About trace

[jenneelk]

Thanks Glenn. That's interesting to know.. I have a laser thermometer and will have to try this out. I'm getting ready to try peacock so it's perfect timing.

In the past I have just waited to see if my oils lift up or wait a min or two then stir with my stick or paddle and look for dark oils in the stir. Having a temp change would be nice and easy though!

 

[Cosmo]

Juiceman succinctly answered "Reaching trace is a necessary step in soaping because if you don't reach the stage where the chemical reaction is taking place, you run the risk of the components you are using separating."

He is right by the technical definition. Even at the emulsion stage the soap has reached "trace." Most soapers, though, think of trace at the stage where lines can be made in the soap batter.

Once you make a lot of soap, you will know when the emulsion (or very light trace) stage is happening intuitively. The soap batter will not be translucent anymore and everything will be mixed well enough for the soap to achieve the full trace process on its own in the mold. The batter will still be very watery, but mixed well enough so the ingredients do not separate. It just takes some practice.

Here is a short article explaining the process:
http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/soapglossary/f/How-To-Affect-Trace-Time-In-Soap-Making.htm

 

[Sapwn]

Reaching trace is a necessary step in soaping because if you don't reach the stage where the chemical reaction is taking place, you run the risk of the components you are using separating.

Separation may occur even after trace. This is seen very often in hot process, but it can be seen also in cold process.

 

[purplefan]

I soap both ways
1. Pouring at the barely emulsified stage so I'm able to have all the colours swirl together.
2. At what I call trace, where it is pudding thickness so I can have the colours stay where I put them.
The end result is always the same, I wrap them to gel, un-mold and cut 10 to 12 hours later and there is no difference in the soaps

 

[kazmi]

Thanks MK! very helpful information

 

[kazmi]

MoodyGlen - I read that too and after taking temps a few times now I just feel the side of my pot. Once right when I add the lye and once when I think I've reach emulsion. You can feel the difference because the pot is warmer.

 

[DeeAnna]

"...instead the emulsion suddenly increases in temperature..."

Well, it's actually a rather gradual rise, unless your recipe is saponifying unusually fast. Compared to the initial batter temperature, the rise in temperature should be about 2 deg F (1 C) for a very light trace -- what author Anne Watson calls the "point of no return" when enough soap has formed in the batter to keep the batter emusified. If you wait for a temperature rise of 4-5 deg F (2-3 C) you are getting into pudding-like trace and heading rapidly for solid-in-the-pot.

And bear in mind that this temperature rise method works for most recipes most of the time. Some FOs and additives can interfere with this. For example, a salt bar batter might be really thick and obviously thick enough to pour into the mold, but the batter temperature might not correlate.

I agree with Watson that monitoring the soap batter temperature can help the soap maker avoid false trace where the soap appears to thicken and emulsify, but later separates back out. There is no temperature rise with false trace.

 

[Moody Glenn]

"...instead the emulsion suddenly increases in temperature..."

Well, it's actually a rather gradual rise, unless your recipe is saponifying unusually fast. Compared to the initial batter temperature, the rise in temperature should be about 2 deg F (1 C) for a very light trace -- what author Anne Watson calls the "point of no return" when enough soap has formed in the batter to keep the batter emusified. If you wait for a temperature rise of 4-5 deg F (2-3 C) you are getting into pudding-like trace and heading rapidly for solid-in-the-pot.

And bear in mind that this temperature rise method works for most recipes most of the time. Some FOs and additives can interfere with this. For example, a salt bar batter might be really thick and obviously thick enough to pour into the mold, but the batter temperature might not correlate.

I agree with Watson that monitoring the soap batter temperature can help the soap maker avoid false trace where the soap appears to thicken and emulsify, but later separates back out. There is no temperature rise with false trace.

Hi DeeAnna! You are absolutely correct - a poor choice of wording on my part. The temp would gradual rise but not too much and like you mention a sudden rise in temp signals one of those "oh no not now" moments. Your follow-up explanation is much, much better. My apologies to everyone for my confusing interpretation on Anne Watson's observations.

 

[dimitris]

I soaped yesterday at emulsion. I used a SB and the batter barely thickened, but made sure it had mixed well.
The soap gelled 7 hours after molding and has a bad case of soda ash but other than that, it looks fine.

 

[daisy8]

I read that using oils high in Oleic make colouring the soap a lot easier because the mixture takes longer to gel. I've tried using colour and swirling, but so far haven't got anything near like what dimitris has on his post. Would like to be able to do that so have bought some Sunflower Oil (high in Oleic) to try it out.