A few soap pics & a question

[tisci]

Hi everyone. Just a quick question. I try to soap around 110 degrees to make sure I get a decent gel. I can't tell if I'm using fragrance oils that cause issues or if it's a user error, so I figured I'd ask. I get the soap to a thin trace & add the fragrance oil. I pulse my stick blender to get it all mixed in & then, almost every time, in the few seconds it takes me to turn around & pour it, the soap has thickened up & almost looks riced. It cures fine, but it always has a weird mottled look. The ones I've used that I knew were accelerators, I was prepared for & they seized & riced on me like crazy. The ones that are listed as non issue FO's but did this were Dude, Chocolate Cheesecake & Snowman Balls, all from NG.

Should I try to soap at a lower temp? Should I not bother getting it to trace before adding the FO, just get everything mixed & then add to see what happens? Any suggestions are appreciated. Other than the look, they're great bars. I'm just getting frustrated w/some of my batches turning out all ugly. I posted this in the CP forum, but haven't heard back yet. The mottled soap is Snowman Balls. No colorant, just my regular recipe & the fragrance. I also included a pic of peppermint soap that I made to show the difference when this happens. The peppermint is gorgeous looking, Snowman Balls looks all messed up.

 

[Hazel]

I can't help you with the other two but I used Snowman Balls and it accelerated and discolored with a mottled look, too. I would have been okay with it moving that fast if it hadn't been for the discoloration. Why name a FO "Snowman Balls" when it doesn't stay light? There is a review on NG's site that does mention it accelerates and discolors.

 

[tisci]

Thank you!! I'm guessing that any FO I get that accelerates may turn out like this then. I'm just hesitant about giving/gifting them when they look like this. I would eventually like to sell, when I feel comfortable enough with my product & don't want people to be turned off by soap like this that they received early on. Do you recommend felting them all so they can't see the weird mottling?

 

[Hazel]

If you're really don't like the look then you could felt them if you wanted. How old is the soap? You might want to give it a little more time to see if it discolors more. It might become quite interesting. I had a salt batch that discolored to gray and I just about cried when I saw the color morph. I had swirled purple and green mica through it and I thought what a waste of colorants. A couple of months later when I started to use a bar, I realized it was really cool looking. It was like using a river rock to wash with - light colored gray with swirls of purplish gray (the green didn't show up). It was different but rather elegant in a way. So, you never know how something will turn out until you give it a little time to go through the changes during the cure period.

Also, people might find the look of it off-putting but if the soap is great then they'll use it. :wink:

 

[tisci]

It's only 2 months old. I have a pumpkin spice one that's a year old & it's a darker mottle. It doesn't bother me too much, I just worry that it's unprofessional looking & will be off putting to people. I'll felt a few & see. I'm doing an educational presentation on soapmaking in a few weeks where I explain how I make it & I was going to bring labeled samples. I will see what people gravitate towards when they pick them up to look at then. This will be the first time people other than my friends will be seeing my soaps.

That river rock soap does sound pretty cool. Thank you so much for the advice!

 

[Hazel]

You're welcome but I didn't give any advice, just my opinion. I went and checked on the salt bar I made. I told a lie. It was gray but changed to tan during the cure time. Here's the link to the pic of it. It's the Celtic Myst. viewtopic.php?f=16&t=26177

I doubt your soap will change color since it's already 2 months old. I've noticed the color changes occur in the first few weeks. I think you should do what you feel is best. Have fun with your educational presentation!

 

[green soap]

I use several additives that cause soap to rice. Spice EOs, oil infused in paprika and rosemary, they all accelerate. The soaps end up with a lapidary look indeed. Granite or marble sometimes. Not a bad look.

With a known accelerating FO some folks add the FO to the oil blend before adding the lye solution. Then don't use a stick blender, or if you do, just a few pulses. Increasing the water amount and decreasing temperature also help.

Your temperature sounds right though. If you use butters (cocoa for example) then you want to soap at higher temperature to avoid 'false' trace'. False trace is what you get when your oils/butters harden due to too low a temperature. Lately I have been avoiding the butters with the accelerating additives, it just makes it too hard. If you are not using butters, maybe try dropping the temperature to about 100F.