Hello everyone! I made a eucalyptus and peppermint soap the other day and saw these spots unfortunately. 15 pounds … also unfortunate. I’ve used all of the other ingredients before in other soaps just fine (no spots). The only two ingredients I used for first time is Cambrian blue clay powder and an unopened gallon of extra virgin olive oil that I just purchased. My questions are: these appear to be DOS, correct? And has anyone ever experienced a clay powder doing this? If not, I’m thinking it’s coming from the olive oil which is disappointing if so, since I just bought it (and a lot of it) and from a brand I really like so far! Any comments/advice are greatly appreciated!
DOS?
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If you just recently made your batch, it's unlikely to be DOS. What other additives are in your batch?
Thanks so much for the responses! I'll be so happy if this is not DOS. I can't understand why these spots would be bright orange like this though. Yes, very simple recipe:
- lye & water 50/50 solution
- Aloe vera juice
- Shea butter
- coconut oil
- olive oil
- castor oil
- eucalyptus essential oil
- peppermint essential oil
- Additive: cambrian blue clay powder
- I blended the oils/butter, then added the aloe vera, cambrian blue clay and essential oils. Mixed very well with immersion blender.
- Once the lye and oils were both around 90-ish F, I mixed together with immersion blender and poured.
- I usually wait 48 hours but knew I wouldn't be home at the 48 hour mark so I cut them a little early (about 35 hours after the pour). I saw the spots shortly after cutting, like within a few hours.
I had that happen in a batch with French pink clay and Moroccan red clay. No essential oil (because I forgot it). I'm not a very experienced soapmaker yet, but am confident that your spots are not DOS, but most likely clay that reacted funny with the lye. No fun to look at, but likely harmless. You can zap test the spots just to make sure. Does the soap smell fine?
Yes, the soap smells lovely. Sorry that happened to you! I have used french pink clay, madder root, purple brazilian, etc. just fine and this has not happened. I got this clay from Amazon (only ingredient I've ordered from Amazon....). Maybe I should make two very small batches, one with the clay and one without to see what happens. This batch with the spots is 15 pounds though and I planned to sell it. I don't know if I should now though, even if harmless, I wonder if people will be sceptical of the spots.
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I have subsequently used the same clays in other soaps with no spots. Seems to be a freak reaction, possibly from not mixing the clay in well enough, in order to avoid making the batter too thick to pour. Mine also came from Amazon, a place I won't be ordering soaping ingredients from in the future.
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It's most probably the clay, as @ackosel said. When I use some dusty/powdery stuff and some of the particles are not that fine or they clump together for some reason, they may turn a different color than what's around them (including red, orange, etc). I've seen this happen with paprika and turmeric, but I guess it applies to clays as well. Oat flour changes its color as well and shows specks that are kind of red. I think the particles soak some stuff from the batter and oxidize, but it's harmless. That's what I think, I may be wrong. Let's not forget that nothing we get is pure and everything has traces of different stuff.
Always play it safe when you try a new additive/distributor and make small test batches first instead of jumping right into the big ones, for piece of mind. Make small batches as you mentioned and let us know how it turns out!
Always play it safe when you try a new additive/distributor and make small test batches first instead of jumping right into the big ones, for piece of mind. Make small batches as you mentioned and let us know how it turns out!
My approach is always better safe than sorry. Yes, it sucks to lose a large slab of soap. But what is your business reputation worth?
Maybe you can give the speckled soap to family and friends with an explanation of what the spots are instead of throwing it out. You could use it yourself, but I can only imagine how long it would take to use up 15# of soap! I'm barely patient enough to use up ONE bar before I try another!
Thank you for this info! Yes, I've used other clays and quickly mixed in being scared I'd get too thick of trace and in those few instances I saw a little bit of clay chunks but stayed same color. In this case, there was a tip about this specific recipe that it could take a while to get to even a thin trace so I figured I had time and mixed the heck out of it lol! In any case, these are all good notes and tips and I doubt I'll be ordering any other ingredients from Amazon either.
Yes, I'll do that instead of tossing. I doubt I'll ever use so much eucalyptus soap myself (or in my household in general), it's not my favorite lol! Thank you for the info and advice, I will use it for sure!
I totally agree! Thank you! If anything, once it cures, if I don't see any DOS, I may feel comfortable cutting the bars up and giving out as 'odds and ends' and samples (leaving the pieces with spots for me and my family).
Sounds like a great plan!
Thank you so much, great advice! This was humbling for sure. I had started off making small batches and then jumped to the bigger ones even with new recipes (who the heck did I think I was? LOL). Lesson learned! Yes, will do the small batches of this one and let you know how it goes.
Been there, done that, made posts about it
Edit: fixed the 2nd there cause my typist hates me still
Or.... call it a design feature. I'm pretty sure it's absolutely harmless.
Looks like a lovely soap. Whether you decide to use it, give it away or sell it (if you are brave enough and you know your clientele will receive it well), no matter what you do, don't toss it! Otherwise it will come back to haunt you and play you another trick for sure
Thank you! I definitely won’t toss it.Looks like a lovely soap. Whether you decide to use it, give it away or sell it (if you are brave enough and you know your clientele will receive it well), no matter what you do, don't toss it! Otherwise it will come back to haunt you and play you another trick for sure
artemis
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You can also turn some into confetti and add it to a new batch of soap.
There's a newish method of confetti called (oh, gosh -- am I going to spell it right?) Ciaglia, where you stick blend after adding the confetti to make it finer.
Thread 'Ciaglia definition help please!' https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/ciaglia-definition-help-please.91378/
There's a newish method of confetti called (oh, gosh -- am I going to spell it right?) Ciaglia, where you stick blend after adding the confetti to make it finer.
Thread 'Ciaglia definition help please!' https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/ciaglia-definition-help-please.91378/
You might want to pre-wet your clay in some of your liquid oils before mixing into the batter so it disperses better. I put a couple of tablespoons of oil (after it has been weighed out so the superheat doesn't change) and mix with the clay then let sit for at least an hour before adding to the batter.
Some people also soak the clay in some water or glycerin - it should work the same. Another reason they do that is because clay is "thirsty" and can absorb a lot of liquid, which can lead to your batter acting funny, giving you accelerated trace, etc - if added directly. I agree with Becky1024
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