIC* separation




Ewww that looks like chunks of meat floating in something nasty!!


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## misfities

On Soapqueen, they made a post today about soapy mess up quick guide. Very useful info:

I poured some castille soap last night and this morning, it's still gooey. Don't know what that's all about. Will give it another few hours 

http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/soapy-mess-quick-guide/


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## jules92207

My castile takes a while to set up - time is your friend.


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## CuriousCreationstoo

Sorry, just read the post about not asking.


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## newbie

Soap on the left just poured, soap in the middle is starting to gel, soap on the right is in full gel.


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## VeronikaPrague

Hey, can I ask what braining is? Oils separating? Results when not fully emulsified?


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## KristaY

VeronikaPrague said:


> Hey, can I ask what braining is? Oils separating? Results when not fully emulsified?


 
This thread has a link to Auntie Clara's study in CPOP and overheating. She explains it very well.

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=54867&highlight=auntie+clara


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## SplendorSoaps

Glycerin Rivers (all of my own making, I'm afraid):


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## navigator9

VeronikaPrague said:


> Hey, can I ask what braining is? Oils separating? Results when not fully emulsified?



Alien brains happen when soap overheats, often when attempting to CPOP.


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## VeronikaPrague

Thanks guys! Luckily I have never experienced anything that bad so far 

I have just had some tiny glycerin rivers when mixing some part with Titanium dioxide - I seem not to be ale able to mix it well... Or does it happen with it often? I've seen it elsewhere too

OH, I have just read that on Soap Queen  funny, I didnt know that, but yes, it's happening for me always with Titanium dioxide  anyway, i dont mind the rivers, so will try to use it my next soap  http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-b.../river-runs-deep-explanation-glycerin-rivers/


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## not_ally

Sometimes it can be really beautiful, eg (not mine):  

http://www.greatcakessoapworks.com/.../uploads/2013/08/lily_of_the_valley_soap2.jpg


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## SplendorSoaps

VeronikaPrague said:


> OH, I have just read that on Soap Queen  funny, I didnt know that, but yes, it's happening for me always with Titanium dioxide  anyway, i dont mind the rivers, so will try to use it my next soap  http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-b.../river-runs-deep-explanation-glycerin-rivers/



I found that mine were mostly caused by overheating or uneven heating. I found this blog post to be really helpful in avoiding the glycerin rivers:

http://auntieclaras.com/2014/05/glycerine-rivers-secret-revealed/


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## Chelle2020

SplendorSoaps said:


> I found that mine were mostly caused by overheating or uneven heating. I found this blog post to be really helpful in avoiding the glycerin rivers:
> 
> http://auntieclaras.com/2014/05/glycerine-rivers-secret-revealed/





Awesome!!! Thank you


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## VeronikaPrague

Lovely, thanks for the post


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## hydrazinehydrate

*Gee*

thank you for your picture, and in fact I never see these once. I only know its component but never have a try.


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## oldwine

Thx all for those beautiful pics , and all the info you all provide.
I'm new to soap making , I my self love the HP , I started about 4 months ago and I made almost 10 patch or 15 kg of different kinds of soap some of them with herbal additives.


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## Lee242

Re: Volcanoes     Had that happen to melast Mo. I put a top on it (plastic or saran wrap and a board on top) clamped it and let it sit over night. turned out OK.


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## Jsoaps21

Started making CP aboutique a month ago. Had my first disaster...my batch seized went right to thick trace after adding fragrance...so disappointed...


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## newbie

Stick blending to emulsion.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39pLHKMtN6o[/ame]


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## The Efficacious Gentleman

Just a reminder, please do not post questions or answer questions in this thread. Please only post quality pictures or videos of a soaping issue or situation with an explanation of what it is - the purpose is that people can see what ricing etc looks like for future reference.

If you have a soaping issue and would like to know what it is, please start a new thread.


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## jod58

Thank you for the pics.   Volcano was my problem.   What causes this?


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## CaraBou

jod58 said:


> Thank you for the pics.   Volcano was my problem.   What causes this?



Too much heat. The energy must go somewhere -- up and out!


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## GMN

Thank you so much for posting all these photos!  It's very helpful for us beginners!  I have a slightly different problem but I see I'm not supposed to post a question here so will try to find another thread to show a photo of my first ever batch and the problem I had with it.  Thanks for all this great info!


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## RalphTheMastiff

newbie said:


> Soap on the left just poured, soap in the middle is starting to gel, soap on the right is in full gel.


Are this tapers buckets? What do you line them with?


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## kchaystack

RalphTheMastiff said:


> Are this tapers buckets? What do you line them with?



They are drawer organizers, and looks like they are lined with plastic wrap.


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## IrishLass

The Efficacious Gentleman said:


> Just a reminder, please do not post questions or answer questions in this thread. Please only post quality pictures or videos of a soaping issue or situation with an explanation of what it is - the purpose is that people can see what ricing etc looks like for future reference.
> 
> If you have a soaping issue and would like to know what it is, please start a new thread.


 
Just re-posting the good Gent's excellent reminder. If you have a question or comment, please start a new thread with a link back to this thread as a reference. Thank you.  


IrishLass


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## eleni_sp

newbie said:


> I thought this could be helpful to people, to see what these things looks like.
> 
> Ricing, then 2 volcanos, then 2 separating in the mold, and one crack from overheating.



I have seen these pictures. In my case it is the fragrance oils that are unsuited for cold process method. Perhaps the oils and lye should be in lower temperature, so that the fragrance oils do now cause this effect.

In general, even without the fragrance oils one could get that if ois and lye are in high temperature.


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## Rune

*Can be fixed by water reduction*



navigator9 said:


> My most common unintended result has been brains, and I've always pretended that it was a design choice......yeah, it's supposed to look like that. LOL The only thing I could find was another example of glycerine rivers, which often end up looking rather pretty.



That can be avoided by doing a water reduction, I read on a blog called Auntie Clara. She did some testing, and it was the high water content that made glycerin rivers. With a high water reduction, they disappered completely.


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## soaperwoman

Don't ask. I have no idea?


