# White spots from silk?



## Mish (Sep 20, 2013)

Has anyone had this happen to them before?

I put about a thumb nail sized piece of silk in my lye.  I was making a 6lb batch of soap.  This was my first time trying out silk... what did I do wrong?








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## sistrum (Sep 20, 2013)

Bummer,  I've never seen that and I've been using silk for years.  Once a full oz in 100oz batch.  
Did you put the silk in the water before the lye?  This is almost a must do.  
Was it noils?  Not sure that it would matter 
Are you sure it was pure silk and not a blend?

That's all I can think to ask now.  Let us know.  If I didn't know it wasn't suppose to happen I would think it looks kinda cool!


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## Mish (Sep 20, 2013)

Ah... I'm pretty sure I added it after the Lye!  

So that's got to be it.  

I'm not sure of the type of silk I got a couple samples a while ago from a supply company so In figured I'll give it a whirl... I'll try it again putting it in the water before the lye... This time though only in a 2lb batch.  Lol, my friend said the same thing she liked the way it looks so I'm give in her a bunch once it cures  

Thnx for the advice 


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## sistrum (Sep 20, 2013)

Glad you figured it out!


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## namad (Sep 20, 2013)

I put my silk in the lye/water, right after I put the lye in it. I don't put it in the water first, then add the lye. 

I have never had that happen either, fingers crossed it doesn't happen to you again!


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## Mish (Sep 20, 2013)

Me too!  


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## savonierre (Sep 20, 2013)

Could that be stearic spots, I have never seen silk do that..


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## seven (Jan 7, 2014)

i dont know what that white spots were, but i just wanna say that i add my silk to the water after the lye, when it's bloody hot and the silk just gone POOF. never had a problem.


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## Tienne (Jan 7, 2014)

I've never seen spots like that before! Wow. There are so many of them, too! They almost look like mold. You didn't happen to put anything in the soap that could go bad, did you? Not that I can imagine what that might be. What a shame. It's otherwise a nice-looking soap. Soaping101 says to add the silk to the lye solution while it's still hot and to stir until it's dissolved. Could your lye water have been too cool when you put the silk in? It sure looks weird, whatever it is.


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## paillo (Jan 7, 2014)

A thumbnail of silk for a 6-lb batch isn't a lot, and I can't imagine it would produce that many white spots, but...

I always mix my initial base clay, sodium lactate and silk to a thick paste, then add my water, mix well, then the lye. Have never had a problem with white spots from silk, and I use a hefty cotton-ball size for a 5-lb batch.


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## lsg (Jan 8, 2014)

What oils did you use? Could be stearic spots or maybe spots caused by the FO.  I use silk fibers and have never had spots like those.


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## shunt2011 (Jan 8, 2014)

I add my silk to the water and let it sit a few minutes and the add my lye to it.  Been doing this for several years and have never seen that before.  But it soulds like you figured out what happend.


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## Sunaelurus (Apr 3, 2014)

I used about a thumbnail size piece in a 4lb batch of sandalwood soap. I added it to water before lye, and the same thing happened to me. My spots don't show up as well as yours, but they're there. Your soap is darker so they're more noticeable.


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## inkyfingers (Apr 18, 2014)

I've had this happen to my soap too, after putting silk in it.  However, I thought it was because I put Vanilla EO in the batter at trace, and because I'm pretty sure I went about using vanilla all wrong, I thought that was the reason.

 I'm gonna have to invest in a mini sieve.


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## thetallcuteone (Nov 4, 2014)

What is silk?


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## JustBeachy (Nov 5, 2014)

namad said:


> I put my silk in the lye/water, right after I put the lye in it. I don't put it in the water first, then add the lye.
> 
> I have never had that happen either, fingers crossed it doesn't happen to you again!



Same here. I'm trying to figure out how adding it before the lye would make any difference. For the record, I've used both liquid and tussah silk.


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## shunt2011 (Nov 5, 2014)

I add it to the water to let it absorb some of the water first.  Otherwise it just floats on top.   I've just done it from the start and it works for me.  Probably makes no difference at all.


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## Mish (Jan 20, 2015)

Hey guys, I know this reply is like two years later  but those white spots were caused by stearic acid! 
Hope that helps. 
Mish


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