A picture of ricing, volcanos, separating, overheating

[Rune]

CPOP is something I want to try more. I think I tried it once (can't remember what I did and why). But what I can remember, is that the fragrance were in the oven for a long time. I tried to burn it off and everything, but it didn't work, it had to disappear by itself. I have to find a sealed box or something I can put the soap in first, and then pop it in the oven.

I did also almost destroy the dishwasher by washing dirty soapmaking dishes. The fragrance was in the dishwasher for really long. Very strong, and not pleasant (it was a scent that was very unpleasant at first, but cured in the soap to become wonderful). The dishes for this glycerin river soap is still in a bag and put away. The plan was to saponify the dishes overnight first, but I forgot about about them. Will never use the dishwasher again, that is for sure.

 

[Nanette]

I want to make a soap one day, full of glycerin rivers as the design. That is really beautiful (see the link below). But for this soap I did not want them at all. Some would been okey, but most of the bars are heavy full of them, making most of the white parts beige/yellow-ish, in contrast with the bright white parts. I think it only really shows in the first picture. The rivers in the blue part doesn't bother me too much, no.

Auntie Clara made some stunning soaps with glycerin rivers as the only design element. I find them really spectactular! Have a look:

https://auntieclaras.com/2018/05/how-to-make-glycerine-rivers/

Oh Wow they are beautiful!

 

[penelopejane]

Thank you, Penelopejane! Really interesting.

Yes, they are easy to avoid. I have never had them before. I was just stupid and thought higher water would give me a more fluid batch, and totally forgot that more water means risk of glycerin rivers. On top of that, I miscalculated things in the recipe, and got even more water than I at first had in mind.

I saw those spots, but I don't find that the worst problem right now. But if I can avoid them, I will try to do so next time. By soaping hot, roughly how hot do you think I have to soap?

I soap at 110*F (42*C) in my recipes that have high stearic acid - Shea butter and coconut oil) to avoid the spots. You can melt those two oils and stir them into your main oils rather than heating to whole lot depending on percentages.

I should test it to see if I can soap a bit cooler but that temp works without fail.

 

[Susie]

I use full water recipes that are soaped hot fairly often, and have never once had glycerin rivers in 5+ years of soaping.

 

[KathyW]

Hi, just unmolded my 2nd batch of soap. Can anyone tell me if they have seen this before?

I'll include a couple of pictures of the cut sides. Would love to hear any comments.

 

[DeeAnna]

@KathyW -- You will probably get more responses if you create a new thread with your problem soap.

This thread is for people to show the various things that can happen to soap. While it may seem like your soap fits here, you don't really know what the problem is, so I think you are wanting help with troubleshooting the problem rather than sharing a "show and tell" example.

Also, please introduce yourself in the Introduction forum -- tell us a little about yourself!

 

[KathyW]

Thanks DeeAnna

 

[Mobjack Bay]

Here’s one for the experts! After reading the troubleshooting guide on the Miller soap website, the best I could come up with is that I had achieved only a semi-stable emulsion before I started hand mixing in different concentrations of madder dye for each individual bar of soap. I was leaving the batter on the thin side so the exposed surface would be as smooth as possible. Could it have gotten lye heavy towards the bottom of the mold (downside in the photo) without fully separating ? The top layers of each bar were on the the exposed side of the cavity mold. They are soft with a moist powder consistency. I wouldn’t say the feel is oily. I’ve since used the dye in a successful loaf of soap, so I don’t think it’s to blame.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

And, perhaps some alien brain type thing happening between the layers on the right soap? No ideas from anyone?

 

[Kim Pyrros]

I thought this could be helpful to people, to see what these things looks like.

Ricing, then 2 volcanos, then 2 separating in the mold, and one crack from overheating.

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Man,! I gotta say that I am glad to see I am not the only soaper whose soap, I use that term lightly, turns into a volcanic stone monster sucking my will to soap. Thank You!

 

[Jeboz]

Man,! I gotta say that I am glad to see I am not the only soaper whose soap, I use that term lightly, turns into a volcanic stone monster sucking my will to soap. Thank You!

Man, you’ve had an interesting run! Hopefully you have many more beautifuls.........

 

[Nanette]

The volcanoes in particular are Outstanding! Not for soaping but just......love it. Thank you it hasnt happened to me yet....

 

[Donna Ohanian]

New at this. Made a HP batch 2 days ago with a friend. 20 bars, 62 ounces of soap. Swirled in Amazon Ktdorns red soap dye right before scooping into containers. Was like mashed potatoes. Took it out today. A wet slurry of red dye was all over the bottom of the container & ruined my wood cutting board. There is oatmeal, chia seeds and mulling spices in here. Would there be drops of dye throughout the soap that will stain skin, stain soap dishes? Or do you think it all fell through to the bottom somehow? Can I rework it, or leave it as is?

It’s olive oil, coconut oil, Crisco, lye with orange, cinnamon, rosemary fragrance.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

View attachment 42749 View attachment 42750 New at this. Made a HP batch 2 days ago with a friend. 20 bars, 62 ounces of soap. Swirled in Amazon Ktdorns red soap dye right before scooping into containers. Was like mashed potatoes. Took it out today. A wet slurry of red dye was all over the bottom of the container & ruined my wood cutting board. There is oatmeal, chia seeds and mulling spices in here. Would there be drops of dye throughout the soap that will stain skin, stain soap dishes? Or do you think it all fell through to the bottom somehow? Can I rework it, or leave it as is?

It’s olive oil, coconut oil, Crisco, lye with orange, cinnamon, rosemary fragrance.View attachment 42749​

Donna - you will likely get more responses if you post this in the beginner thread.

 

[Edward Sebastian]

I thought this could be helpful to people, to see what these things looks like.

Ricing, then 2 volcanos, then 2 separating in the mold, and one crack from overheating.

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Almost looks like curdled milk

 

[ShirleyHailstock]

Almost looks like curdled milk

What causes these? I haven't been making soap that long, but I have not encountered these (thank heaven).

 

[shunt2011]

What causes these? I haven't been making soap that long, but I have not encountered these (thank heaven).

Ricing is generally caused by the EO/FO being used.

 

[ShirleyHailstock]

Ricing is generally caused by the EO/FO being used.

Is ricing a HP issue or does it happen in CP too?

 

[shunt2011]

Is ricing a HP issue or does it happen in CP too?

More common to CP I think. I have had ricing with CP. It can look like rice or sometimes large tapioca. Generally it can be stick blended to submission but not always. I've had put a batch or two over the years that was ricing really bad on a burner and heated it a bit while blending to bring it back together.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

Here are some close ups of an overheated soap I made last November. The white spots are air bubbles. I suspected bubbles but wasn’t completely sure until I planed one of the soaps today. You can see the voids of the bubbles if you look closely at the second photo. The soap, which was made in a silicone-lined loaf mold, also has heat rash on the side. This soap cracked very slightly on the top.

The soap looks a lot better after planing.