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## SunRiseArts

So ... what was your recipe, and what did you use?  Is it coffee soap?


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## Kittish

Looking at the sides of the cavities shown, it looks like the soap puffed up then settled?

Seconding SRA's questions, please share what you were trying for?


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## DunbarDesigned

*Just what I needed...*

Yikes! I'm not looking forward to this happening while I'm getting my barrings straight. I appreciate the photos especially since I though I noticed separating (maybe even ricing) when I poured my VERY first test batch this past weekend. I was looking for examples to understand what went wrong. Thank you!!!


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## Happy2018

Hi this is my first post here, and reading to catch up on all newbie stuff, with stickies, and definitions. 
Does anyone know why these things happen?
Edited to say:
As this post went through, I apologize, I didn't realize there were 7 pages of info, before I posted, I will back and read those pages.


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## SunRiseArts

Many things can make these things happen, but a major culprit if the fragrance IMO.  Is always good to read reviews to check on people's experience of the fragrance causes ricing or discoloration.

Another thing is soap temperatures.  There is a lot of information out there on these things.


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## msunnerstood

IrishLass said:


> Re: Ricing: Speaking only for myself, if I see my batter beginning to rice, I beat it into submission with my stick blender, which (so far) has always worked well for me.
> 
> Re: Volcanoes: Thankfully, this has never happened to me in all the years I've been soaping, but if it did, I think I'd try to scoop up the volcano-ing mess into a pot and stir it into submission, maybe adding a little water and possibly applying low heat if needed in order to keep it fluid enough to re-pour.
> 
> Re: Separating in the mold: I've never had this happen either (so far), but if it did, I think I'd either try stick blending right in the mold or else just dump it out into a pot and stick blend it into submission that way.
> 
> Re: Cracking from overheating: If I catch it in the act, I remove my mold to a cooler place and smooth the crack over with a wet (gloved) finger and then babysit it until it cools back down from gel, which has worked well for me in my 100% CO soaps, which are notorious for cracking on me. If I don't catch it in the act, then I either just plane the crack off or try to repair it by rubbing over it with the back of my fingernail. By the way- I found a good trick to prevent cracks from forming in my 100% CO soaps- by placing bubble wrap on top of my soap batter in the mold. Works every time (so far).
> 
> Re: Soap-on-a-stick: Emergency HP on the spot....or else I grate it up and use it as confetti decorations in other batches.
> 
> 
> IrishLass



I love using bubble wrap on top of my soap. I use it for anything that has honey because it resembles honey comb. At the moment though, I have a loaf cooling with the back side of silicon heart molds on top. Im glad to see someone else that does this because the ubby and the kids have been looking at me funny when I do it.


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## cmzaha

newbie said:


> Thankfully not all these have happened to me. Well, everything but the volcanos have, unfortunately. I found a picture of ricing while I was browsing and thought new people might like to see it. Then I found pics of some other problems we encounter. I do better with visuals so I thought it might be helpful. It's hard to find a single picture that tells the whole soap on a stick story. That one would be best depicted in a video, I think.
> 
> Pictures of trace can be helpful too.
> 
> First is a picture of light trace. It can be detected before this but is difficult to photograph.
> 
> Second is what I would consider about a moderate trace. Kind of pudding-ish, mounds a bit, very workable, can swirl nicely with less risk of colors getting muddy.
> 
> Third is pretty heavy trace. This won't pour very well or at all and you'd most likely have to spoon it into the mold. Not completely set but getting there.
> 
> The last is a picture of a soap in gel stage. The middle is gelling but it hasn't reached the corners yet.
> 
> Different looks of stearic in soap. Spots, rivers, crackle.
> 
> Lye pockets in finished soap
> 
> View attachment 12451
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> 
> View attachment 12453
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> 
> View attachment 12454
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> View attachment 12455
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> 
> View attachment 12456
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> View attachment 12457
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> View attachment 12458
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> View attachment 12459
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> 
> View attachment 12460


Where are the lye pockets. All I see is overheating and beginning of volcano in the last 2 or 3 pictures. I do see the alligator teeth in the bottom pic. I have had it happen with fo's that overheat, but the pockets have never been lye pockets, just the beginning of alligator teeth. If the pockets are big enough they can leak oil. A heater fragrance mixed with a gm soap can be a recipe for volcano, or alligator toothies. If I was not to lazy I would walk downstairs and pull a couple of old soaps that have the center that overheated and contain a few small pockets. They were Honeysuckle gm soaps.


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## gemma

thank you from a beginner.  I had problems with soap ash with my CP soap but not with my HP soap.  I am the master of volcanos!!!  Problem is so busy trying to clean and calm it that there is no time for photos 
Really useful information


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## Veggiebin

I was going to say that I generally don’t take photos either, as I’m generally in panic mode and just wanting to get it cleaned up. 

But, I thought I’d cross post the pics of my cider soap that had a weird pocket of liquid in it - most likely overheated from the additional sugars as there are also brains on top.  It would definitely go along with these photos.


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## DeeAnna

First photo: Bars are covered with tiny white speckles that could be mistaken for "stearic spots." (The rusty mottling in this experimental soap is discoloration from the very high percentage of neem seed oil in the recipe .)







Second photo: If you look closer at the upright soap in the first photo, you can see the white spots are actually small cavities. This was caused by air bubbles being beaten into the soap batter from my stick blender.







Third photo: Mouse damage.






Fourth photo: Brown discoloration caused by vanillin in fragrance oil. The darker wedge of soap (second from the top) contains more FO and thus has discolored more. I mistakenly added more FO to that portion of soap than to the others.







Fifth photo: Yellowish bands discoloration have bled out of the pinkish swirls (pink clay used as the colorant) into the surrounding white soap. You can also see the pink sections have changed texture. I am not quite sure why this happened. The discoloration took over a year to show up.







Sixth photo: Yet another soap with crackling (aka glycerin rivers). Often crackling looks like streaks or swirls, but the cracking in the pale yellow areas of this soap looks like fluffy clouds.


