first dreaded spots, what went wrong?

[GuacamoleSalad]

I used nearly the same recipe I used for a previous batch, with which I didn't have any trouble:

297g olive oil
297g shea butter
180g coconut oil 76
108g sweet almond oil
18g castor oil
+ 248g water
122g NaOH
+ 28g fragrance (Candlescience Blue Spruce)

The differences were:
* Slightly higher proportion of fragrance in this one, since I downsized the whole batch from 950g oils to 900g oils but still used the full 1-oz tester fragrance bottle
* Fragrance I haven't used before
* Lye and oils were both closer to 120-130 degrees rather than my previous 95-105ish

The whole batch moved faster than I expected, which in retrospect was obviously going to happen because of the temperature thing but hey I'm new.

When I added the fragrance-- right before pouring, everything was already separated out and mixed with color-- it looked like it split the batter a little, and I do think I saw little bits in the batter as I poured. Is that what ricing is? The Candlescience site didn't mention ricing and they do say they tested it in CP.

So are these spots ricing? Stearic spots? Something else? Please help, I really like this scent!

 

[AliensrReal]

Does it smell bad? Rancid soap smells horrible.

 

[GuacamoleSalad]

Does it smell bad? Rancid soap smells horrible.

No, it smells great. Sprucy. I just unmolded it today though.

 

[AliensrReal]

No, it smells great. Sprucy. I just unmolded it today though.

They almost look like glycerin with how transparent they are. Were your oils old? If you saw chunks in your soap then it probably did rice. Idk.

 

[GuacamoleSalad]

They almost look like glycerin with how transparent they are. Were your oils old? If you saw chunks in your soap then it probably did rice. Idk.

No, everything is new cause I've only been soaping for ... actually it's a month today!

Guess I need to learn a little more about ricing. Thank you.

 

[KiwiMoose]

They don't look like e DOS to me - just little specks. I think you might be ok. They appear to only to on the edges that touched the mould?

 

[GuacamoleSalad]

They don't look like e DOS to me - just little specks. I think you might be ok. They appear to only to on the edges that touched the mould?

There are spots on the inside as well but they're more translucent. Kind of hard to see. A few of them look orange-ish but the others are just a bit dark. I shouldn't have stearic spots soaping above 120 degrees, should I?

 

[AliensrReal]

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There are spots on the inside as well but they're more translucent. Kind of hard to see. A few of them look orange-ish but the others are just a bit dark. I shouldn't have stearic spots soaping above 120 degrees, should I?

They don’t look like steric acid spots to me either. I think it’s just the fragrance oil doing something funny to the soap itself.

 

[dibbles]

I really doubt it could be DOS if you just unmolded the soap. It just doesn't happen that fast. I agree with @AliensrReal that it is likely something with the fragrance oil. You could have had some ricing, could be that the FO wasn't mixed in well enough, or I have had discoloration start with speckles/spots and gradually discolor all over.

 

[GuacamoleSalad]

Okay awesome, thank you all. Maybe I didn't mix it in well enough-- I was freaked out by how fast the batter was setting and trying to move quickly. I'm going to give this fragrance oil another shot because of how much I like it, and prepare better for any possible acceleration/ give myself time for more mixing.

 

[AliensrReal]

Okay awesome, thank you all. Maybe I didn't mix it in well enough-- I was freaked out by how fast the batter was setting and trying to move quickly. I'm going to give this fragrance oil another shot because of how much I like it, and prepare better for any possible acceleration/ give myself time for more mixing.

Misbehaving fragrance oils do weird things. Just keep a journal of each scent you use and how it behaves. That’s what I do. I have a fragrance oil that I just love but it is the most finicky thing to use.

 

[linne1gi]

I used nearly the same recipe I used for a previous batch, with which I didn't have any trouble:

297g olive oil
297g shea butter
180g coconut oil 76
108g sweet almond oil
18g castor oil
+ 248g water
122g NaOH
+ 28g fragrance (Candlescience Blue Spruce)

The differences were:
* Slightly higher proportion of fragrance in this one, since I downsized the whole batch from 950g oils to 900g oils but still used the full 1-oz tester fragrance bottle
* Fragrance I haven't used before
* Lye and oils were both closer to 120-130 degrees rather than my previous 95-105ish

The whole batch moved faster than I expected, which in retrospect was obviously going to happen because of the temperature thing but hey I'm new.

When I added the fragrance-- right before pouring, everything was already separated out and mixed with color-- it looked like it split the batter a little, and I do think I saw little bits in the batter as I poured. Is that what ricing is? The Candlescience site didn't mention ricing and they do say they tested it in CP.

So are these spots ricing? Stearic spots? Something else? Please help, I really like this scent!

View attachment 76710

DOS takes months to appear. You could even use rancid oils and still wouldn’t get DOS right away. This is something that wasn’t fully mixed in.

 

[BritS]

I’ve had this happen before, but it was a fragrance from The Flaming Candle. Mine was caused by ricing that I didn’t blend well enough.

 

[linne1gi]

Dreaded Orange Spots - also known as DOS, is from the free oils in the soap oxidizing - causing orange spots to occur and in time the soap smells bad, like old crayons.