Lye flakes in soap?

rwatt · May 22, 2013

Just wondering if anyone can say if these white spots are lye or not?

The recipe included crisco with hydrongenated palm oil, olive oil, coconut oil, water and sodium hydroxide.

One has red clay, the other has ultramarine blue pigment.

I followed the recipe accurately, and the soap hardened up very quickly (within 36 hours).

My lye water was fairly cloudy, but I think it was still dissolved. I stirred it for a good few minutes, but didn't strain it.

I can't tell with the zap test if it is lye or not - there is a slight "zing", but not very intense. I also tried using a piece, and it didn't feel corrosive.

Thanks for any help!

misskat22 · May 22, 2013

It looks to me like your colour didn't get mixed properly. If you zap tested it and didn't get any zap (and trust me, you'd know!) then I'd say it's not lye. I got my first zap a few weeks ago, before that I had no idea what it felt like and wasn't sure, then it happened a BAM! I *KNEW*. My husband found the face I made quite amusing, but it really reassured me that all my other soaps that I thought *might* be zappy weren't LOL! I think I recall hearing somewhere that this can happen with palm, but I thought that was just with straight palm that hadn't been fully melted and then stirred, I don't know if it can happen when using shortening.

meeplesoap · May 22, 2013

When you use palm oil, are you melting the entire bag/bucket? Because there are bits in there you need for it to set right, so unlike other oils, you can't just take a scoop out - you have to melt and squish-mix the whole lot, THEN take what you need. If you didn't that, that could be a possible explanation for what you're seeing here.

VanessaP · May 22, 2013

If your hydrogenated palm was ever melted at all (during transit is a biggie, especially if it sat in a warehouse in a warm part of the country over a weekend), you will have to melt and stir before each batch. That's why I stick to buying the hydrogenated only in the winter LOL

It looks like stearic streaks/spots, which come from an overload of stearic in the palm due to insufficient stirring while melted before measuring it out. Usually happens more often when you're getting closer to the bottom of the container since stearic likes to settle.

misskat22 · May 22, 2013

"The recipe included crisco with hydrongenated palm oil"

I don't think it would have been an issue with the hydrongenated palm since it was Crisco that was being used..they clearly would have incorporated it properly in the premade product. I'm wondering though, how well did you stir your melted oils? Once I melt mine together I give them a quick whiz with the stick blender before I add my lye solution to make sure that all the oils are mixed together well. I don't use palm so I'm not sure if temp has anything to do with it, but maybe it was too hot? Or too cold? *shrug*

rwatt · May 22, 2013

thanks everybody - very helpful and interesting!

could it be air bubbles?

and if it is stearic acid, is it harmful to use?

VanessaP · May 22, 2013

No, the stearic spots are merely a cosmetic thing, perfectly safe to use.

cmzaha · May 30, 2013

It looks like stearic streaks/spots, which come from an overload of stearic in the palm due to insufficient stirring while melted before measuring it out. Usually happens more often when you're getting closer to the bottom of the container since stearic likes to settle.[/QUOTE]

I agree with the stearic. I have seen it happen with palm.

Lye flakes in soap?

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