DOS but Oil Doesn't Seem to be Rancid

[DeeAnna]

Spirulina... DOS...

I wish I had saved the picture that I saw. It's been years ago, and I don't think I was as into squirreling interesting tidbits away as I am now.

Anyways, the soap was a confetti type soap where the maker had stacked slices of scrap soap in a mold -- it looked kind of like a loaf of sliced bread. The colors were really pretty because many of the slices were jewel tones -- deep greens, dark burgundies, etc. The green slices were colored with the spirulina, and they had gotten utterly gross with slimy rancidity. The other not-green slices were fine.

I'm sure it was embarrassing to the soaper for this to happen. I'm sure many soapers would have quietly tossed the soap in the trash bin and said nothing. I appreciated that the soaper was willing to share this cautionary tale so we could learn from his experience.

 

[Mistrael]

I didn't take offense, Marilyn. I apologize for giving you that impression!

I know I tend to over-explain (as I realize I did here!) and often use a factual engineer/professor tone. I'm aware that doesn't always come across as friendly repartee, but it doesn't mean I'm offended or upset.

Lol I knew there was something familiar about your tech-speak! My mom is a chemical engineer in the auto industry, and she sounds just like that when someone asks her about fuels & oils.

 

[DeeAnna]

@Mistrael -- You hit the nail exactly on the head -- I'm a chem engineer with a couple graduate degrees tacked on. Like your mom, I'm fluent in Geek. I am not always good at light conversation, but I can be awfully (and overly) enthusiastic when I'm explaining something nerdy.

 

[penelopejane]

That’s what I’ve lined all my metal shelving with for curing. Works great and easy to keep clean. Been using it fro 7 or so years now.

Yes I think this is much better than parchment paper as the soap seems to “go through” parchment. Even a cotton tea towel isn’t thick enough.
I use this: https://www.target.com/p/con-tact-b...ner-excel-grip-alloy-gray-12-x10/-/A-52047673

Then a cotton tea towel which I change regularly.
I also wear gloves every time I touch my soap.

 

[lucycat]

Arlo, have you thought about putting some type of "tray" on your shelves? I use the cardboard trays from a garden center, so my soap is setting on the cardboard, not the metal. I started doing this even when I had a plastic shelving because it made it easier to pull the "tray" off the shelf rather than carrying individual bars. I started with the box bottoms at the grocery store and then found the garden center trays to be the exact size I needed.

 

[Quilter99755]

I just bought this for storing my soap and supplies. I was going to look for trays and have each tray(or half tray) be for a batch of soap. But after this thread, I am wondering if that is the right answer. Would putting parchment paper or shelf liner on the shelves be enough for storing the soap during curing stages? I do HP soap (have for about 10 years, but am new to this forum) just for family and friends. Not sure I am brave enough to try CP after reading so much here! LOL

 

[lucycat]

Why not a metal shelf and my free cardboard trays from the garden center? This is the type of rack that I hate to have to pull out soap on the middle rack with soap all around. sliding a cardboard tray onto a metal tray/shelf is the easy way to go.

 

[penelopejane]

I just bought this for storing my soap and supplies. I was going to look for trays and have each tray(or half tray) be for a batch of soap. But after this thread, I am wondering if that is the right answer. Would putting parchment paper or shelf liner on the shelves be enough for storing the soap during curing stages? I do HP soap (have for about 10 years, but am new to this forum) just for family and friends. Not sure I am brave enough to try CP after reading so much here! LOL

That gastronorm will be easy to clean and sturdy.
I don’t think parchment paper is sufficient protection for soap sitting on SS shelves. I’d put a layer of shelf liner mat or plastic cross stitch material. I also use a tea towel as I find them absorbent and easy to wash.

 

[Quilter99755]

lucycat. I love the idea but the metal trays cost a fortune. I'm looking at polypropylene cafeteria/fast food trays. Awesome storage area and soap. Probably more soap than I will do in my lifetime! LOL I'm too late for the garden center trays...they close up about July around here due to the heat...but I'll look next year for sure.

penelopejane: since the trays will not be metal, would shelf liner or cross stitch material be enough to protect the soap? Allow enough air to flow around the soap?

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I wish I had saved the picture that I saw. It's been years ago, and I don't think I was as into squirreling interesting tidbits away as I am now.

Anyways, the soap was a confetti type soap where the maker had stacked slices of scrap soap in a mold -- it looked kind of like a loaf of sliced bread. The colors were really pretty because many of the slices were jewel tones -- deep greens, dark burgundies, etc. The green slices were colored with the spirulina, and they had gotten utterly gross with slimy rancidity. The other not-green slices were fine.

I'm sure it was embarrassing to the soaper for this to happen. I'm sure many soapers would have quietly tossed the soap in the trash bin and said nothing. I appreciated that the soaper was willing to share this cautionary tale so we could learn from his experience.

