Bastille soap more white than ash

[Miss Chele]

Copy of post from a different thread. I also attached a photo of my notes with the recipe I used.

I’m pretty new to soap making; I’ve made about 10 batches with 6-7 different base recipes.

Hi. I’ve searched for an answer to this question. I made a batch of bastille soap. I poured it at a very light trace. After 6 days I had to put it in the freezer to unmold it. Today I noticed the top of each bar has a swirly layer of white. This is much heavier than the ash I’ve seen before. I did the turmeric test and it turned dark red. I cut a bar in half and don’t see the white continuing throughout.

Can I rebatch this or do I need to throw it out?

Thanks!

 

[dibbles]

I would just let it cure for awhile. The white looks like ash to me, which can happen when pouring at a very light trace. Because you used individual molds, the soap probably didn't gel if you didn't take any steps to force it to gel. With a high olive oil recipe, it is normal to take longer to firm up and get out of the mold.

I'm not familiar with a turmeric test. If the intent is to check for pH as a safety check, you are better off doing a zap test.

 

[Miss Chele]

Thanks. I tried the zap test and it tasted sour but I wouldn’t say there was a zap.

 

[DeeAnna]

Sodium carbonate (ash) is kind of sour-ish tasting.

Haven't heard about turmeric being used as a pH indicator for soap, but I've heard of people using red cabbage sometimes.

I see turmeric changes color from yellowish to reddish between pH 7.4 and 8.6. Since all soap is pH 9.5 or higher, even skin-safe soap, turmeric isn't a useful pH indicator when used with soap.

Same for phenolphthalein -- it changes color about 8.3.

Most of the time when people use these indicators and say the pH is "low", they're really seeing a falsely low pH reading due to lack of water, not a true pH.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Thanks for posting your recipe here!

I’m pretty new to soap making; I’ve made about 10 batches with 6-7 different base recipes.

I'm wondering where you learned to make soap? It looks like you calculate your lye amount by hand?

I'm not being critical or negative. I'm just trying to gain an understanding of where you are coming from. For example, for better communication, here is a printout of your recipe using SoapCalc. I used the Default Setting without your lye discount aka superfat (cuz I don't have time to mess with figuring it out.

Learn to Use SoapCalc

Understanding SoapCalc Values

HTH (Hope That Helps)

 

[Zany_in_CO]

A note about using essential oils to scent your soap. Safe Usage Rates vary from EO to EO. You can read more about that on EO Calc.

I use MMS Fragrance Calc (Majestic Mountain Sage) to determine the amount of scent to add. Here's what they say about 6 Teaspoons Lemongrass EO.

 

[Miss Chele]

Thanks. I posted my handwritten recipe because it has those details I added. I got the original recipe from the book Simple and Natural Soapmaking by Jan Berry.

I’m finding that figuring out the amount of EO for the scents I want is one of the most confusing parts of the process.

I’m thinking about trying hot process so the scents come through with a smaller amount of EO needed.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I’m finding that figuring out the amount of EO for the scents I want is one of the most confusing parts of the process.

Several sites like MMS provide reliable calculators for their FOs and EOs so check that out from wherever you buy your fragrances. For lesser known EOs, I research them on Eden Botanicals. You can also use the SEARCH feature in the upper right corner of this page to find threads about individual EOs or more about IFRA.

What I've noticed with FOs is, usage rates are close to the same across the board with any given supplier, but be sure to read reviews and other details for discoloration, acceleration, vanilla content etc. so there are no surprises.

EO Usage Rates are far more difficult to determine because there is no "one size fits all".

https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/essential-oils-education.81265/
Learning about essential oils is a life-long experience. I've been soaping for 20 years and just learned something about Spearmint EO that I wasn't aware of. I use it in one of my favorite blends, "Breezy Mint" from Rainbow Meadows. The % of Spearmint in that blend exceeds the IFRA safety limit!

I'm not sure how I'm going to remedy that. YET.
HTH

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I’m thinking about trying hot process so the scents come through with a smaller amount of EO needed.

You might want to start a new thread for advice with that as the topic.