2nd batch - some strange things happened!?!??

[tincanac]

Well, I finally whipped up the ricebran oil combo soap - a few questions about things that happened that didnt happen the first time around.

So I bought a stickblender and threw together all my oils, mixed the lye water etc

I mixed a little bit of coconut oil with charcoal powder, I figured it would be a good way to test my swirling skills....... and stuck it in the microwave to warm up. It caught alight - I got it just in time - I only had it i there for about 20 seconds. Wont be doing that again -
Question: how would one warm up solidifying coconut oil and charcoal mix without sticking it in the microwave - invent a teeny mini double boiler like a cup in a teeny pot of boiling water?

Secondly - when I added the lye water to the oils - I whisked it a bit with a hand held wire whisk and then turned on the stick blender - it traced to a thick batter like consistency in a matter of seconds - is this normal? I used a mixture of 5ml of Aniseed EO and 5ml of Jasmine FO and incorporated it in the thick batter.

I ladeled out about a third of the mixture and combined it with the coconut charcoal mix - it made a gorgeous silky looking black. I then proceeded to very, very quickly glop-pour the two mixtures together and swirl. I used a skewer and stuck it all the way down and ran it the length of the mould in "s" like patterns - did I do that right? It was already too thick to pour. The top looks alright but the sides kind of look more like a glopped black tar and butter mix.
Question: next time should I chuck the black batter in the pot and try swirl in there and then pour and reswirl in the mould?

Third: if I had used a hand beater (like for cakes) may I have avoided the hasty thick batter phase - is the hasty batter phase what is known as seizing?

Fourth: What do you think caused it to set up so quick like that? I only added the FO after it instantaneously thickened, so I know that at the least it wasnt the Fo that caused it to thicken.

Fifth: It seemed to heat up real quick once I poured it into the mould, I gave it a few whacks on the counter to encourage it to even/smooth out - is that normal that it heats up like that or was whacking it on the counter top not a good thing to do?

Fifth: Do you think my soap is alright or should I not be so hopeful?

Sixth: I am dying already to have a look, at what earliest time can I unwrap and have a look?

Good news is - it smells delicious!!! I kind of wanted to put some of the liqorice-ish thick soap spread on my tongue!!!

I ran my Recipe through Soap Calc, I used 350g Rice Bran Oil, 50g castor oil, 350g Coconut oil, and 250g Holsum. Total weight of oils was 1000g or 1kg, and 330g of water, where the lye was at 138g.

Any ideas anyone why this would happen - or is this just normal -

 

[LJA]

T,
Some of the most dreaded soaping experiences end up looking good in the end. Don't count it out yet.

You can melt your hard oils on the stove in a regular old sauce pan, on a lowish temp. You can microwave them too, in short bursts, but it's a preference thing. I melt mine on the stove. I suspect the charcoal caused the pyromania. :wink: You should add that to your already traced soap, premixed in little bit of your liquid oils. You might be able to add it to your liquid oils too, though I haven't done that. let us know how it turns out!

You can peek but make it fast and wrap it back up so you don't lose the heat. LOL!! PEEKER!!!

 

[tincanac]

Tks

I peeked - and it's turning white, where the yellowy butter bits were! YEAY!!! My first batch was yellow buttery like - and I thought I had to add Titanium Dioxide like in MP soap - but it's turning white, whopee. Oh I cant wait to cut it all up, can hardly stand not knowing what it's like on the inside - hasnt anyone invented a quick dry soap curing machine yet.

The swirls seemed to have all melted into random black blobs - oh well! It smells absolutely amazing!

Thanks for the help always - You are all so wonderful!

 

[Guest]

I have a chocolate making double boiler that is about 3 cups , I use it a lot , but not for chocolate .It is perfect for melting small amounts , for making soy tarts and solid lotion bars.

Kitn

 

[ChrissyB]

How much coconut oil to how much charcoal?
I would add the charcoal to the coconut oil, not the other way around, so that it's like black coconut oil, not charcoal slurry.
This could be why it set alight. That's a bit scary.
Next time I would warm the oil in the microwave in short bursts, and then add the charcoal to that once it's warm enough.
As for the cake mixer/blender, you must use a stick blender, unless you want to make whipped soap. A cake mixer will incorporate too much air into your soap batter.
Sometimes the oils that you add for fragrance can speed up trace, or even seize, this is more likely with fragrance oils, but it can happen with essential oils also. A good trick is to reserve a little bit of your oils, mix your fragrances into that, then add the mix back in at trace. It sort of lessens the shock to your soap batter, because the eo's or fo's are mixed with oil that's already in the pot.
You won't get good swirls if it's too thick, it will just sit there in a lump, and you even risk air bubbles if you are running a skewer or a chopstick through it. To swirl, I wait until my mix is just at light trace, super light, separate, colour, swirl. As you get to know what you are looking for with trace you will become more confident in stopping at light trace, when I first started soaping my soap was practically thick custard before I would pour it. Now it's only just combined and not going to separate when I pour. It also helps when you know your recipe and how it's going to react.
Yes it's normal for the soap to heat up, this is good. This is known as the gel phase, and it's when your mix is starting to saponify. I hope I helped some.
Can't wait to see how it turns out!