Stearic Crackle

danahuff · Jan 7, 2013

Hi folks,

I have been experimenting with titanium dioxide for the first time, and I got that stearic crackle throughout my soap. It actually looks really cool, but hypothetically, if I wanted to avoid them, what should I do differently? Here was my process:

Recipe:

30% olive
25% coconut
25% palm
10% sweet almond
5% cocoa butter
5% castor

My lye and oils were 100 degrees (give or take a degree or two, but very close to that).

I mixed the titanium dioxide with some sweet almond oil thinking it would disperse better??

I had three colors. Two were shades of raspberry that I made by combining red oxide and ultramarine violet. Then I added titanium dioxide to one batch of the raspberry so I could lighten it. The third color was just white with titanium dioxide.

I used Nature's Garden's Black Raspberry Vanilla fo.

My soap DID go through gel.

I have seen on this forum before the suggestion that I should soap hotter, like 120 degrees or so, but my fear was that I couldn't do a swirl if I did that. Can you still swirl if you soap hotter?

Any other tips I have overlooked in my search through the forum?

lsg · Jan 7, 2013

Here is an older post on the subject:
http://www.soapmakingforum.com/f22/crackle-mottled-cold-process-soap-27681/

danahuff · Jan 7, 2013

Thanks, I missed that one in my search.

So if I soap at 110-115 degrees, am I still going to be able to do an ITP swirl? I was afraid the soap would be too hot and would trace too quickly.

chicklet · Jan 7, 2013

I had the same problem with streaks in a couple of batches. I decided it was the TD. I read somewhere that TD should be hydrated for at least 30 minutes before you mix it in your batter (if you use the powder instead of premixed liquid). I started doing that (mixing my TD in water) and have had no more streaks. Now I'm experimenting with pre-mixing the TD. I put a few teaspoons of powdered TD in a jar and added distiller water (didn't measure). It will be guesswork as to how much of my mixture to use, but I plan on just starting with a 1/2 tsp and go from there.

danahuff · Jan 7, 2013

chicklet said:
I had the same problem with streaks in a couple of batches. I decided it was the TD. I read somewhere that TD should be hydrated for at least 30 minutes before you mix it in your batter (if you use the powder instead of premixed liquid). I started doing that (mixing my TD in water) and have had no more streaks. Now I'm experimenting with pre-mixing the TD. I put a few teaspoons of powdered TD in a jar and added distiller water (didn't measure). It will be guesswork as to how much of my mixture to use, but I plan on just starting with a 1/2 tsp and go from there.

So you dispersed it in water instead of oil? I might try that. I did disperse it in a small amount of sweet almond oil the day before, but I didn't think about using water. The kind I bought was from Nature's Garden. It is powder. I didn't think of using water because of the instructions they provide on the product page: http://www.naturesgardencandles.com...m/-Titanium-Dioxide-Oil-Dispersible-1-oz.html

Like I said, it actually looks really super cool, but I don't think I want it to do that every time. However, I am thinking now that I know how to achieve that crackle effect, I might do it on purpose sometimes.

Genny · Jan 7, 2013

If your TD is oil dispersible, it will not disperse well in water. I have the TD from NG & it works best in oil or vegetable glycerin.

danahuff · Jan 7, 2013

Genny said:
If your TD is oil dispersible, it will not disperse well in water. I have the TD from NG & it works best in oil or vegetable glycerin.

Thanks, Genny. Do you have any recommendations I missed?

Genny · Jan 7, 2013

How much TD did you add to how much sweet almond oil? Also, did you use your stick blender or a mini frother to mix the TD & SAO? You have to really, really mix it.
I use one of these to mix my colorants in oil
http://www.brambleberry.com/Mini-White-Plastic-Mixer-P4721.aspx
http://www.elementsbathandbody.com/Mini-Cordless-Mixer-pr-1606.html

I mainly use the little silver disc attachment. It really helps in getting powders dispersed well. I got mine at Walmart or Target for about $5.

danahuff · Jan 7, 2013

I think I used maybe a teaspoon of titanium dioxide with a tablespoon of oil. I was attempting to following this suggestion: http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/beyondbasics/ss/4colorinthemoldsoapswirl_6.htm

I have a broken frother for hot chocolate. I guess I should get another. I mixed the titanium dioxide by putting it in a baggie with the oil and squishing it a whole lot. Guess I didn't quite squish it enough!

