Discoloration/Darkening...What could have happened?

[stephasafari]

So this soap is now a few weeks old and I've been meaning to make a post about this when I first noticed the change- been a little busy.

I made a new batch of soap.

Recipe:

EVOO 30%
Coconut Oil 76 25%
Shea Butter 20%
Castor Oil 10%
Avocado Oil 15%

I used a Chocolate FO, Moonlight Pomegrante and Blue Raspberry (was trying to get a choco berry scent).
I also colored it with cocoa powder and red oxide.

Here is the soap when it was first cut, pretty as ever:

And here is the soap after I think what was 2-3 days...

WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY??!?!?!?!?!?


I've heard of color morphing -- is this a prime example? What could have done it?

 

[stephasafari]

Also -- I find with a few of my batches that the soap has this sort of gritty look to it- doesn't feel gritty, but you can see little speckles. What could this be? I'm thinking maybe NaOH bits undissolved (but how - it was all liquid when I poured..?) or maybe shea?

Bums me out.

 

[AlchemyandAshes]

The discoloration is caused by your FO...high vanillin content FOs are notorious for color darkening. The Chocolate FO in particular is probably mainly responsible. You could try a color stabilizer, but you may just have to "embrace the brown" if you like FOs :?
As for the grittiness, as long as you zap test and there's no zap...it's probably from your Shea Butter. No big deal. Undissolved NaOH usually migrates to the top in crystallized form or leaves little pockets of lye in your soap.

 

[stephasafari]

Ahhhh that's why!

Thank you, Alchemy&Ashes! I may try a stabilizer. I make some soaps with FO's and some with EO's. Would the color darkening also apply if using vanilla EO?

 

[AlchemyandAshes]

Would the color darkening also apply if using vanilla EO?

That's a good question! We'll have to see if anyone has experience with that, as Vanilla Absolute is too expensive for me to use in a wash off product, so I've never tested it in CP. I'm going to guess that it would discolor, at least to some degree. I've never had any other EO discolor the way many FOs do.

 

[Cake Baby]

I'm pretty sure Moonlight Pomegranate (at least the one from Brambleberry) has vanilla in it. It says on the BB site that it turns brown. I like WSP's vanilla stabilizer. I've only used it a couple times but it seems to be doing its job in my soap. Anyhow, I think your soap looks beautiful in both of the pictures above. Sometimes its better to embrace the brown