# Soap too soft....



## GaiaOne (Oct 18, 2012)

Hi everyone, first time posting and before I start I want to say "HI, nice to meet you, and I'm so glad I found this board!".  I am trying to make little Christmas soaps and an having issues with the soap being too soft.  The consistency is that of Crisco Shortening.  I am using a SFIC Organic Clear Base with Iron Oxide powder for red coloring, and added some stearic acid to make the soap harder.   Then I added more stearic acid, then more, and more!!!  You get the point, it refuses to harden!  Any ideas on what is going on?  I only use organic ingredients, so if you have any ideas on some other kind of organic coloring I could use (I think that may be the issue) please let me know.  Thanks!


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## AlchemyandAshes (Oct 18, 2012)

Welcome to the forum! :wave: 
Can you tell us how you're heating the base (crock pot, double boiler, microwave) and at what temp you're adding your colorant? I can't imagine that just melting a base and adding an oxide would cause it to be so soft that it's the consistency of Crisco...that would be really weird  :Kitten Love: Is it just rubbery? Rubbery is usually from overheating...


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## sperry (Oct 19, 2012)

I just ordered a sample pack from SFIC that I should get tomorrow.  I'll be sure to run a test on that type first thing and let you know if I get anything wierd.


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## Sanctuary (Oct 27, 2012)

Your situation sounds really weird....I never had that problem....but if you want to use a natural colorant....try using beet juice.  It won't make the soap dark red.....but it is natural.  

Sanctuary


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## Mish (Mar 20, 2013)

Hi Sanctuary, 

I just looked up "beet juice' and came across this post of yours. Do you suggest using the beet juice with the lye or minus a percentage of the water you would use with lye and then adding that percentage of beet juice in at light trace? 
I am looking forward to experimenting with beet juice as a natural colorant.


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## Seifenblasen (Mar 20, 2013)

Mish said:


> Do you suggest using the beet juice with the lye or minus a percentage of the water you would use with lye and then adding that percentage of beet juice in at light trace?



I don't know anything about melt and pour.  In CP, beets would turn the soap a muddy yellow/light brown.  It also has a very strong smell that tends to linger ...


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## lisamaliga (Mar 20, 2013)

I'd suggest contacting the supplier and the manufacturer of the base. Here is the contact information for SFIC. 
http://www.sficcorp.com/inner.php?cs_brief=23


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## Mune (Mar 24, 2013)

I use cocoa butter in my mp to make them firmer and not so pliant. Works really well. Too much oil can cause the soap to be "crisco-like" or for it to sweat the oil and be slimey.


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## Mish (Mar 25, 2013)

Seifenblasen said:


> I don't know anything about melt and pour. In CP, beets would turn the soap a muddy yellow/light brown. It also has a very strong smell that tends to linger ...


 
I was referring to CP not MP... I guess when everyone talks about beet juice perhaps they are using it in MP... Thnx for the heads up... that saves me a wasted experiment. ;-)


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## Badger (Mar 25, 2013)

Mish, they are talking about MP because this post is on the MP forum


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## normasbathandbody (Mar 26, 2013)

I heard that coconut oil added hardens the soap!


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## Mish (Apr 1, 2013)

Ah, Well that makes sense... I just did a search on "beet juice" and landed here.  Thnx for the heads up.


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