Bizarre Pour.... any ideas?

[Vickyn]

I use Palm Oil and Palm Oil would be your biggest source of Stearic. I used to get my PO is bags from BrambleBerry and it was just so annoying at times to have to heat it in the microwave to a clear liquid every time I made soap. So I thought it would be a bright idea to just melt it to a slurry like I did my Coconut Oil and then squeeze out of the bag. Stearic is heavy...it settles to the bottom of the container. So while I was okay with the PO that came out of the top half of the bag, I started having problem with my soap once I got to the bottom half. Lesson learned.

And I see that you use EVOO...any particular reason why?

@TheGecko so after some soaping, I think you're right. Palm oil..... ok so as a relative newbie I have a question. Probably a stupid one but I dont know the answer. The bizarre spots aren't dangerous are they? Can I still use the soap?

 

[GemstonePony]

@TheGecko so after some soaping, I think you're right. Palm oil..... ok so as a relative newbie I have a question. Probably a stupid one but I dont know the answer. The bizarre spots aren't dangerous are they? Can I still use the soap?

I'm not TheGecko, but Stearic spots are purely cosmetic. The soap is perfectly fine to use.

 

[Vickyn]

I'm not TheGecko, but Stearic spots are purely cosmetic. The soap is perfectly fine to use.

Ooooh thanks @GemstonePony . Wonderful. Ok lesson learnt. At least I can still use the soap.

 

[SoapMedic]

one more 'shea butter' comment: I use palm and also shea butter. For a period of time I was getting stearic spots in all my batches and couldn't figure out why. (same formula, same pour temps and routine ( a bit on the cool side). One day I was NOT thinking about it and suddenly realized that I had been using high-melt shea butter (I was scooping from the wrong pail--regular and high melt pails next to each other) Even though everything 'looked' melted and I had started gently re-heating my oils to eliminate the cloudiness, I think it wasn't enough. Switched over to my regular shea butter (and separated those pails!) and the stearic issues stopped.

 

[SoapMedic]

I'm not TheGecko, but Stearic spots are purely cosmetic. The soap is perfectly fine to use.

YES! very important to remember that!!!

 

[TheGecko]

The bizarre spots aren't dangerous are they? Can I still use the soap?

No, the word "acid" is a bit of a misnomer is that it is not going hurt like say Hydrochloric acid. As noted by @GemstonePony, it's mainly a cosmetic issue and can be eliminated by making sure your your oils have been melted properly.

I had been using high-melt shea butter

I've never heard of a high-melt shea butter, for what would you use it for?

 

[SoapMedic]

No, the word "acid" is a bit of a misnomer is that it is not going hurt like say Hydrochloric acid. As noted by @GemstonePony, it's mainly a cosmetic issue and can be eliminated by making sure your your oils have been melted properly.



I've never heard of a high-melt shea butter, for what would you use it for?

the high melt has a higher melting point than regular shea butter. I use it for whipped shea, whipped belly butter,foot butters, etc that have a high percentage of shea butter in the ingredients. It helps keep the shea butter from separating out and losing smoothness. And can help reduce graininess somewhat but is definitely not a total fix for it. And it's pricier than regular shea butter, so best used for the cosmetic-type applications rather than soap.

 

[Vickyn]

one more 'shea butter' comment: I use palm and also shea butter. For a period of time I was getting stearic spots in all my batches and couldn't figure out why. (same formula, same pour temps and routine ( a bit on the cool side). One day I was NOT thinking about it and suddenly realized that I had been using high-melt shea butter (I was scooping from the wrong pail--regular and high melt pails next to each other) Even though everything 'looked' melted and I had started gently re-heating my oils to eliminate the cloudiness, I think it wasn't enough. Switched over to my regular shea butter (and separated those pails!) and the stearic issues stopped.

I've never heard of high or low melt shea. How do I know which is which?

 

[Vickyn]

No, the word "acid" is a bit of a misnomer is that it is not going hurt like say Hydrochloric acid. As noted by @GemstonePony, it's mainly a cosmetic issue and can be eliminated by making sure your your oils have been melted properly.



I've never heard of a high-melt shea butter, for what would you use it for?

The spots were really white when I cut through the soap. I've heard of lye clumps in other posts, I was more worried that they might be lye as the colour made more sense initially. But I suppose that's my wierd newbie brain at work.