does everyone have ash, or is it just me?

[whisks]

i have never made a batch of CP which doesn't have ash. does this happen to everyone, or am i one of some people it happens to?

i've resorted to tube moulds to avoid ash, but i want to make soaps which have swirls through it, and hence need to use a slab mould.

so, is it me and some other people, or it is everyone? i've read that i can spray with alcohol to avoid it, but is there a reason for it/way or avoiding it?

it is the water/lye/oils i use?

 

[MeadowHillFarmCT]

I get it every time as well. I've sprayed alcohol and covered with saran wrap and it doesn't help for me. I either cut it off or just deal with it.

 

[Pepper]

Do you soap warm or cold, gel or no gel? I ask that because when I used to soap warm and gel, I never had ash. Since I've been RT soaping and not gelling, I always get ash. Spraying with alcohol helps - when I remember to do it!

 

[whisks]

hmmm...my first few batches were warm, then i discovered RT and lurved that. that could be it, but i know i've had gel and ash with some of my soaps.

just another thing, since RT has been raised. can i do RT to do my swirls and all then force gel as in CPOP? or does this belong in its own thread?

 

[my2scents]

I read a few years ago that when you stick blend NEVER lift your hand blender out of the batter when mixing. Submerge blend & stir to keep bubbles away & only lift out when you are done.
& spritz with alcohol after you pour & then after about 10 mins again & maybe even a third time before you cut.
I really don't have any problems with ash since I have been doing these things.
I do CPOP

 

[Healinya]

The only thing that works consistently for me is to pour at thicker trace.

 

[honor435]

its weird,somtimes I will get it and sometimes not! I do the same process everytime. I dont mind the look of it, sometimes it looks cool.

 

[Hazel]

Do you soap warm or cold, gel or no gel? I ask that because when I used to soap warm and gel, I never had ash. Since I've been RT soaping and not gelling, I always get ash. Spraying with alcohol helps - when I remember to do it!

Thanks for posting this comment. I never connected the temps with why I sometimes had ash and other times I didn't.

 

[soapbuddy]

I don't get ash, but I live in the desert.

 

[foresthome]

I get ash sometimes. I actually have had it more in my gelled soaps. i use my tap water for my soap as I have really good rockie mountain spring water via my well. I thought that maybe there was a metal in my water, so I used distilled water and got ash anyway. I went back to my tap water. I do find spraying with alcohol helps, if I remember as someone else said. I also have come to just think of it as an added decoration to some of my soaps, as it only happens on the tops of my soaps. Also, I have less ash since I quit using palm oil in my soaps. ????? What is RT, I am very tired, but I can't figure out that abbreviation.

 

[newbie]

Room temperature is my guess!

 

[Guest]

I get ash too, and I do RT with no gel. And sometimes, I can have the same batch poured into 2 diff molds, and I get ash on 1 mold and not on the other. I can't figure out what is causing ash on my soaps!

 

[serfmunke]

I get it often so I decided to cut it off and mush it into balls of soap, for my personal use obviously cuz the balls look funky.

 

[citymouse]

I used to get it occasionally but since we moved and summer has finally kicked in here in VT i have been getting it ALOT! I don't like the look of it so I am going to have to figure something out. I am wondering if humidity can affect this? It's been pretty humid here and we are resisting using the A/C......

 

[musiccitysuds]

I used to get bad ash with every batch I made. Now I gel and cover the tops of the molds with wax paper (or a silicone baking mat), and I haven't had ash since.

 

[Bigmoose]

I soap CP at 100 to 110 deg. and never get ash. I do cover with saran wrap.

Bruce

 

[whisks]

i do deal with the ash, but sometimes it would be nice to have some control over how things turn out; probably not realistic in the world of saop, but i'd like to give it a try.

 

[heyjude]

I never had much of a problem until I started using the WSP silicone mold and I textured the tops. In a single color soap the ash actually looks nice.

When ash covered my swirls and I ended up cutting some off the top, now then I wasn't so happy.

 

[KD]

ash

I always get ash on the top, which only annoys me when I make a batch in a slab with decorative swirls. I did do the alcohol thing once, and I didn't like the finish it left on the bars. Now, I choose to wait a couple of weeks and then rub it off under running water. I get nice, shiny, smooth bars. I do soap warm and gel my batches.

 

[whisks]

so one can still get ash irrespective of whether we gel or not.

has there been any scientific mind out there who can enlighteb us as to why we get ash? it's something oxide because we only have it if the surface is exposed to air.