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## Raevyn

Why would the soap volcano in the mould like that? Was is still to hot when it was poured or something?


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## DeeAnna

Volcano-ing comes from something that causes a fast rate of heating in the soap. I'm not sure of all of the reasons for volcanoes, but one trigger would be if the soap temp rises close to the boiling point of water. Liquid water will turn to steam and the steam takes up a lot more room that liquid water. It's going to rise and whoosh out of the top of the soap, bringing hot soap batter with it. Voila -- volcano!

If the soap batter was very warm when poured into the mold, yes, that could encourage a volcano. If the recipe used a lot of coconut oil and a high lye concentration (not very much water, in other words) that would also make a volcano more likely to happen.

Probably the most common reason I've seen for volcano-ing is when people (usually unintentionally) add a chemical to the soap that accelerates the rate of saponification. An accelerant will cause the soap to get very hot very, very quickly, so even soap poured reasonably cool could still volcano. Chemicals that can accelerate saponification include some FOs and EOs -- that's the culprits people often name for the cause of their volcanoes.


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## rjuconnfan

Wow great pictures!  I have made 4 soaps. 2 came out perfectly done in wood molds.    The second set not so great:  One gelled when it was in the mold so fast I could not get to the freezer..like in 5 min. it started. Too hot I guess. It came out ok but it lost all it's scent.

 The last one I just made was in one of the white molds, plastic type from Michaels. First time I used it. Not sure if a plastic mold could do this.  I put in fridge right away to avoid gel. It gelled. It was even in freezer for a while. I have no idea how that happened but I did find a small crack in it. It also has ash but not bad.

 Thankfully referencing these photos helps me see that the crack is normal for overheating......( just no idea why it did that in fridge).  I soaped the last 2 at 110 because the first 2 I did at 85 and was told it was too cold. I think the cold worked out better. The recipes all say around 100 or 115 f.  but I am going back to doing it at room temp.    The extra soap was put in little silicone guest size molds and did not gel and did not crack.. but it is softer as expected...but doesn't look the same as the same soap in the plastic mold. 

Thoughts?


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## Jamie Bell

What is soap on a stick?


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## Regina Saxton

Jamie Bell said:


> What is soap on a stick?


When the soap freezes in the pot. You put in a oil/product and in the pot instead of tracing anymore it becomes solid. Picture your blend stick in the pot and you add cinnamon, the soap then freezes. Thus the name soap on a stick.


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## ryan emily

i know this is kind off topic but can someone tell me how to ask a question/start a new thread? i have a question i cant find the answer to and would love answers and a conversation about it with mixed opinions & troubleshooting help.


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## snappyllama

ryan emily said:


> i know this is kind off topic but can someone tell me how to ask a question/start a new thread? i have a question i cant find the answer to and would love answers and a conversation about it with mixed opinions & troubleshooting help.




Just go into the appropriate forum. On the upper, right you will see "Post new thread" button.


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## JustAMommie

I can't figure out for the life of me what happened here.  It doesn't look like any of the examples above. as just playing.  It's odd that some of the liquid separated out, but the soap is solidifying otherwise.  Can I save this you think?


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## Relle

Looks like it's gelling, just leave it until it's set, then unmould.


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## babysoapmaker

I've had a couple soapmaking disasters but nothing like this, usually I've screwed up the ingredients somehow (wrong oil mix, or too much water). But so far I've only been using small silicon molds. I'm wanting to move into bigger molds, especially on days like today -- poured a batch last night and I'm already wanting to unmold it so I can do a new batch. But seeing stuff like this is kinda scary. Is it even possible to get ricing/volcanoes in a small mold? I always see photos of it happening in a big mold but I'm not sure if that's because the soap needs "critical mass" to act like this, or if the people who are committed enough to soapmaking to post pics are just all using big molds.


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## DeeAnna

Ricing doesn't happen in the mold. This is a texture change you will see in the soap pot. It can happen to any size soap batch.

Volcanoes can happen in the soap pot or in the mold. If in the mold, volcanoes are less likely to happen in smaller molds or flatter molds because the center portion of the soap doesn't get as hot if the soap is more spread out -- more surface area in other words.

I've never had a volcano. That's not to say I'm immune, but just that it hasn't happened so far in some years of soap making. I've seen mild ricing once in awhile. 

Ways to minimize the chances -- Don't make soap with really hot ingredients. Pay attention to the additives you use, especially fragrance and essential oils. I don't use a lot of EOs in my soap, but I do use FOs. I don't buy fragrance oils that are known for ricing or severe acceleration.


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## Kelly Frizzell

First off, I am new to soap making, and I am sooo excited to be able to be a part of this group, thank-you for the add.
Q to post #82 - is there a list somewhere that will tell you what FO's or EO's are know for ricing or acceleration?


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## shunt2011

Kelly Frizzell said:


> First off, I am new to soap making, and I am sooo excited to be able to be a part of this group, thank-you for the add.
> Q to post #82 - is there a list somewhere that will tell you what FO's or EO's are know for ricing or acceleration?



Hello and welcome!!   There is a fragrance oil list on the forum.   Has it's own topic.  However, recipes can act differently and other things influence how they behave as well (Temps, too much stickblending)  Best recommendation is to purchase from reputable companies, many list their behavior in CP.


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## DeeAnna

I agree with Shari ^^^. There is no one master list -- you need to do your homework with various suppliers. One supplier with lots of info is Nature's Garden, so you might start there and then branch out to other suppliers. You can get some ideas of where to look from our Fragrance Oil Review here: https://tinyurl.com/y8yqhtlt


----------



## KiwiMoose

Soap on a stick!


----------



## Fargood

KiwiMoose said:


> Soap on a stick!View attachment 33340


What was the fragrance?


----------



## IngridK

I had similar with a rose soap I made last weekend. First batch will need to be rebatched. Second batch needed to be blended until almost so thick i had trouble getting it into the mold in a nice fashion... The soap itself is fantastic will have to try more water next time to see if I can slow down the trace...


----------



## KiwiMoose

Fargood said:


> What was the fragrance?


