Dying problems

[aussie girl]

Hi Guys,
I am having some minor difficulties with my soap. I have color swirls that are dyed with red clay and the swirls on the surface have white edges and colored centers as you can see in the pic.
As you can see the swirls from the side of the bar( where it has been cut) do not have this problem.

I am mixing my oils and lye @ 38 degrees.
I don't think that this is ash as it only effects the colored swirls and it doesn't wash off.
Does anybody have any ideas as to what is going wrong?

Any help would be highly appreciated

 

[aussie girl]

Sorry as you may have noticed, the surface swirls actually have white centres and coloured outsides.

 

[jcandleattic]

It looks to me like the colored/swirled areas have ashed. Can't help with that problem, but that's what it looks like to me.
Maybe if you don't like it you can cut it off?

 

[soapbuddy]

Are you hydrating the clay first?

 

[aussie girl]

Hi Soap buddy,
I havent been mixing the clay powder with water or anything i have just been adding it straight to my soap.

 

[herbaliser]

If you took a slice off the top layer, does the white still remain? Looks like soda ash to me as well.

 

[nattynoo]

Looks like ash to me...does it zap???

 

[aussie girl]

Hi,
When I cut off the top surface there is no white. It doesn't actually have a zap but it does slightly burn your tongue after a few seconds.

 

[soapbuddy]

Did you use a scent? Soap shouldn't zap at that point.

 

[nattynoo]

Did it get quiet hot, any liquid come out & then re absorb??

 

[aussie girl]

Hi,
I scented my soap with a combination of lemon and ylang ylang essential oil. When I took my soap out of the mold there was a liquid but I thought that it was just condensation.

 

[aussie girl]

Hi Guys,
Thanks heaps for all the help! You saved me a lot of heartache.