Battling air bubbles! Argh!

[Soapsugoii]

Ok so my blender isn't the problem I think. It's low powered and doesn't pull air into the soap. I've tried pouring at different thicknesses of trace. Have had success, and disaster, with both thick and thin trace. My most problem recipe as far as bubbles go is my charcoal soap. Always some bubbles.

My best recipe has a lot of orange EO in it. Rarely have bubbles. Same production process and base recipe. So, why, I'm wondering? I use silicone lined woodfields molds. Could the silicone be the culprit?

Anywho, if you have any tips or tricks for avoiding bubbles let me know. I even try to pour everything over a spatula. That seems to help too but alas, bubbles in almost every batch, albeit some of the bubbles are very small. If I didn't love kittens so much, this bubble problem would make me kick them in my frustration!!

 

[danahuff]

I do a couple of things, but mind you, I am newish to soapmaking, and you may already know about these things.

I watched a tutorial on soapmaking, I think from Anne-Marie at Bramble Berry, and she showed how to "burp" your blender. I also noticed she always sort of angles the blender sideways before she puts it into her soap. Then she taps the blender on the bottom of the bowl a few times, while it's inserted into the soap, and it forces air bubbles up. However, I think you are always going to have a few bubbles with stick blenders.

Next, when I pour the soap into my mold, I bang it on the counter a few times, which also makes the air bubbles come to the surface.

I have had fewer bubbles after trying these two things.

 

[Soapsugoii]

Sorry for the late reply. Welcome to the addiction, teehee.

Yea I do all of that too Some batches are worse than others. Thanks for the reply! My stick blender doesn't really trap much air either. Much better than the one I had before. Anywho, bumping the thread!

 

[Cosmo]

the trick to avoiding bubbles is to pour your oils into the soaping vessel over a spatula or something similar without pouring straight in. Do the same with the lye. Burp your blender and don't gel too fast. These things will make your bubbles history.

 

[Soapsugoii]

I pour over a spatula, when I mix my lye into my oils and when I put the soap into the mold. I do gel pretty fast, though! I soap hot, around 140 usually, to make sure I don't run into any issues with the cocoa butter that I use. And then I put it in the oven at about 170. Usually gels within 30 minutes. Is gelling too fast the culprit, maybe? How would that cause air bubbles?

Also, I use alcohol to disperse my colorants when I'm mixing them in the oils. Could that be causing little pockets of air as it evaporates in the soap? Ugh, bubbles are so annoying!

 

[IrishLass]

Heat can play a role in air bubbles, I've noticed. It seems to happen whenever I've soaped too hot. I soap with lots of butters and hydrogenated PKO, and so I soap on the warm side to keep pseudo trace and stearic spots at bay- normally between 120F and 125F. And because I also use a water discount when I soap, I CPOP to ensure full gel (preheating my oven to 120F and then turning it off and leaving my soap in it overnight). But on occasion due to laziness or or lack of vigilance on my part (usually due to paying too much attention to the forums while my oils are heating up ), I've soaped much hotter than that, and it is then that I start noticing the little air bubbles showing up in my finished bars.

But as long as I soap between 120F and 125F and only set my oven to 120F and turn it off before putting my soap in it, the air bubbles (and pseudo-trace and stearic spots) stay at bay. That's what I call my 'soaping zone'. Gotta keep myself in the 'zone'. 8)


IrishLass

 

[Lindy]

When you are adding powders you need to hydrate them, if you don't they hold air within them that you can easily see once the soap is made. I also find if you are pouring too high you can create bubbles as can soap that is too thick.... My biggest challenge for bubbles is the hanger swirl.... :|

 

[judymoody]

It is possible that the seal in your stick blender has failed, drawing air in through the shaft. If you get bubbles consistently across the board regardless of soaping temps, ingredients, etc., that may be the cause.

I couldn't say why a soap with orange EO would be less prone to air bubbles.

All of the other hints offered in earlier posts are good ones.

Hope you solve your problem - they can be very frustrating!

 

[Soapsugoii]

Guys thank you so much for the responses. Made a couple batches last night and tried to soap a bit cooler and gel a bit slower, and with my super cautious stick blending, per-mixing of colors, and finger-crossing.... I had a lot less bubbles! Let's hope this is the start of something stupendous.

Also, I mixes the mica into some base oils, then mixed my EOs into that, then combined them all with the base oils. Does so much EO mixing with the mica matter?