Help - Cold Process - soap is condensating after packaging

[chirag_jj]

I made this batch of soap in January 2024 and packaged the soap in a cardboard box after curing it for 1 month

I opened the soap in July august 2024 and found water droplets condensating on the soap.

Please refer the attached pictures


Recepie of Soap

Recepie 1
Castor Oil 5%
Cocoa Butter 5%
Shea Butter 5%
Coconut Oil 30%
Olive Pomace 30%
Rice Bran Oil 25%

Total Oil Weight 800gram

Citric Acid 1% of Oil Weight
Essential Oil 4% of Oil Weight

Sodium Hydroxide Lye 117.6 gram (5% Superfat)
Water 216 gram

Recepie 2

Coconut Oil 100%

Total oil weight 800 gram

Essential Oil 4% Oil weight
Citric Acid 2% Oil Weight

Sodium Hydroxide Lye 127.2 gram (20% Superfat)
Water 216 gram


PS - The issue is happening with both the recepies

 

[Ekuzo]

At what temperature was it stored? Soap tends to sweat at high temperatures. If it happens every time and you can't keep it somewhere cooler, you can cure it for longer and if you need to pack it like that, you can make the design of the boxes with some holes in the cardboard - that will help a bit

 

[chirag_jj]

At what temperature was it stored? Soap tends to sweat at high temperatures. If it happens every time and you can't keep it somewhere cooler, you can cure it for longer and if you need to pack it like that, you can make the design of the boxes with some holes in the cardboard - that will help a bit

Summer Indoor temperature 32 C
Peak summer indoor temp 35 C
Post summer indoor average 27 C
Winter average 18 C
Peak Winter 12 C

Humidity on the higher side

 

[Ekuzo]

Summer Indoor temperature 32 C
Peak summer indoor temp 35 C
Post summer indoor average 27 C
Winter average 18 C
Peak Winter 12 C

Humidity on the higher side

That's really hot - it would help if the storage room has some good ventilation.

If you can, keep the bars on the curing racks until you really need to pack them (if you sell them and someone just made a purchase, for example). The more they cure, the better.

Not sure if there's a way to stop the sweating if you change your recipes to some extent - what makes the soap sweat is usually the glycerin in it which attracts and holds water from the air. With M&P soap it's even worse. You can wipe the droplets off the bars, but they'll probably come back. I've seen some sweat on my bars during the summer, but never than intense.

Curious what the others have to say, but I'm sure the reason for that is the high temperature and the humid air.



Edit: I did some research on the topic, and you have options. 2 of them are processes known as "boiling soap method" and "salting out soap" - both of which remove at least most of the glycerin in the soap, which is what you are seeking. Both of them are time consuming and require more research for those not familiar with the process (like me). I actually read about salting out in an old book some time ago, but didn't understand the practicality of all the trouble - it seems it also removes impurities from the soap (at least most of them - we are talking about color and scent as well). If you are interested, there are tutorials online, you can even salt out cured soap.

https://classicbells.com/soap/saltOutTut.asp

You can check this one by DeeAnna, it would be really helpful if you decide to go down that path - the amount of detail is impressive.

There's also an easier way which will give you soap with no glycerin at all. It's saponifying fatty acids instead of fats, but you'll have to get products like palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, etc., instead of getting oils, fats and butters. From what I understand, when we saponify fats we do so with triglycerides. They contain fatty acids plus a backbone of glycerole (glycerin). What you get that way is the salts of fatty acids (soap) plus the glycerin. If you use the pure fatty acids with no glycerol backbone, you will get only the salts and no glycerin in the end product (someone correct me if I'm wrong, I'm not a chemist).

So, you have options you can try to battle that sweating. Good luck and I hope that was helpful!

 

[Nona'sFarm]

Agree with @Ekuzo. Good ventilation and lowering the humidity helps in my area of the world. If it is realistic/affordable, a dehumidifier will help.

 

[Ekuzo]

Agree with @Ekuzo. Good ventilation and lowering the humidity helps in my area of the world. If it is realistic/affordable, a dehumidifier will help.

Exactly - a dehumidifier/fan(s) combo will hit the spot. Even if he doesn't feel like having fans turned on all the time, his soap will definitely thank him for being treated like a GeForce RTX 3080

 

[jeanemarie]

I hang a couple of DampRid moisture absorbing bags in the room where soaps go to live and cure. I’m always amazed at how much water they suck up. Those plus a small fan for increased circulation seems to do the trick for keeping moisture at bay.

