Batch Seizure?? Help Discerning Why?

[ShenandoahEarth&Botanical]

I was attempting a simple in the pot swirl with a recipe I have used before and colorants I have used before. I used 50% tea tree oil and 50% lavender essential oil as the fragrance. I had used this lavendar before and it performed fine. I have never used tea tree before. The recipe is as follows.

Soaped at 100°F

Beef Tallow: 25% 8.88 oz
Coconut Oil: 25% 8.88 oz
Pomace Olive Oil: 30% 10.65 oz
Avocado Oil: 15% 5.32 oz
Castor Oil: 5% 1.78 oz

30% Lye Concentration/2.333:1 Lye:water
Lye: 4.99 oz
Water: 10 oz
Aloe Vera Gel: 1.73 oz (included in water amount but added to cooled oils)

Tussah silk dissolved in lye water
2 tsp sodium lactate to cooled lye water
1 oz tea tree essential oil
1 oz lavendar essential oil

1/2 tsp Mad Micas Snake island in sweet almond oil added to 1/3 of batter after trace but before fragrance

1/2 tsp TD dispersed in sweat almond oil added to 2/3 batter after trace but before fragrance.

Stick blended entire batter very briefly, just to barely trace. Split batter.

Hand stirred in colorants with spatula.

Hand stirred in fragrances with spatula.

Everything was behaving beautifully until I added the essential oils. I was hand stirring them in with a spatula when they immediately began to rice and started to seize. I pretty much threw the green mix into the white mix immediately upon seeing this, stirred once, and threw it into the mold before it turned into soap on a stick.

The soap itself is going to be lumpy as heck when I cut into it and will likely looked like speckled clumps. I attempted to salvage the top by leveling it off with a flat spatula and then mashing dried lavender buds into the top to hide the lumps. It's going to look like a disaster when cut.

I've used this lavendar oil before so I know that it is good. The tea tree was new, but it's just basic tea tree essential oil and I've never heard of it misbehaving from others. But as soon as I put the combo in the soap, the fragrance turned bright orange and immediately to began to accelerate, rice, and was almost at a full seize by the time I threw it in the mold.

Can wiser minds help me figure out where I went wrong??

 

[Mobjack Bay]

It wouldn’t be unheard of for a green mica to morph to an off color (and to morph back), but that doesn’t explain the seizing. I regularly use tea tree and lavender EOs together with no issues. Sorry I can’t be more help, but it does sound like the EOs were the trigger.

 

[DeeAnna]

I think you've answered your own question. If you're familiar with the basic recipe and also with how the lavender behaves, then it had to be the tea tree. It's the only thing that's unfamiliar to you.

I've used tea tree in several batches of soap and thought it sometimes accelerated trace a little bit. The difference might be the variety of tea tree or you might have used a higher percentage of TT in your soap than I did.

"...It's going to look like a disaster when cut...."

Never assume soap is going to look bad until after it's cut. I've thought the same thing many times, but more often than not when the soap is cut, it looks plenty fine.

 

[ShenandoahEarth&Botanical]

It wouldn’t be unheard of for a green mica to morph to an off color (and to morph back), but that doesn’t explain the seizing. I regularly use tea tree and lavender EOs together with no issues. Sorry I can’t be more help, but it does sound like the EOs were the trigger.

Can you say what brand tea tree you use? I absolutely love the scent of the two mixed equally, and I would love to have a successful soap with the two. I'm going to try another round with these two oils but without the aloe and with Brambleberry's Lots of Lather mix to remove any offending snafus I could have made with a custom recipe, and with full water no discount...and a single color, not a swirl, because I'm really want the blend to work. But if you have brands that work together if this next batch seizes, I'm game to try those.

I think you've answered your own question. If you're familiar with the basic recipe and also with how the lavender behaves, then it had to be the tea tree. It's the only thing that's unfamiliar to you.

I've used tea tree in several batches of soap and thought it sometimes accelerated trace a little bit. The difference might be the variety of tea tree or you might have used a higher percentage of TT in your soap than I did.

"...It's going to look like a disaster when cut...."

Never assume soap is going to look bad until after it's cut. I've thought the same thing many times, but more often than not when the soap is cut, it looks plenty fine.

Thank you for the kind words! Do you think there is benefit with trying again with full water, no discount, a slower moving batter, room temp soaping, and no swirl just a solid soap? It's a 4 oz bottle of the tea tree that I hate to waste, but I also hate to waste more oils.

 

[cmzaha]

Are you sure it is pure Tea Tree Essential Oil? Where did you buy it? I ask because I have used Tea Tree from many different suppliers and now buy my Tea Tree Oil from Sun Pure Botanicals on Ebay and have never had Tea Tree Oil rice or seize. In the past, I did have an adulterated Lavender Oil or it was actually Lavender Fragrance and labeled EO. I got in Los Angeles that riced and seized but that was in my beginning soaping days and never made that mistake again. If you are using the same bottle of Lavender you have used before with no problems I would turn to the Tea Tree as the suspect. I see I am slow at answering and DeeAnna mentions the same.

