Hi everyone! I'm a long time reader but this is my first time poster. This forum has been so much help to me even before I finally decided to create an account. I can usually find my answer by searching but today I'm stumped.
I had a disaster of a soaping day 2 days ago - so many things went wrong. I had "frozen" lye for the first time. It looked like resin in the bottom of my lye mixing container (that's a story for another post).
Anyway, I made 2 separate batches of the same type of soap - Tea Tree & Charcoal. Will post recipe below. I just cut both batches and I'm wondering what I'm seeing.
Recipe -
70 oz oil -
Olive oil (50%)
Coconut oil (25%)
Shea Butter (15%)
Castor oil (10%)
Water:Lye 2:1
Tea Tree EO (Nature's Garden) 3% of oil weight
Batch 1:
Soaped at 95 degrees lye and 98 degrees oil
4.5 tsp activated charcoal (added to oils just before adding lye)
Poured at light/medium trace
Batch 2: (disaster)
Soaped at 128 degrees lye and ??? (didn't measure) oils ( I got impatient because of the lye disaster referenced above)
5 generous tsp activated charcoal (I'm experimenting with my color) - added to warm oils and since I had to remake the lye solution, it sat in warm oils for 30 min-1 hour probably.
Did not insulate either batch but I did cover the top with one of my other molds to try to prevent some of the ashing.
Too soft to unmold after 24 hours. Unmolded and cut at 36 hours.
Batch 1 looks normal (will include pics)
Batch 2 - what in the world? The top and all sides are smooth - but lots of ash. But the inside is very textured.
What happened besides my impatience?!
Also when I poured the second batch it was VERY dark and shiny (almost looks like it wasn't even emulsified) like I haven't ever seen before and I make this recipe quite often. I poured thin because I was tired and over it. Maybe didn't blend long enough? It seemed like it was at (very) light trace but it was after midnight so maybe I imagined it. Also the second batch is still quite soft. I could have left it in the mold for another 24 hours probably.
My home fluctuates between 69-74 degrees with low/mod humidity.
Pic 1 - difference between 2 batches (my batches were split into 2 molds but my 2 from batch 1 and 2 from batch 2 looked like this)
Pic 2 - Normal looking soap from batch 1
Pic 3 - weird soap batch 2
Pic 4 - top of batch 2 - ashy but smooth
Pic 5 - side of batch 2 - looks smooth but just has an odd look to it
I had a disaster of a soaping day 2 days ago - so many things went wrong. I had "frozen" lye for the first time. It looked like resin in the bottom of my lye mixing container (that's a story for another post).
Anyway, I made 2 separate batches of the same type of soap - Tea Tree & Charcoal. Will post recipe below. I just cut both batches and I'm wondering what I'm seeing.
Recipe -
70 oz oil -
Olive oil (50%)
Coconut oil (25%)
Shea Butter (15%)
Castor oil (10%)
Water:Lye 2:1
Tea Tree EO (Nature's Garden) 3% of oil weight
Batch 1:
Soaped at 95 degrees lye and 98 degrees oil
4.5 tsp activated charcoal (added to oils just before adding lye)
Poured at light/medium trace
Batch 2: (disaster)
Soaped at 128 degrees lye and ??? (didn't measure) oils ( I got impatient because of the lye disaster referenced above)
5 generous tsp activated charcoal (I'm experimenting with my color) - added to warm oils and since I had to remake the lye solution, it sat in warm oils for 30 min-1 hour probably.
Did not insulate either batch but I did cover the top with one of my other molds to try to prevent some of the ashing.
Too soft to unmold after 24 hours. Unmolded and cut at 36 hours.
Batch 1 looks normal (will include pics)
Batch 2 - what in the world? The top and all sides are smooth - but lots of ash. But the inside is very textured.
What happened besides my impatience?!
Also when I poured the second batch it was VERY dark and shiny (almost looks like it wasn't even emulsified) like I haven't ever seen before and I make this recipe quite often. I poured thin because I was tired and over it. Maybe didn't blend long enough? It seemed like it was at (very) light trace but it was after midnight so maybe I imagined it. Also the second batch is still quite soft. I could have left it in the mold for another 24 hours probably.
My home fluctuates between 69-74 degrees with low/mod humidity.
Pic 1 - difference between 2 batches (my batches were split into 2 molds but my 2 from batch 1 and 2 from batch 2 looked like this)
Pic 2 - Normal looking soap from batch 1
Pic 3 - weird soap batch 2
Pic 4 - top of batch 2 - ashy but smooth
Pic 5 - side of batch 2 - looks smooth but just has an odd look to it