MaitriBB · Jan 7, 2013

I have had success with putting the dry TD on top of my lye before I add it to the water. So essentially it mixes in with the lye and water and then I don't get any streaks.

danahuff · Jan 7, 2013

Here is what the soap looks like. My nine-year-old son said it looks like ham! Until he said that I was fine and thought it looked cool. Now I just see ham when I look at it! Oh, well.

maiseycat · Jan 7, 2013

I have used TD a grand total of twice, so this is purely anecdotal, and should not e taken for a fact.

My TD is water soluble as well. First time I used it, I got that crackle. I remembered an off hand comment someone posted about not having that issue when they prevented gel, so the second time, I stuck my soap in the freezer. As far as I can tell, it worked, but as I have only tried once, there may be another factor I have not taken into consideration.

danahuff · Jan 7, 2013

maiseycat said:
I have used TD a grand total of twice, so this is purely anecdotal, and should not e taken for a fact.

My TD is water soluble as well. First time I used it, I got that crackle. I remembered an off hand comment someone posted about not having that issue when they prevented gel, so the second time, I stuck my soap in the freezer. As far as I can tell, it worked, but as I have only tried once, there may be another factor I have not taken into consideration.

Yeah, this I definitely gelled. I might try not to gel next time, in addition to some of the other suggestions. I ordered one of the small hand mixers Genny shared, too, so I can mix the TD more thoroughly.

Lindy · Jan 8, 2013

There are 2 different kinds of TD and I like the water dispersal. I have had crackle a few times and I have heard some say that if you overload the soap with TD can get crackle. In my experience it is when I haven't mixed it well enough. I like to mix it and then add it to my oils before adding my lye.

Personally I think crackle looks pretty cool....

danahuff · Jan 8, 2013

Lindy said:
There are 2 different kinds of TD and I like the water dispersal. I have had crackle a few times and I have heard some say that if you overload the soap with TD can get crackle. In my experience it is when I haven't mixed it well enough. I like to mix it and then add it to my oils before adding my lye.

Personally I think crackle looks pretty cool....

Yeah, I got the oil-dispersible kind. I didn't realize there would that much of a difference. Live and learn!

I do think this soap looks cool, but I want to know how to avoid it, too.

Kersten · Jan 9, 2013

chicklet said:
I had the same problem with streaks in a couple of batches. I decided it was the TD. I read somewhere that TD should be hydrated for at least 30 minutes before you mix it in your batter (if you use the powder instead of premixed liquid). I started doing that (mixing my TD in water) and have had no more streaks. Now I'm experimenting with pre-mixing the TD. I put a few teaspoons of powdered TD in a jar and added distiller water (didn't measure). It will be guesswork as to how much of my mixture to use, but I plan on just starting with a 1/2 tsp and go from there.

I had the same experience as chicklet. I started mixing my TD in water instead of oil at the begining of the process to hydrate. I haven't had a streak since. But I agree that the effect can be neat!

memphishiker · Jan 9, 2013

Looks pretty cool too me. It's amazing that sometimes our "mistakes" can really look nice. I got that with a couple of rebatches. Didn't like them at first but now they are growing on me.

Lindy · Jan 9, 2013

I don't have a problem with oil soluble it just requires different handling. When I have it (and it is way cheaper than water soluble) you handle it the same as your mica etc in that you add it to some of the oils from your batch and mix it up well before adding any of the soap batch to it. I also like to put it through a fine sieve to break it up and make it blend better. I do that with my water soluble TD as well.

Something else you can do when you are working with the oil soluble, if you want crackling in one spot such as the center like the soap attached, add just a bit of water and don't stir in completely and you can then control when you get crackle and when you don't. You can do it with water soluble as well.

deg195 · Jan 9, 2013

I had soap that did this before. i thought it was from overheating. What is the difference between overheating alligator like and steric crackle?

Stearic Crackle

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