Combo of EOs:  Palmarosa, Yland Ylang and May Chang.


----------



## SaltedFig

Thanks for the soap on a stick pic KiwiMoose - the old one isn't linking anymore, so we needed a new photo 



KiwiMoose said:


> Combo of EOs:  Palmarosa, Yland Ylang and May Chang.



That'd do it!


----------



## KimT2au

KiwiMoose said:


> Soap on a stick!View attachment 33340


Urghhhhh, I had that happen recently the and culprit was benzoin.  So darned frustrating.


----------



## Kelly Frizzell

SaltedFig said:


> Thanks for the soap on a stick pic KiwiMoose - the old one isn't linking anymore, so we needed a new photo
> 
> 
> 
> That'd do it!


Would that combination of EO's always cause the soap to seize?


----------



## SaltedFig

Kelly Frizzell said:


> Would that combination of EO's always cause the soap to seize?


I haven't had trouble with Litsea (May Change), but I've had Ylang Ylang and Palmrosa hurry things along a bit.

No, it won't always cause seizing - it's not so fast that it can't be controlled by diluting it in some of the superfat oil and gently mixing it in at the very end (obviously not much good if you don't know beforehand, but it can be just fine if you blend it in gently just before the pour).

Some of the other essential oils can be very quick, especially the warm spices.


----------



## Kelly Frizzell

SaltedFig said:


> I haven't had trouble with Litsea (May Change), but I've had Ylang Ylang and Palmrosa hurry things along a bit.
> 
> No, it won't always cause seizing - it's not so fast that it can't be controlled by diluting it in some of the superfat oil and gently mixing it in at the very end (obviously not much good if you don't know beforehand, but it can be just fine if you blend it in gently just before the pour).
> 
> Some of the other essential oils can be very quick, especially the warm spices.


Thank-you, I am not sure what EO/FO's to try, nor how much, etc. I have added only a few drops to a couple of the soaps (tried a few shakes of Pennyroyal in one and it turned out OK, but the couple of drops of Eucalyptus and then Lavender I tried in the other two soaps really did nothing), I was afraid of adding too much, but then the result was no real scent noticable. 
What would you recommend I do, as a beginner, to learn what soap recipes work best/better with which scents? What scents would you recommend starting with? LOL, there are so many variables with soap recipes and adding scents just makes it more complicated. Two of the five soaps I have tried thus far have created their own scents (pine tar and a milk based soap) so that was a good thing. But I would like to try rosemary/mint, or  lavender, or orange. But if those are the scents I would like to start with, do I just use the scents as I have them listed? Or is there another scent that should be added (say to the orange) to help it smell better? I did not know until just reading one of the forum posts that there was such a thing as a fragrance calculator, so I have never tried one, but next time I have time to start making soap again, I would like to know how to use one.
Anyway, any suggestions would be very welcomed. Thanks. I am loving this forum and all of the advice.


----------



## SaltedFig

Hey Kelly, could you make a new thread for your question?
(just copy the text you have written, it's a good, clear question - you don't need to include the quote)

I'm sure you will get a lot of help on EO's and FO's if you do 
(My concern is your question might get missed by quite a few experienced people, who may not see it in this picture thread ).


----------



## Kelly Frizzell

SaltedFig said:


> Hey Kelly, could you make a new thread for your question?
> (just copy the text you have written, it's a good, clear question - you don't need to include the quote)
> 
> I'm sure you will get a lot of help on EO's and FO's if you do
> (My concern is your question might get missed by quite a few experienced people, who may not see it in this picture thread ).


OK, I will give that a try. 
I also wonder how I know when someone replies to something I have posted - is there a place I can see that? I just found a reply to a post that the person had left Nov. 5, twenty days ago.


----------



## DeeAnna

It's possible you will never know some people have responded to you unless they click the "reply" link in the bottom right corner of one of your posts or include the "@UserName" (like this -- @Kelly Frizzell ) in their reply.

If you aren't getting these notices even if people are doing this, you should review the "Alert Preferences" settings in your user profile. Go to the top of this page, click on the icon that looks like a person, and click on the link for "Alert Preferences." When alerts are turned on, a "bell" icon will turn color at the upper right corner to let you know there are responses to check.


----------



## sarasvati

Thank you all so much for all the information on this thread! It's very educational.


----------



## Lin19687

Milk Overheating . 
Too much Milk and forgot to put outside in the cold temps...... **** cat.
2 loafs now to be rebatched 
Looks like a drooling monster lol


----------



## CaraBou

Lin19687 said:


> Looks like a drooling monster lol
> View attachment 34601



Great example!  But sorry about your soap Lin.


----------



## kayak1987

I just want to show you my today's half disaster
huge gel phase with crackings
and.. better to call it "water phase" considering its consistency


----------



## penelopejane

kayak1987 said:


> I just want to show you my today's half disaster
> huge gel phase with crackings
> and.. better to call it "water phase" considering its consistency



Ooooops.  So sorry about your soap.


----------



## Madelyn Cole

Oh my! What causes these things to happen?


----------



## dixiedragon

Years ago, a soaper in a mailing list took a similar soap, mixed some gold mica with glycerin, painted the hole in the soap and called it gold mine soap. If there's no zap, might be worth considering!


----------



## TwoHandssoaps

IrishLass said:


> Re: Ricing: Speaking only for myself, if I see my batter beginning to rice, I beat it into submission with my stick blender, which (so far) has always worked well for me.
> 
> Re: Volcanoes: Thankfully, this has never happened to me in all the years I've been soaping, but if it did, I think I'd try to scoop up the volcano-ing mess into a pot and stir it into submission, maybe adding a little water and possibly applying low heat if needed in order to keep it fluid enough to re-pour.
> 
> Re: Separating in the mold: I've never had this happen either (so far), but if it did, I think I'd either try stick blending right in the mold or else just dump it out into a pot and stick blend it into submission that way.
> 
> Re: Cracking from overheating: If I catch it in the act, I remove my mold to a cooler place and smooth the crack over with a wet (gloved) finger and then babysit it until it cools back down from gel, which has worked well for me in my 100% CO soaps, which are notorious for cracking on me. If I don't catch it in the act, then I either just plane the crack off or try to repair it by rubbing over it with the back of my fingernail. By the way- I found a good trick to prevent cracks from forming in my 100% CO soaps- by placing bubble wrap on top of my soap batter in the mold. Works every time (so far).
> 
> Re: Soap-on-a-stick: Emergency HP on the spot....or else I grate it up and use it as confetti decorations in other batches.
> 
> 
> IrishLass


Great information. Thank you very much

Thank you very much for all these pictures. They help new soapers a lot!