I will go a little further and mention if ricing is to bad to not pour into a mold until you get it together, as it can cause severe separation in the mold. Slight ricing can be fine. Just be careful if you are using a mold that can leak? When batter goes instantly soap on a stick it can also overheat and separate in a mold. Just thought I would toss in that little Off Topic info

 

[Nanette]

I was attempting a simple in the pot swirl with a recipe I have used before and colorants I have used before. I used 50% tea tree oil and 50% lavender essential oil as the fragrance. I had used this lavendar before and it performed fine. I have never used tea tree before. The recipe is as follows.

Soaped at 100°F

Beef Tallow: 25% 8.88 oz
Coconut Oil: 25% 8.88 oz
Pomace Olive Oil: 30% 10.65 oz
Avocado Oil: 15% 5.32 oz
Castor Oil: 5% 1.78 oz

30% Lye Concentration/2.333:1 Lye:water
Lye: 4.99 oz
Water: 10 oz
Aloe Vera Gel: 1.73 oz (included in water amount but added to cooled oils)

Tussah silk dissolved in lye water
2 tsp sodium lactate to cooled lye water
1 oz tea tree essential oil
1 oz lavendar essential oil

1/2 tsp Mad Micas Snake island in sweet almond oil added to 1/3 of batter after trace but before fragrance

1/2 tsp TD dispersed in sweat almond oil added to 2/3 batter after trace but before fragrance.

Stick blended entire batter very briefly, just to barely trace. Split batter.

Hand stirred in colorants with spatula.

Hand stirred in fragrances with spatula.

Everything was behaving beautifully until I added the essential oils. I was hand stirring them in with a spatula when they immediately began to rice and started to seize. I pretty much threw the green mix into the white mix immediately upon seeing this, stirred once, and threw it into the mold before it turned into soap on a stick.

The soap itself is going to be lumpy as heck when I cut into it and will likely looked like speckled clumps. I attempted to salvage the top by leveling it off with a flat spatula and then mashing dried lavender buds into the top to hide the lumps. It's going to look like a disaster when cut.

I've used this lavendar oil before so I know that it is good. The tea tree was new, but it's just basic tea tree essential oil and I've never heard of it misbehaving from others. But as soon as I put the combo in the soap, the fragrance turned bright orange and immediately to began to accelerate, rice, and was almost at a full seize by the time I threw it in the mold.

Can wiser minds help me figure out where I went wrong??

I have purchased "essential oils" that were in face fragrance oils...first and only time my otherwise well behaved soap riced and became soap on a stick...so....are you Sure your tea tree was really eo? I have never had a problem with tea tree essential oil in soap before, or lavender.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I bou

Can you say what brand tea tree you use? I absolutely love the scent of the two mixed equally, and I would love to have a successful soap with the two. I'm going to try another round with these two oils but without the aloe and with Brambleberry's Lots of Lather mix to remove any offending snafus I could have made with a custom recipe, and with full water no discount...and a single color, not a swirl, because I'm really want the blend to work. But if you have brands that work together if this next batch seizes, I'm game to try those.

I bought the TT EO at the drugstore. It’s probably Nature’s Bounty, but I’m not home so can’t say for sure.

 

[ShenandoahEarth&Botanical]

I have purchased "essential oils" that were in face fragrance oils...first and only time my otherwise well behaved soap riced and became soap on a stick...so....are you Sure your tea tree was really eo? I have never had a problem with tea tree essential oil in soap before, or lavender.

I'm thinking you are probably right.

 

[cmzaha]

I use 40/42 Lavender from Camden Grey and Tea Tree from Sun Pure Botanicals on Ebay with no issues. I think Zany uses one of their Lavenders if I remember correctly, maybe she will step in with a yay or nay. I am very happy with Peppermint from SPB also, and they ship fast.

 

[ShenandoahEarth&Botanical]

I think you've answered your own question. If you're familiar with the basic recipe and also with how the lavender behaves, then it had to be the tea tree. It's the only thing that's unfamiliar to you.

I've used tea tree in several batches of soap and thought it sometimes accelerated trace a little bit. The difference might be the variety of tea tree or you might have used a higher percentage of TT in your soap than I did.

"...It's going to look like a disaster when cut...."

Never assume soap is going to look bad until after it's cut. I've thought the same thing many times, but more often than not when the soap is cut, it looks plenty fine.

You were RIGHT!!!! You are so, so very, very wise. You convinced me not to chuck it in the bin and it WORKED!

 

[Zing]

Gorgeous!