DOS or??

[MomInWA]

I've been threatening for the longest time to make a Peach Persimmon soap and got around to it two days ago. Fragrance is from OT "Peach Mango" and smells absolutely lovely! Like when I was a kid on the farm having spent all day picking peaches from Grandpa's orchard - juicy sweet fresh ripe peaches. Today I unmolded and cut the soap. It has orange spots on the tops of the soap, but not orange spots throughout the bar. So, is it DOS or is it the peach color seeping through? And if it is DOS, do I have to toss the whole batch? Help help!! I used OT Peach Crystal Colorant.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and advice.

Recipe Oils, Fats and Waxes​

Oil	%	Ounces	Grams
Castor Oil	15	8.25	233.88
Rice Bran Oil, refined	20	11	311.84
Palm Oil	25	13.75	389.81
Soybean, fully hydrogenated (soy wax)	10	5.5	155.92
Coconut Oil, 76 deg	20	11	311.84
Safflower Oil, high oleic	10	5.5	155.92
Total	100	55	1559.22

Custom Additives​

Add with the liquid
Sodium Lactate	2.7 oz	76.55 g
Sorbitol	3.97 oz	112.57 g

 

[AliOop]

Those are some very pretty soaps (and I'm not usually partial to orange, either)!

Those definitely aren't DOS spots. It is too soon for them to develop, and when they do, they are generally more irregularly shaped blobs, not small, defined dots like that. To me, that looks like most likely to be FO spots or unmixed colorant or other additive. Other possibilities could be spots from spraying with alcohol (if you did), or from condensation dripping off whatever was used to cover the soap (if applicable). But the FO spots seems most likely to me.

 

[MomInWA]

Those are some very pretty soaps (and I'm not usually partial to orange, either)!

Those definitely aren't DOS spots. It is too soon for them to develop, and when they do, they are generally more irregularly shaped blobs, not small, defined dots like that. To me, that looks like most likely to be FO spots or unmixed colorant or other additive. Other possibilities could be spots from spraying with alcohol (if you did), or from condensation dripping off whatever was used to cover the soap (if applicable). But the FO spots seems most likely to me.

@AliOop thank you! I was trying for more of a swirl, but it's more like a wave. Looks like a creamsicle pop!

Did not spray with alcohol. Covered with parchment paper, placed in box packed with a thick towel. I soaped at a fairly low temp (around 95), so I don't think it's condensation, but maybe. I think you're right - FO and unmixed colorant. I've been practicing getting the exact trace I want - thin enough to make chopstick swirls, but thick enough that I am sure emulsion has been achieved. I had one batch last year that I didn't get to emulsion and that was an expen$ive le$$on I don't care to repeat. So now I've gone a little too far the other direction. But the learning sure is fun!

BTW - for my little experience, that FO and colorant played super well for me, and my whole house smells like a basket of fresh peaches!

 

[dibbles]

The soap is pretty! I agree with @AliOop that there hasn't been enough time for the soap to develop DOS. One thing, though - your sorbitol and sodium lactate usage rate seems high to me. I use sorbitol at 1% of the total batch weight and sodium lactate at a rate of 1 teaspoon per pound of oils (6-7 grams per teaspoon). The castor oil rate seems high as well - but I've never used castor at 15%, so I can't speak from experience if this is a problem or not.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Agreed - not dos. I sometimes get the little specks of oil on top too - from the soap sweating while going into gel. They might end up going a bit 'soda ash-ey' in a time.

 

[AliOop]

Good catch, @dibbles - I completely missed those two ingredients at the bottom of the printout. Excess sugars, especially if they weren't very well dissolved, could cause that type of pitting and weeping,

@MomInWA I noticed you called this "Peach Persimmon" soap. Did you also add some fruit puree?

 

[MomInWA]

@dibbles Thank you! I invented this recipe using Soapmakingfriend calc. No idea what I was doing, just sort of ball parked it. I really appreciate your tips! I’ll decrease the sorbitol, sodium lactate, and castor oils if I make this recipe again. Probably next time I’ll borrow a recipe from someone whose work I admire. I usually do really well that way, but curiosity is the mother of invention. I have fun with it.

 

[MomInWA]

Agreed - not dos. I sometimes get the little specks of oil on top too - from the soap sweating while going into gel. They might end up going a bit 'soda ash-ey' in a time.

@KiwiMoose OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHH is that where soda ash comes from? I get it occasionally, but not on every soap. I understand soda ash is more an aesthetic thing, won't ruin the soap but it isn't pretty either.

Good catch, @dibbles - I completely missed those two ingredients at the bottom of the printout. Excess sugars, especially if they weren't very well dissolved, could cause that type of pitting and weeping,

@MomInWA I noticed you called this "Peach Persimmon" soap. Did you also add some fruit puree?

@AliOop I forgot to mention I used Persimmon purchased from Cabela's. I read/heard around the boards that it's good for psoriasis, which my DH has. I'm always looking for good recipes for psoriasis/eczema, or for elder care/fragile skin, or for acne. We have a baby expected soon too (not me!! a niece), so that's another one I'd like to do next. Making soap is so much fun! Thanks again for your tips. I'm not saying I'd never use fruit puree, I just don't think I'm *that good*. I make good soap but it's mostly plain.

 

[AliOop]

So you did use some persimmon puree in this? Because I was also thinking the spots could be bits of the puree.

 

[MomInWA]

So you did use some persimmon puree in this? Because I was also thinking the spots could be bits of the puree.

No, it’s like an EO. DH said he got it on Cabela.com I think.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I just recently tested three FOs that did the exact same thing. Take a close look at this photo. I used the same recipe to test dozens of FOs and feel confident that the weeping had nothing to do with my recipe. In your situation it could be that the FO will be fine in normal circumstances, but not with the high concentrations of sorbitol and sodium lactate in the soap.

 

[dmcgee5034]

Looks like freckles to me, @MomInWA