 

[chirag_jj]

That's really hot - it would help if the storage room has some good ventilation.

If you can, keep the bars on the curing racks until you really need to pack them (if you sell them and someone just made a purchase, for example). The more they cure, the better.

Not sure if there's a way to stop the sweating if you change your recipes to some extent - what makes the soap sweat is usually the glycerin in it which attracts and holds water from the air. With M&P soap it's even worse. You can wipe the droplets off the bars, but they'll probably come back. I've seen some sweat on my bars during the summer, but never than intense.

Curious what the others have to say, but I'm sure the reason for that is the high temperature and the humid air.



Edit: I did some research on the topic, and you have options. 2 of them are processes known as "boiling soap method" and "salting out soap" - both of which remove at least most of the glycerin in the soap, which is what you are seeking. Both of them are time consuming and require more research for those not familiar with the process (like me). I actually read about salting out in an old book some time ago, but didn't understand the practicality of all the trouble - it seems it also removes impurities from the soap (at least most of them - we are talking about color and scent as well). If you are interested, there are tutorials online, you can even salt out cured soap.

https://classicbells.com/soap/saltOutTut.asp

You can check this one by DeeAnna, it would be really helpful if you decide to go down that path - the amount of detail is impressive.

There's also an easier way which will give you soap with no glycerin at all. It's saponifying fatty acids instead of fats, but you'll have to get products like palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, etc., instead of getting oils, fats and butters. From what I understand, when we saponify fats we do so with triglycerides. They contain fatty acids plus a backbone of glycerole (glycerin). What you get that way is the salts of fatty acids (soap) plus the glycerin. If you use the pure fatty acids with no glycerol backbone, you will get only the salts and no glycerin in the end product (someone correct me if I'm wrong, I'm not a chemist).

So, you have options you can try to battle that sweating. Good luck and I hope that was helpful!

Thanks a lot! I’ll try your recommendations and update it here sometime soon. Amazing effort

 

[chirag_jj]

That's really hot - it would help if the storage room has some good ventilation.

If you can, keep the bars on the curing racks until you really need to pack them (if you sell them and someone just made a purchase, for example). The more they cure, the better.

Not sure if there's a way to stop the sweating if you change your recipes to some extent - what makes the soap sweat is usually the glycerin in it which attracts and holds water from the air. With M&P soap it's even worse. You can wipe the droplets off the bars, but they'll probably come back. I've seen some sweat on my bars during the summer, but never than intense.

Curious what the others have to say, but I'm sure the reason for that is the high temperature and the humid air.



Edit: I did some research on the topic, and you have options. 2 of them are processes known as "boiling soap method" and "salting out soap" - both of which remove at least most of the glycerin in the soap, which is what you are seeking. Both of them are time consuming and require more research for those not familiar with the process (like me). I actually read about salting out in an old book some time ago, but didn't understand the practicality of all the trouble - it seems it also removes impurities from the soap (at least most of them - we are talking about color and scent as well). If you are interested, there are tutorials online, you can even salt out cured soap.

https://classicbells.com/soap/saltOutTut.asp

You can check this one by DeeAnna, it would be really helpful if you decide to go down that path - the amount of detail is impressive.

There's also an easier way which will give you soap with no glycerin at all. It's saponifying fatty acids instead of fats, but you'll have to get products like palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, etc., instead of getting oils, fats and butters. From what I understand, when we saponify fats we do so with triglycerides. They contain fatty acids plus a backbone of glycerole (glycerin). What you get that way is the salts of fatty acids (soap) plus the glycerin. If you use the pure fatty acids with no glycerol backbone, you will get only the salts and no glycerin in the end product (someone correct me if I'm wrong, I'm not a chemist).

So, you have options you can try to battle that sweating. Good luck and I hope that was helpful!

What if we cling wrap the soap and then put it inside the cardboard box? This should be a quick fix i believe

 

[Hope Elisabeth 68]

Soap needs to breathe. Plastic wrap will cause the soap to go rancid. I do believe there is a special kind for soap but idk what it is, but even storing soap in a plastic bag will ruin it.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Happens all the time here - summer or winter - due to our humid climate in New Zealand. I eventually just bought a dehumidifier for my soap curing room.

 

[Ekuzo]

Thanks a lot! I’ll try your recommendations and update it here sometime soon. Amazing effort

Glad you appreciate it! Keep us updated

What if we cling wrap the soap and then put it inside the cardboard box? This should be a quick fix i believe

I agree with @Hope Elisabeth 68 - soap needs to breathe, wrapping it like that will only make matters worse