----------



## NGSoaper

What causes cracking and ricing? How can it be prevented? I took a soap making class, and one of my soaps cracked. The teacher had us use the hot lye to melt the oils and butters saying that it is not necessary to melt the butter before hand.


----------



## Jeannie Hinyard

Cracking is usually caused by the soap getting too hot in the mold.  Some soapers put the mold on a heating pad or in the oven to try to force it to gel.  If the soap gets too hot, it will crack.  Ricing is often caused by something added to the batter, especially fragrance oils.  Make sure to buy your fragrances from a reputable soap making supplier.  They always tell you how each FO behaves in cold process soap so you can avoid problems.


----------



## NGSoaper

Jeannie Hinyard said:


> Cracking is usually caused by the soap getting too hot in the mold.  Some soapers put the mold on a heating pad or in the oven to try to force it to gel.  If the soap gets too hot, it will crack.  Ricing is often caused by something added to the batter, especially fragrance oils.  Make sure to buy your fragrances from a reputable soap making supplier.  They always tell you how each FO behaves in cold process soap so you can avoid problems.



Thanks, Jeannie. I’ll be mindful of the temperature when making my own batches.


----------



## dixiedragon

@NGSoaper - neither of these is disastrous. If you get cracking, give the soap a quick stir. That will let some of the heat escape, and also break up the "crust" on top of the soap so you don't have a crack anymore. In my experience, when you insulate (or put your soap in a warm oven) to encourage gel, you don't get the crack. the crack happens when the top is cool and the interior is too warm. Just like lava beneath the earth's crust. If you are insulating, the whole log of soap is warm and so the whole thing will gel, vs just gelling in the middle.

If you get ricing, just keep stirring. You may need to put the soap in a slow cooker, or back on the stove, if you are using a pot.

Make sure that your container (pot or slow cooker) is NO MORE than 2/3 full. Checking out the Soaping 101 video on hot process to observe the stages.


----------



## NGSoaper

dixiedragon said:


> @NGSoaper - neither of these is disastrous. If you get cracking, give the soap a quick stir. That will let some of the heat escape, and also break up the "crust" on top of the soap so you don't have a crack anymore. In my experience, when you insulate (or put your soap in a warm oven) to encourage gel, you don't get the crack. the crack happens when the top is cool and the interior is too warm. Just like lava beneath the earth's crust. If you are insulating, the whole log of soap is warm and so the whole thing will gel, vs just gelling in the middle.
> 
> If you get ricing, just keep stirring. You may need to put the soap in a slow cooker, or back on the stove, if you are using a pot.
> 
> Make sure that your container (pot or slow cooker) is NO MORE than 2/3 full. Checking out the Soaping 101 video on hot process to observe the stages.


Thanks but I was using the cold process method with a design on top. Breaking up the top ruins the design. I don’t care for gel phase so I will not be insulating my own soaps. In this case, the mold was covered when the crack happened so there was some sort of insulation going on.


----------



## Cherrydene soapy

newbie said:


> Thankfully not all these have happened to me. Well, everything but the volcanos have, unfortunately. I found a picture of ricing while I was browsing and thought new people might like to see it. Then I found pics of some other problems we encounter. I do better with visuals so I thought it might be helpful. It's hard to find a single picture that tells the whole soap on a stick story. That one would be best depicted in a video, I think.
> 
> Pictures of trace can be helpful too.
> 
> First is a picture of light trace. It can be detected before this but is difficult to photograph.
> 
> Second is what I would consider about a moderate trace. Kind of pudding-ish, mounds a bit, very workable, can swirl nicely with less risk of colors getting muddy.
> 
> Third is pretty heavy trace. This won't pour very well or at all and you'd most likely have to spoon it into the mold. Not completely set but getting there.
> 
> The last is a picture of a soap in gel stage. The middle is gelling but it hasn't reached the corners yet.
> 
> Different looks of stearic in soap. Spots, rivers, crackle.
> 
> Lye pockets in finished soap
> 
> View attachment 12451
> 
> 
> View attachment 12452
> 
> 
> View attachment 12453
> 
> 
> View attachment 12454
> 
> 
> View attachment 12455
> 
> 
> View attachment 12456
> 
> 
> View attachment 12457
> 
> 
> View attachment 12458
> 
> 
> View attachment 12459
> 
> 
> View attachment 12460


Wow thank you great pictures x


----------



## dixiedragon

Yes, unfortunately giving it a stir will ruin the design. You can try to avoid it entirely by soaping cooler. Also, place your soap mold on something at each corner, so that the the mold is lifted off of your counter top and air can move under it.


