Lye heavy - loose stearic acid or just colour problem

kyliecoast · Mar 21, 2014

I made a soap with 3 colours including white.

The soap has areas of white specs but they are not dry or powdery.
I did a PH test and it was 10 and the same PH as 2 other soaps (store bought and a CP I made earlier). I did the tongue test and no zap.

I did have trouble combining the stearic acid into the the oils.
I usually add 1 teaspoon each of salt and sugar to the lye water for bubbles/hardness but I forgot this time and I added them to the oils instead.
Everything else was normal.

Can you please tell me if my soap Lye heavy or is it just a cosmetic issue?

Thanks a bunch.

Kylie

The Efficacious Gentleman · Mar 21, 2014

If you did a good old zap test, I'd say you're out of trouble. Did you test both the spots AND a normal part of the soap?

cmzaha · Mar 21, 2014

Salt and sugar both need to be dissolved before adding to the oils. They will not dissolve properly. I am guessing your white spots are a combo of salt specks and stearic acid. Why not use palm oil which contains a large percent of stearic acid and makes a hard soap? Palm is easier to melt and keep melted lessening the chance of stearic spots. As long as your bars are not zappy it is just cosmetic

kyliecoast · Mar 21, 2014

Hi Guys

Thanks for your replies.
I tested both the spots and the normal parts of the soap with my tongue and my ph strips and they didn't react.

I can't seem to buy palm oil here in Australia (at least not at my local shops where I can buy olive & coconut oils). Stearic acid I was able to buy cheap from an online soap making shop. I've used it before in most of my bars and I never had a problem. I guess I didn't heat it high enough.

Happysoap · Mar 22, 2014

If you added the salt and sugar to the oils then there lies your problems. Neither will dissolve in oil.

Edit: I posted before reading other replies.

cmzaha · Mar 22, 2014

kyliecoast said:
Hi Guys

Thanks for your replies.
I tested both the spots and the normal parts of the soap with my tongue and my ph strips and they didn't react.

I can't seem to buy palm oil here in Australia (at least not at my local shops where I can buy olive & coconut oils). Stearic acid I was able to buy cheap from an online soap making shop. I've used it before in most of my bars and I never had a problem. I guess I didn't heat it high enough.

That would certainly be a good reason to not use palm. Please excuse me, sometimes I forget some of you cannot get the oils like we can here in the States. I have ended up with stearic specks when using palm in some of my fast moving soaps. Fortunetly it is cosmetic

kyliecoast · Mar 24, 2014

No worries cmzaha, you had no way of knowing what country I am from.
It might be available if I look hard enough but its not readily or cheaply available.
There used to be palm oil sold as 'Frymaster vegetable shortening' but I can't see it anywhere. I think selling palm oil would be seen as controversial here but I could be wrong. I'm a new soaper, a long term Aussie soaper may know better.

Salt, sugar or stearic acid or all of the above were in the soap, but as long as it's not lye it will be ok!

I made another batch of soap and this one is all soft and sticky *sigh*.

seven · Mar 24, 2014

i think you can get palm in aussie from aussie soap supplies, new directions...

kyliecoast · Mar 29, 2014

I read that I can get palm oil as the yellow package of Supafry solidified oil. I asked hubby to get it, sent him a picture and he came back with beef fat! Oh well. Tallow soap it is.

I also found a great site for micas and colour oxides:
www.wholesalemineralmakeup.com.au

Where do you other Aussie soapers buy your colours and fragrances from?

This is my tallow soap using a pink mica. I love how hard and white the tallow soap is.
But I guess this "animal fat" batch won't have any label appeal ...

kyliecoast · Mar 29, 2014

I believe that the one on the left is palm oil and the one on the right is tallow (beef). This is based on my research on the internet because the package ingredients are non-specific (labels state blended vegetable fat/blended animal fats).

Lye heavy - loose stearic acid or just colour problem

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