Brine soap gone nuts - totally cracked!!

[Spice]

I would think sea salt is sea water dried; I'm sure it takes more to process it, I heard something like 5 years...any salt is from the ocean. Romans used to use sea water to help them relax, and now sea water in being used in pools for the minerals. The waste from the living creatures in the ocean is what makes the oceans, IMHO. I would be careful where I get my sea water from, though. Some coastal cities do tend to dump human waste into the ocean believing it will go away.:cry:

 

[Arimara]

I don't go to the beach unless I go to Florida.

 

[soapgirltami]

I am guessing the high palm caused some of the cracking. The powdery feel can be very heavy ash. When I make soleseif soap I make up a 25% salt solution ahead of time and use it for mixing my lye. In fact the bucket of salt water I have now was made from dissolving down a himalayan salt candle holder that I was tired of. So it got repurposed! I use 45% coconut oil, 5% castor, not over 25% palm shortening, fill in the rest with soft oils and a 10-12% superfat, 30% lye concentration. They turn out lovely can be cut in 8-12 hrs and do have a habit of acquiring heavy ash. Soleseif bars do not harden anywhere near as fast as full salt bars.

I think you're right. I do a soleseif bar at least once a month, but do 100% coconut oil with a 20% superfat.

 

[Kansas Farm Girl]

First time I tried making this type of brine soap it was very easy to crumble and would not hold together at all. I tried to rebatch it and that didn't work, so I grated part it up and mixed it with another batch. I have made several batches since then with no problems until this last time. I am not sure why this last batch turned into a crumbly mess but again, I grated it and mixed it part into a new batch as confettii. The rest of it I grated and put in the pot with the oils for the next batch and it seemed to partially melt. Both batches seem to be fine, but they are very new and I have only tested small samples.

I do my soaping in a section of the garage that I set up but it was very hot out there that day and I don't take the heat well. So I wonder if the heat affected my process or just me. I have not had any problem with ash on any of the brine batches, but the first batch that I re-made ended up taking on an overall yellowish hue. Looks ugly, but the soap itself is very nice.

If it were me I would grate/chop it up and mix with other batch before it ages too much.

 

[Spice]

First time I tried making this type of brine soap it was very easy to crumble and would not hold together at all. I tried to rebatch it and that didn't work, so I grated part it up and mixed it with another batch. I have made several batches since then with no problems until this last time. I am not sure why this last batch turned into a crumbly mess but again, I grated it and mixed it part into a new batch as confettii. The rest of it I grated and put in the pot with the oils for the next batch and it seemed to partially melt. Both batches seem to be fine, but they are very new and I have only tested small samples.

I do my soaping in a section of the garage that I set up but it was very hot out there that day and I don't take the heat well. So I wonder if the heat affected my process or just me. I have not had any problem with ash on any of the brine batches, but the first batch that I re-made ended up taking on an overall yellowish hue. Looks ugly, but the soap itself is very nice.

If it were me I would grate/chop it up and mix with other batch before it ages too much.

Do you have pictures of your yellow soap? I would like to see them.

 

[shmaria]

If it were me I would grate/chop it up and mix with other batch before it ages too much.

Thanks, I'll try that. Although grating wont be required - It's over 2 months since I made the soaps and they turn into mush with a good squeeze.

 

[penelopejane]

Thanks, I'll try that. Although grating wont be required - It's over 2 months since I made the soaps and they turn into mush with a good squeeze.

You may need to wait a bit longer until it is hard enough to grate. If you cut it into pieces and mix it with new batter the pieces will still be soft and the final soap won't be as good. Grating means the new soap batter surrounds the less than perfect bits and makes a good hard soap.

 

[Kansas Farm Girl]

Actually, I went back and pulled one out of my "ugly" stash and started cutting into it and realized the color is overall DOS. I hadn't really looked at this for quite awhile as I have been pretty busy in the last year so hadn't paid close enough attention to it. I think this is the only batch of brine soap that I have made that has hung around for over 2 months