I ended up doing a little web research on the copper content of Spirulina and other foods since I had just made some soap with a small amount of Spirulina. The copper concentration in Spirulina is high (6.1 mg/100 g) relative to most foods, but it’s also high in cocoa powder (3.8 mg/100 g), compared with dark chocolate (1.8 mg/100 g), turmeric (1.3 mg/100 g), parsley (.8 mg/100 g), and oats (.6 mg/100 g). A tsp of Spirulina weighs about 2 grams. I used 1/4 tsp of Spirulina for 12 oz of oils to get a light green color. I have probably used a similar ratio of cocoa powder to soap batter for cocoa pencil lines, but can’t recall if I ever added cocoa powder in the soap batter itself. I’ve seen recommendations on SMF for 1 tsp to 1 tbs ppo of cocoa powder in a recipe. Can you recall if anyone has reported DOS when using cocoa powder?

 

[DeeAnna]

I've used cocoa powder for pencil lines and as a colorant in the batter for years. (see photo) AFAIK, it hasn't caused rancidity in my soap, but I don't use huge amounts of cocoa either.

I can't say I've heard anything troubling about the other additives you list -- turmeric, etc. But that's just a casual observation -- I haven't intentionally studied what what people say about these additives.

The green soap in the story I related was a very dark green, so there was a lot of spirulina in that particular soap.

How many grams of the additive are used per unit weight of soap and the concentration of copper in the additive both play a hand in this.

 

[shunt2011]

I’ve been using cocoa powder for years in a few staple in my line and have never gotten dos or had any issues. I use it in my OMH soap, and a couple others.

 

[penelopejane]

I ended up doing a little web research on the copper content of Spirulina and other foods since I had just made some soap with a small amount of Spirulina. The copper concentration in Spirulina is high (6.1 mg/100 g) relative to most foods, but it’s also high in cocoa powder (3.8 mg/100 g), compared with dark chocolate (1.8 mg/100 g), turmeric (1.3 mg/100 g), parsley (.8 mg/100 g), and oats (.6 mg/100 g). A tsp of Spirulina weighs about 2 grams. I used 1/4 tsp of Spirulina for 12 oz of oils to get a light green color. I have probably used a similar ratio of cocoa powder to soap batter for cocoa pencil lines, but can’t recall if I ever added cocoa powder in the soap batter itself. I’ve seen recommendations on SMF for 1 tsp to 1 tbs ppo of cocoa powder in a recipe. Can you recall if anyone has reported DOS when using cocoa powder?

I’ve used spirulina in soap at about that ratio and it made me itch all over. I had to get back in the shower and scrub it all off. Horrible experience for me. I threw it all out.

It was a lovely green to start with but it faded to pale creamy tan in a few weeks.

I’ve used cocoa and coffee with no DOS issues but I’d you use too much of either they leech out of the soap leaving brown marks everywhere.

 

[Chris]

I just bought this for storing my soap and supplies. I was going to look for trays and have each tray(or half tray) be for a batch of soap. But after this thread, I am wondering if that is the right answer. Would putting parchment paper or shelf liner on the shelves be enough for storing the soap during curing stages? I do HP soap (have for about 10 years, but am new to this forum) just for family and friends. Not sure I am brave enough to try CP after reading so much here! LOL

*
I have a number of these racks, and put sticky plastic shelf paper on the aluminum shelves about 5 years ago, and they've lasted beautifully. Just wipe them down with a sponge when changing bars. Of course there is no circulation from the bottom, but I live in a dry climate, so I just rotate the bars once. My bars are 2.5 inches tall (x 3.5") so they fit just perfectly on each shelf. With 60 bars per tray, you can actually fit 12oo bars per rack.

 

[Saltwater Scented]

I just bought this for storing my soap and supplies. I was going to look for trays and have each tray(or half tray) be for a batch of soap. But after this thread, I am wondering if that is the right answer. Would putting parchment paper or shelf liner on the shelves be enough for storing the soap during curing stages? I do HP soap (have for about 10 years, but am new to this forum) just for family and friends. Not sure I am brave enough to try CP after reading so much here! LOL

Have you thought about using louvered ceiling light panels? No idea how much weight they will bear, but they give plenty of circulation and can be cut to size with a hacksaw or jigsaw easily. If you google louvered light panels you can see a better photo of them. About 1/2" holes.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Plaskol...-Crate-Light-Ceiling-Panel-1199233A/202025149

 

[Quilter99755]

Saltwater- thanks for the idea..HD is close enough I will check it out.

 

[Dawni]

Sorry, off topic

@DeeAnna I just realized I rarely see you post your soap (maybe you do more than I've come across but I only remember a few lol) and I must say they're always so elegant

Ok, now back to regular transmission......