A lesson in patience

[pmqmama]

I really really really wanted to do a swirl today. I did not take out my stick blender at all.

We have issues, her and I. ;-) I go from liquid to potato in seconds. Maybe I should buy a cheap one that might not be as strong??

Will put up pics once I pour. 1/2hr in and still stirring away.




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[Lion Of Judah]

you do not have to buy another one. you are running your EB too long in your batch , you need to stir a bit and pulse blend with your blender like a couple minutes then stir again . and when doing swirls you do not want full trace , you want it emulsified that oil and water do not separate.
what does your recipe look like ans what temp you work at ?

 

[pmqmama]

That's the thing - I wasn't even able to run it for more than 30-45 seconds before everything was to that almost-set pudding stage.

I think for swirling in the pot, I'll stick to hand-mixing. I'd rather it take longer and still turn out. We are ending up with a LOT of fugly soap around here. Haha

I waited until just above 100'F before mixing, instead of my usual -- ooh, it's about the same temp, mix mix mix! lol (usually 130' or so).

Used 16oz olive oil, 8oz each of Palm and Coconut, 4oz each of shea, almond and avocado, then 2oz castor oil. It sounds like a lot, but my 2 "seizures" have been with coconut/palm/olive/castor/almond mix. More liquid oils = more working time???

It's purty though. Probably a little more mixed than it should be, but better than coloured blobs of potato! ;-)




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[Ananke]

I made my second ever soap today and had the same problem. I had to spoon it into the mould, i'm not holding out much hope for it.

I want to try swirls so I'll try again tomorrow.

I love the colours you have used in this batch.

 

[pmqmama]

The batch I tried last night looks like playdoh, but the kids will like it. The stuff I tried earlier yesterday looks like head cheese.... or bacon. Strawberry-scented bacon, at that


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[eyeroll]

I like it. I bet it will be pretty cut.


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[Pepsi Girl]

I agree with eyeroll! Never judge til you cut!

 

[kazmi]

From what I can see in the pic it looks like you will be very pleased with this batch! A lot my batches emulsify pretty quickly so I stir most of time with a few very short bursts of the SB. This helps to keep from getting to trace so that I can get my colors/FO in and do some swirls.

 

[savonierre]

that looks very pretty to me..

 

[Jakeedin]

I think it has turned out pretty good so far.

 

[pmqmama]

It's still really soft. :-( If it doesn't set, can I save it at all??

Stick blender and I are working well together the last couple of days though.

I will have to do a new batch and try again.


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[Serenity]

I agree with Laneau, when you want to swirl, you only need to stick blend just enough to get the soap emulsified, not traced. That might only be 20 seconds. Emulsified is when the soap turns opaque and you can't see any separate areas of oil in the mixture. After that, put the blender away. Once it's emulsified you can pour it and swirl away.

Your recipe doesn't sound problematic. With higher amounts of olive oil (50% or more) trace is usually slowed down. If I want to do a swirl I add a bit of sunflower oil as that can slow down trace too. I avoid rice bran oil as that seems to thicken without even stick blending.

Sometimes a fragrance or essential oil will cause seizing so that's another thing to consider.

Don't lose hope. You can do it! My first attempts at swirls ended up just big blobs of colours. It's an art and it takes practice. Good luck!

 

[pmqmama]

I'm sad though. Lol

It's very pretty but will NOT set. It's still like hard-set pudding after 2 days.

Do I just call it a loss and dump it to get my mold back? Or wait a few more days and see?


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[Serenity]

PS. Castor oil can make your soap soft so I would recommend leaving it a bit longer. I haven't checked your recipe but I'm sure it will harden up eventually. :smile:

 

[pmqmama]

I just checked it again for the first time since last night. It may be okay. I hope so - the swirls look cute.




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[Serenity]

Okay, seeing as you are sad I have put your recipe into my spreadsheet. You have 4% castor oil and it just so happens that one of my recipes has 4% castor oil. My notes say that I cut it at 44 hours after pouring and it was good to cut. Why don't you check it in the morning - will that be 48 hours?

 

[shunt2011]

Looks like it will be pretty. I never run my stickblendeer for even 30 seconds at at time. I just give it a couple short bursts and then stir and repeat if needed until it's only emulsified. Especially when I want to do a swirl. Can't wait to see it cut. Very pretty. I use both rice bran 25% and up to 10% Castor and I'm able to swirl multiple colors and cut mine in 24 hours. It just takes practice. You'll be fine!

 

[Serenity]

Pretty colours! It looks like Fluorite. Cover it up and give it a bit longer though.

I'm going to bed! Night!

 

[eleraine]

What's your soaping temp like? The hotter you soap, the faster you'll get to trace.

 

[AKjulz]

Sounds like your previous soaping temp may be a bit high at 130, I'd try around 110. Some fragrance oils have really caused probs for me...seizing and ricing. Have you used this FO or EO before?
Your soap looks beautiful! Someone said fluorite, I think so too really neat swirl. Hope you can get your mold back from that soap soon


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