Grainy stuff in soap

[Plschrader]

some of my soap has a grainy or sandy feeling stuff in it. I use sodium lactate and do not gel. Everything else in my soap is Pretty average.

 

[shunt2011]

If you post your recipe including any additives and process we can help to possibly troubleshoot. If you have a photo that too may help.

 

[Plschrader]

Sweet almond oil 10%
Coconut oil 25%
Meadowfoam oil 5%
Olive oil 25%
Palm oil 30%
Shea butter 5%

Super fat 5%
Micas
Sodium lactate 1.5 teaspoons
Titanium dioxide about .5 teaspoon dissolved in water

I do not gel. I soap at about 110 degrees.

 

[DeeAnna]

Grit in soap may be caused by a lot of issues. Here are some possibilities that commercial manufacturers look at when their soap is gritty --

too-cool temperatures when making the soap and while the soap is in storage
too-low water content
insufficient mixing (not enough time, not enough intensity, or both)
powdered or granular additives that do not have a sufficiently small particle size

Others I would add based on my soap making experience --

only partial melting of the fats before starting to soap
adding stearic acid, wax, or rosin to soap batter before they are fully melted or adding them to too-cool soap batter so they resolidify
not fully dissolving and hydrating water-soluble additives like powdered milk or starch

You'll have to do some experimenting and troubleshooting for your particular situation -- there's no simple, straightforward answer for this type of problem.

edit --

You wrote in another thread "...I have also been adding a very small amount of beeswax to get a harder bar and to get it out of a silicon mold. I am going to soap today and leave out the beeswax...."

I gather this an ingredient that you didn't remember to mention in your Posts 1 and 3 above?

 

[beckyb7799]

This exact thing is is happening to me too. It feels like an exfoliant. I made 2 batches of the same recipe just different additives and essential oils. The recipe has 10% butter and another 30% hard oils.
The grainy one was SF at 5% lye C 27% and I took out 50% of the water and used cream but I added that directly to the oils and then I added essential oil.
The perfectly smooth one was SF at 5% lye C at 33% only this time I calculated the cream as part of the oils and used the half the water amount calculated and half cucumber juice added directly to the oils. Added the lye and then essential oils.
I made another batch without cream and I added fragrance oil which turned out super smooth.
However I made another batch without any butters, and I added fragrance oil. But it’s super grainy.
Coconut -20%
Olive- 45%
Palm - 25%
Castor- 5%
Almond- 5%
SF-5% LC-33% no soda ash.
I used the same lye and same butter in all recipes.

didn’t include the other recipes because they’re too complicated but help I can’t figure this out. I’ve used distilled water in all recipes. Posting this again because this thread is more recent.

 

[Obsidian]

I have experienced some micas making soap gritty. Its very fine grit and its only happened with a couple colors.
Its not enough to make the soap scratchy but I really don't like the feeling.

If its bigger bits of grit, particles you can see, then its a different issue.

 

[beckyb7799]

I didn't use any micas, the most I could think is that I soaped too cold but it was around 80-90 degrees and oil and lye were almost same temperature. I've also soaped hotter and I got grainy stuff . So confusing

 

[jcandleattic]

Is the grainy a look or a feel. If a look, it could just be stearic spots from the palm and/or butter. (you say you used the same butter, but I can't see a butter in your recipe)

 

[beckyb7799]

Is the grainy a look or a feel. If a look, it could just be stearic spots from the palm and/or butter. (you say you used the same butter, but I can't see a butter in your recipe)

It's like I added exfoliation into the soap so a grainy feel. That recipe was just a basic one that the grainy stuff happened too. Theres another recipe its complicated so I didnt type it down but I made it twice with differrent additives which I explained above thats where I used the same butters and one was smooth the other was grainy.

 

[penelopejane]

This exact thing is is happening to me too. It feels like an exfoliant. I made 2 batches of the same recipe just different additives and essential oils. The recipe has 10% butter and another 30% hard oils.
The grainy one was SF at 5% lye C 27% and I took out 50% of the water and used cream but I added that directly to the oils and then I added essential oil.
The perfectly smooth one was SF at 5% lye C at 33% only this time I calculated the cream as part of the oils and used the half the water amount calculated and half cucumber juice added directly to the oils. Added the lye and then essential oils.
I made another batch without cream and I added fragrance oil which turned out super smooth.
However I made another batch without any butters, and I added fragrance oil. But it’s super grainy.
Coconut -20%
Olive- 45%
Palm - 25%
Castor- 5%
Almond- 5%
SF-5% LC-33% no soda ash.
I used the same lye and same butter in all recipes.

didn’t include the other recipes because they’re too complicated but help I can’t figure this out. I’ve used distilled water in all recipes. Posting this again because this thread is more recent.

I don't understand how much liquid you used in this recipe.
Can you write it down in grams of the different liquids?

It could be that the soap riced so it became grainy. At what trace did you pour it at?
Palm and Coconut oil and most butters need to be warm to soap with or they will harden again before they saponify and it might cause graininess.

 

[Noor Fathima]

Even I had a grit experience in the soap.. So I added Purple mica directly in the soap batter without mixing it with oil and also added black kalonji seeds as I was making watermelon soap .. they are thick in size ..
please suggest .. why this happened .. attached my recipe
Temp was 89 Fah .. fragrance added grapefruit essential oil mixed wit purple Brazilian clay mixed at 2% ( weight of oil) of clay ..
someone please help