DOS, Finally

[earlene]

CaraBou, I am so sorry you are running low on your divine lavender and now have to find a new suppler. Good luck with your search for a suitable replacement.

 

[DeeAnna]

Some paper products release acid vapors as they age. (Think of newsprint and how fast it yellows and becomes brittle vs archival- or museum-quality paper.) Maybe that is affecting the soap stored in fruit flats?

 

[maya]

Some paper products release acid vapors as they age. (Think of newsprint and how fast it yellows and becomes brittle vs archival- or museum-quality paper.) Maybe that is affecting the soap stored in fruit flats?

That is my hypothesis.

 

[SoaperForLife]

I've not had a problem with DOS and lavender (thank the good lord!). My most recent experience with DOS was with a batch of dog shampoo bars. I make a year's worth at a time because they need to sit quite a while before I can get them out of the mold. Had maybe 12 bars in a cardboard flat sitting on a table in my basement (which is where I soap). I finally got around to wrapping them and found that quite a few had obvious DOS and they were almost slimey to the touch. The bars underneath the DOS bars were fine. No tea tree in them but a tch of lavender and a few other EO's. Most likely the storage conditions brought the DOS on. I have also had it where out of an entire batch of newly cured soap, one bar will have DOS.....

 

[zanzalawi]

i just found some that i linked back to a batch of lard. real bummer dude

@BrewerGeorge lavender in the cpap! like a couple drops in the humidifier tank?

 

[OldHippie]

A used bar of soap is more prone to becoming rancid than the same bar that's not been used.

Being wet will increase the moisture content of the soap, resulting in hydrolytic rancidity as the water molecule is cleaved providing free oxygen.

 

[BrewerGeorge]

i just found some that i linked back to a batch of lard. real bummer dude

@BrewerGeorge lavender in the cpap! like a couple drops in the humidifier tank?

Adding it to the water is too messy.

I cut a little square of moleskin tape about a centimeter on a side and stick it to the inside of the humidifier above the air intake. Just one drop every night is enough - two drops is too strong.

 

[DeeAnna]

I personally wouldn't put EOs in the water, @zanzalawi, because it would be harder to control the dosage rate that way since EOs are not water soluble. You don't want the risk of breathing concentrated EO while you're sleeping and unable to react. Brewer George's method of letting the EO evaporate into the air seems safer and more controlled.

I have noticed that older lavender EO can have a faintly musty odor similar to fat that's going "off." If you know what fresh lavender EO smells like, the "old" smell is definitely noticeable.

 

[amd]

This was 50% Great Value tallow shortening, 20% olive, 20% coconut, 5% avocado, and 5% castor. It was protected with both BHA (in the shortening) and citric acid and stored well, but still developed DOS in under two years.

My basic soapmaking class uses a recipe fairly similar - without the avocado oil - because I want people to see what they can buy without having to order exclusively online (the exception is NaOH, because we can't get a good brand locally here). A few weeks ago when cleaning out my soap stash I chucked all of the bars from a class that I taught in Sept 2016 due to DOS. My suspicion is the GV shortening. It makes a great soap if you use it up right away, but not a great soap for long term life. I should add these soaps were 5% SF, no color or fragrance added, but they were completely shrink wrapped after a 5 week cure.

 

[penelopejane]

I let my soap continue to breath by not wrapping them until they are about to go out the door.
I also only handle curing soap with gloves: I know that seems like overkill but I think a really likely cause of contamination could come from your hands.

 

[BrewerGeorge]

...
I also only handle curing soap with gloves: I know that seems like overkill but I think a really likely cause of contamination could come from your hands.

That's a good point and probably true.

 

[KristaY]

I also only handle curing soap with gloves: I know that seems like overkill but I think a really likely cause of contamination could come from your hands.

I do exactly the same, PJ. Forensic science tells us we leave skin cells behind on everything we touch which would also include any contaminants, no matter how good we are at hand washing. It might be overkill but easy enough to do as another layer of protection against the DOS monster!

 

[OldHippie]

If you're parsnipity enough to worry about skin cells, but you leave the soap unwrapped to "breath", you might consider the possible effects of air-borne mineral dust, bacteria, mold, etc.

 

[beckster51]

I've not experienced any DOS in my Tea Tree soap. I have some a couple years old (a blend of Tea Tree and Orange). I also recently made a charcoal soap with Tea Tree, Peppermint & Lavender. Will watch that one to see if it goes funky. Always keep a bar to monitor.

I am just about to try my first tee tree oil soap, so I have a couple of questions for those of you who make it. How much do you add per pound of oils, and when do you add it? Thanks for any guidance you can give, I appreciate it.

 

[beckster51]

I make a bar with tea tree and peppermint, plus lots of charcoal. I use it only for my face so a one kilogram batch lasts a very long time - probably two months plus for each of the eight bars. I grabbed the last bar of the last batch yesterday which is, at a guess without checking my notes, about 20 months old.

It was covered with ash yesterday, but I just rubbed it off pretty well and wet it as I usually do to get past that "first use" phenomenon, while actually washing with the last sliver of the previous bar. I didn't notice anything untoward past the ash and the strong gray-black of the soap itself.

This morning was the first I actually planned to use it, but I noticed lots of definite warmer-colored spots. They're hard to see on the blackish background, but they're definitely there. DOS, for sure. It doesn't smell rancid, but the tea tree is a high olfactory bar to overcome. I'll trim on it tonight and see if it's just surface effects, but given the age and the high incidence of spots (probably covering a quarter of the surface) I don't have high hopes.

I have no real question, just commiserating and sharing the data point. This was 50% Great Value tallow shortening, 20% olive, 20% coconut, 5% avocado, and 5% castor. It was protected with both BHA (in the shortening) and citric acid and stored well, but still developed DOS in under two years.

I told myself when I took the second-to-last bar that it was time to make another batch. Alas, I procrastinated and do not have another one ready to go. Looks like I'll be poaching one of my mother's tea tree bars (no charcoal or peppermint) in the meantime.

I am just about to try my first tee tree oil soap, so I have a couple of questions for those of you who make it. How much do you add per pound of oils, and when do you add it? Thanks for any guidance you can give, I appreciate it.

 

[TeresaGG]

I am just about to try my first tee tree oil soap, so I have a couple of questions for those of you who make it. How much do you add per pound of oils, and when do you add it? Thanks for any guidance you can give, I appreciate it.

You may want to start a new thread

 

[artemis]

I am just about to try my first tee tree oil soap, so I have a couple of questions for those of you who make it. ...

You may want to start a new thread

Or searching the forum could get you the answer without waiting for a response.

 

[cmzaha]

I use 6.7% of total oils for tea tree in soap