----------



## Rogue-Soaper

newbie said:


> Thankfully not all these have happened to me. Well, everything but the volcanos have, unfortunately. I found a picture of ricing while I was browsing and thought new people might like to see it. Then I found pics of some other problems we encounter. I do better with visuals so I thought it might be helpful. It's hard to find a single picture that tells the whole soap on a stick story. That one would be best depicted in a video, I think.
> 
> Pictures of trace can be helpful too.
> 
> First is a picture of light trace. It can be detected before this but is difficult to photograph.
> 
> Second is what I would consider about a moderate trace. Kind of pudding-ish, mounds a bit, very workable, can swirl nicely with less risk of colors getting muddy.
> 
> Third is pretty heavy trace. This won't pour very well or at all and you'd most likely have to spoon it into the mold. Not completely set but getting there.
> 
> The last is a picture of a soap in gel stage. The middle is gelling but it hasn't reached the corners yet.
> 
> Different looks of stearic in soap. Spots, rivers, crackle.
> 
> Lye pockets in finished soap
> 
> View attachment 12451
> 
> 
> View attachment 12452
> 
> 
> View attachment 12453
> 
> 
> View attachment 12454
> 
> 
> View attachment 12455
> 
> 
> View attachment 12456
> 
> 
> View attachment 12457
> 
> 
> View attachment 12458
> 
> 
> View attachment 12459
> 
> 
> View attachment 12460


Really a good idea to post these pictures.  I did not know what any of these looked like when I began my soaping journey (before the internet).  Sadly, I have a number of these things happen to me too. I didn't know how to resolve the problems; even though I purchased several books, it seemed as though no one (in the books) were acknowledging problems, they always had perfect soap.  It is wonderful to see these pictures.  Thank you!



lpstephy85 said:


> Ewww that looks like chunks of meat floating in something nasty!!


LOL


----------



## Rune

Here is my disaster. It is not nearly as bad as some other disasters I've had. But, it is an example of serious glycerin rivers. Too bad, because I had low hopes for the look of this soap, and I was very pleasantly surprised that my thick blobs going in the mold actually made a drop swirl-ish design (in some bars, and some not so much). And then my joy were destroyed by those horrible glycerin rivers!

Why did the soap end up like this? Because I used too much water (36% of oils, 30% lye solution). I have a thick wooden mold that insulates well and keep the soap warm for a longer period of time. Prolonged gel phase, high water content and pigment/mica colorants, that is the way to get glycerin rivers.

I have always used a water discount, and have never had glycerin rivers before. This is the first time (I have not made tons of soap either). I will never use high water again, that is for sure!

Another problem with this soap is that I used too much ultramarine mica. I got blue lather. But I don't think that is the worst.

The pictures shows a control piece that does not have glycerin rivers (one of the end pieces) beside the bars of soap. The control piece show you how the colors were supposed to be, and how much of a difference glycerin rivers can make. Especially in the first picture. That looks horrible!

The good thing is that the soap is really nice and lathers well 

So here you have it, the glycerin river monster of a soap


----------



## KiwiMoose

Yes, my soap pretty much always has glycerin rivers and I soap with relatively high water (between 28-30% lye concentration). I’m sorry that you are disappointed in your soap but I think it looks beautiful! Those tiny rivers would not bother me one iota.


----------



## Rune

Thank you  
It is especially the white part I don't like. If it was only in the blue, that would be not so bad. But the white looks all messed up, and I think that is the worst. It was a very strong daylight the day I took pictures, so it might not show as well as it does in real life. But the first picture is really bad, where the white has become almost brownish in the middle of the soap. Yes, well, that's how it is.

I had plans to sell this soap, if I really liked it. And I think the soap itself it is good enough for trying to sell online a few bars as a test (I have never sold any soap before, and I can't judge this early if the soap is good enough, since it has not been cured at all. But it looks promising already. Not the looks, of course, but the rest). But I will not sell it, I will use it myself, which is good, because I'm almost out of soap. Or well, I have lots of soap, but I don't like them very much. The one I like, I'm almost ran out of. 
So I was extra disappointed that I could not get a try on selling, making labels, ingredient list, wrapping and shipping and so on. But that's how it goes. Just have to try again. At least I am closer to get a soap that feels how I want it. Hopefully very close. I just hope it could cure in a hurry, so I can have a final judgement and adjust the recipe to get it even better. I does not have to be perfect, though, since I'm very, very far from being a perfectionist.

I used more water this time to see if I could get the soap to stay fluid for longer. But it didn't. Maybe the fragrance oil also made it thicken quickly, I don't know. I was impatient and added 79 degrees (celsius) hot lye to 60 degrees oil. That heat could also speed things up. And my too powerful stickblender, always making trouble. I will not use it next time, only hand stir.


----------



## reinbeau

I'll never understand the antipathy towards glycerine rivers. I think they're lovely.


----------



## Rune

I want to make a soap one day, full of glycerin rivers as the design. That is really beautiful (see the link below). But for this soap I did not want them at all. Some would been okey, but most of the bars are heavy full of them, making most of the white parts beige/yellow-ish, in contrast with the bright white parts. I think it only really shows in the first picture. The rivers in the blue part doesn't bother me too much, no. 

Auntie Clara made some stunning soaps with glycerin rivers as the only design element. I find them really spectactular! Have a look:

https://auntieclaras.com/2018/05/how-to-make-glycerine-rivers/


----------



## penelopejane

Glycerine rivers shrink at a different rate to the rest of the soap so overtime they look really awful to my nit-picking mind.  My soap cures for a long time so the shrinkage always appears before people get to use the soap.   As Auntie Clara says in the 2nd last paragraph of the page you linked to you can still allow the soap to cool down slowly as long as it gets up to a hot temp quickly.  CPOP helps with this or soaping warmer.

Glycerine rivers are easy to avoid.

I think you have a few stearic spots in there too (white dots) that are recipe dependent. Recipes with high shea butter and/or coconut oil and/or palm oil require soaping at higher temps to avoid them.


----------



## Rune

Thank you, Penelopejane!  Really interesting. 

Yes, they are easy to avoid. I have never had them before. I was just stupid and thought higher water would give me a more fluid batch, and totally forgot that more water means risk of glycerin rivers. On top of that, I miscalculated things in the recipe, and got even more water than I at first had in mind. 

I saw those spots, but I don't find that the worst problem right now. But if I can avoid them, I will try to do so next time. By soaping hot, roughly how hot do you think I have to soap?


----------



## Rune

CPOP is something I want to try more. I think I tried it once (can't remember what I did and why). But what I can remember, is that the fragrance were in the oven for a long time. I tried to burn it off and everything, but it didn't work, it had to disappear by itself. I have to find a sealed box or something I can put the soap in first, and then pop it in the oven.

I did also almost destroy the dishwasher by washing dirty soapmaking dishes. The fragrance was in the dishwasher for really long. Very strong, and not pleasant (it was a scent that was very unpleasant at first, but cured in the soap to become wonderful). The dishes for this glycerin river soap is still in a bag and put away. The plan was to saponify the dishes overnight first, but I forgot about about them. Will never use the dishwasher again, that is for sure.


----------



## Nanette

Rune said:


> I want to make a soap one day, full of glycerin rivers as the design. That is really beautiful (see the link below). But for this soap I did not want them at all. Some would been okey, but most of the bars are heavy full of them, making most of the white parts beige/yellow-ish, in contrast with the bright white parts. I think it only really shows in the first picture. The rivers in the blue part doesn't bother me too much, no.
> 
> Auntie Clara made some stunning soaps with glycerin rivers as the only design element. I find them really spectactular! Have a look:
> 
> https://auntieclaras.com/2018/05/how-to-make-glycerine-rivers/


Oh Wow they are beautiful!


----------



## penelopejane

Rune said:


> Thank you, Penelopejane!  Really interesting.
> 
> Yes, they are easy to avoid. I have never had them before. I was just stupid and thought higher water would give me a more fluid batch, and totally forgot that more water means risk of glycerin rivers. On top of that, I miscalculated things in the recipe, and got even more water than I at first had in mind.
> 
> I saw those spots, but I don't find that the worst problem right now. But if I can avoid them, I will try to do so next time. By soaping hot, roughly how hot do you think I have to soap?


I soap at 110*F (42*C) in my recipes that have high stearic acid - Shea butter and coconut oil) to avoid the spots. You can melt those two oils and stir them into your main oils rather than heating to whole lot depending on percentages. 

I should test it to see if I can soap a bit cooler but that temp works without fail.


----------



## Susie

I use full water recipes that are soaped hot fairly often, and have never once had glycerin rivers in 5+ years of soaping.


----------



## KathyW

Hi, just unmolded my 2nd batch of soap. Can anyone tell me if they have seen this before?



I'll include a couple of pictures of the cut sides. Would love to hear any comments.


----------



## DeeAnna

@KathyW -- You will probably get more responses if you create a new thread with your problem soap.

This thread is for people to show the various things that can happen to soap. While it may seem like your soap fits here, you don't really know what the problem is, so I think you are wanting help with troubleshooting the problem rather than sharing a "show and tell" example.

Also, please introduce yourself in the Introduction forum -- tell us a little about yourself!


----------



## KathyW

Thanks DeeAnna


----------



## Mobjack Bay

Here’s one for the experts! After reading the troubleshooting guide on the Miller soap website, the best I could come up with is that I had achieved only a semi-stable emulsion before I started hand mixing in different concentrations of madder dye for each individual bar of soap. I was leaving the batter on the thin side so the exposed surface would be as smooth as possible. Could it have gotten lye heavy towards the bottom of the mold (downside in the photo) without fully separating ?  The top layers of each bar were on the the exposed side of the cavity mold.  They are soft with a moist powder consistency.  I wouldn’t say the feel is oily.  I’ve since used the dye in a successful loaf of soap, so I don’t think it’s to blame.


----------



## Mobjack Bay

And, perhaps some alien brain type thing happening between the layers on the right soap? No ideas from anyone?


----------



## Kim Pyrros

newbie said:


> I thought this could be helpful to people, to see what these things looks like.
> 
> Ricing, then 2 volcanos, then 2 separating in the mold, and one crack from overheating.
> 
> View attachment 12442
> 
> 
> View attachment 12443
> 
> 
> View attachment 12444
> 
> 
> View attachment 12445
> 
> 
> View attachment 12446
> 
> 
> View attachment 12447


Man,! I gotta say that I am glad to see I am not the only soaper  whose soap, I use that term lightly, turns into a volcanic stone monster sucking my will to soap.  Thank You!


----------



## Jeboz

Kim Pyrros said:


> Man,! I gotta say that I am glad to see I am not the only soaper  whose soap, I use that term lightly, turns into a volcanic stone monster sucking my will to soap.  Thank You!


Man, you’ve had an interesting run!  Hopefully you have many more beautifuls.........


----------



## Nanette

The volcanoes in particular are Outstanding! Not for soaping but just......love it. Thank you it hasnt happened to me yet....


----------



## Donna Ohanian

New at this. Made a HP batch 2 days ago with a friend. 20 bars, 62 ounces of soap. Swirled in Amazon Ktdorns red soap dye right before scooping into containers. Was like mashed potatoes. Took it out today. A wet slurry of red dye was all over the bottom of the container & ruined my wood cutting board. There is oatmeal, chia seeds and mulling spices in here. Would there be drops of dye throughout the soap that will stain skin, stain soap dishes? Or do you think it all fell through to the bottom somehow?  Can I rework it, or leave it as is?

It’s olive oil, coconut oil, Crisco, lye with orange, cinnamon, rosemary fragrance.


----------



## Mobjack Bay

Donna Ohanian said:


> View attachment 42749
> View attachment 42750
> New at this. Made a HP batch 2 days ago with a friend. 20 bars, 62 ounces of soap. Swirled in Amazon Ktdorns red soap dye right before scooping into containers. Was like mashed potatoes. Took it out today. A wet slurry of red dye was all over the bottom of the container & ruined my wood cutting board. There is oatmeal, chia seeds and mulling spices in here. Would there be drops of dye throughout the soap that will stain skin, stain soap dishes? Or do you think it all fell through to the bottom somehow?  Can I rework it, or leave it as is?
> 
> It’s olive oil, coconut oil, Crisco, lye with orange, cinnamon, rosemary fragrance.View attachment 42749​


Donna - you will likely get more responses if you post this in the beginner thread.


----------



## Edward Sebastian

newbie said:


> I thought this could be helpful to people, to see what these things looks like.
> 
> Ricing, then 2 volcanos, then 2 separating in the mold, and one crack from overheating.
> 
> View attachment 12442
> 
> 
> View attachment 12443
> 
> 
> View attachment 12444
> 
> 
> View attachment 12445
> 
> 
> View attachment 12446
> 
> 
> View attachment 12447


Almost looks like curdled milk


----------



## ShirleyHailstock

Edward Sebastian said:


> Almost looks like curdled milk


What causes these? I haven't been making soap that long, but I have not encountered these (thank heaven).


----------



## shunt2011

ShirleyHailstock said:


> What causes these? I haven't been making soap that long, but I have not encountered these (thank heaven).


Ricing is generally caused by the EO/FO being used.


----------



## ShirleyHailstock

shunt2011 said:


> Ricing is generally caused by the EO/FO being used.


Is ricing a HP issue or does it happen in CP too?


----------



## shunt2011

ShirleyHailstock said:


> Is ricing a HP issue or does it happen in CP too?



More common to CP I think.  I have had ricing with CP.  It can look like rice or sometimes large tapioca.  Generally it can be stick blended to submission but not always. I've had  put a batch or two over the years that was ricing really bad on a burner and heated it a bit while blending to bring it back together.


----------



## Mobjack Bay

Here are some close ups of an overheated soap I made last November.  The white spots are air bubbles.  I suspected bubbles but wasn’t completely sure until I planed one of the soaps today.  You can see the voids of the bubbles if you look closely at the second photo.  The soap, which was made in a silicone-lined loaf mold, also has heat rash on the side.  This soap cracked very slightly on the top.









The soap looks a lot better after planing.


----------



## MelissaG

I so totally had a dream about a massive soap volcano in my kitchen last night lol.


----------



## lloydcreeksoapllc

I had a large hole on the bottom of a batch. Lye water was leaking out.  Cut about 2 inches from the bottom and putting up for awhile.


----------



## Annieywang

@newbie soaper- you had posted this photo, what are those salt like crystals??? I made my first batch of soap and it looks exactly like that!


----------



## IrishLass

Annieywang said:


> @newbie soaper- you had posted this photo, what are those salt like crystals??? I made my first batch of soap and it looks exactly like that!



Welcome, Annieywang!  Newbie hasn't logged on for awhile, but I can answer for her since she mentioned what it was in her post earlier on in the thread. The white stuff on her soap is what is known as ash. I've gotten such ash before on my soap, too. No worries, though....ash is completely harmless, and you can normally wash it right off.


Hope that helps!
IrishLass


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## Annieywang

Hmmm I did the zap test. Not sure I did it right
1- wet finger and ran it across soap, on a smooth surface, then touched my tongue. Nothing happened 

2- wet finger, put one of the Crystals in my tongue... kinda burned. Is that a positive zap test? Meaning active lye??


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## DeeAnna

If it only "kinda burned" the crystal you tasted wasn't active sodium hydroxide. The crystals are probably sodium carbonate (washing soda). They will have a burn-y alkaline taste, but not a sharp "static electricity" kind of zap.

If you don't know what you're getting yourself into -- and a zap test by definition is a bit of a leap into the unknown -- I don't recommend putting unknown crystals directly on your tongue. People have badly burned their tongues with experiments like this. Zap test with caution, please!


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## ShySoaper

Thank you for sharing it’s good to actually see what the soap looks like when this happens.


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## GGMA0317

I'm so fortunate that I've only experienced ricing once and the mild Pringle can explosion. I remember being disappointed that I couldn't CP that fragrance I really liked. This is a good thread for new soapers. Although some will be terrified


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## Darkhawk

This thread is going to be a lot of help. I have never had any of these happen but I assume it's just a matter of time.


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## shunt2011

I've had ricing several times.  Even with a fragrance I've used before with no issues.  It puzzles me as the recipe is the same.  I recently had it happen within two days of each other.  The first batch went off without a hitch then two days later made another one and it riced/separated and took some work to get it back together.  Fortunately, I've never had a volcano, though I've had some cracking in the beginning.  Ash, sometimes.  Generally if I'm impatient to get it out of the mold.


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## AliOop

I enjoy making high-temp fluid hot process on occasion, where volcanoes are the norm. They aren't that scary when they are happening in the pot, as opposed to the mold. You just turn down the heat, stir them down, and keep stirring them down till they quit puffing up.

What scared me more was the lye volcano that occurred when I absent-mindedly dumped the entire amount of lye all at once into the vinegar I was using for 100% water replacement, into which I had pre-dissolved some slightly warmed honey. That was close to an outright explosion of caustic lye liquid all over the surfaces nearby. Thank goodness for gloves, shoes, long sleeves and safety glasses! That taught me a really good lesson about paying attention to what I'm doing.


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## tommysgirl

Thank you to all who have posted! I am still researching and waiting on supplies to arrive. I'm a crafting junkie and I love to learn all I can about as many crafts as I can. My aim is to make soap for home use and gifting, but it  would be great if I can advance to selling online and at craft fairs. It is so helpful to read about the potential problems before I get started. Maybe I can avoid these issues, and if not I now have a resource for dealing with them.


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## Suzette

newbie said:


> I thought this could be helpful to people, to see what these things looks like.
> 
> Ricing, then 2 volcanos, then 2 separating in the mold, and one crack from overheating.
> Thank you for posting these. Very helpful to see them!
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## Jor224

I never had experience in bar soap making, I make liquid soap for the past one month, and I also have memories of disaster. But this is great, I get to see the failure to avoid (or expect?) next time I'm making my first batch of bar soap.


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## Me’Lisa

newbie said:


> I thought this could be helpful to people, to see what these things looks like.
> 
> Ricing, then 2 volcanos, then 2 separating in the mold, and one crack from overheating.
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I’ve had the cracked top. I filled it in with soap slivers and pink salt.


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## KudzuGoddess

Love this thread! So helpful!!! I lost an afternoon the other day trying to figure out if a little spot was a glycerine river or some kind of separation. Up until now all of my recipes have had Mango Butter in them and they all had very fast trace. This batch was a no mango butter batch experiment and I have never seen such light trace. Still don't quite trust it. This one little glycerine river is very suspicious!


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## janesathome

Oh NO! looks like a disaster zone. Thank you for sharing what these issues look like! I will read more right away on causes and prevention.


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