Help me identify these spots!

[LilianNoir]

You get stearic spots usually because you haven't melted it enough to start with...if you didn't have them before you cut, you wouldn't have then after. But what you thing are stearic could simply be tiny air bubbles in your soap with is more noticeable with a wire cutter than say with a knife. Could also be a bit of ash forming. What you could do is try planning your soap. Sometimes my soap has a bit of a 'rash' after I cut it, but then I plane it several days later and it's all good.

It's definitely not air bubbles, at least not this recent issue. These were raised, and I could scape off with a fingernail. It wasn't there at the cut but appeared after.

I cut this batch with a knife.

Added: I'm starting to think it was ash based on images I've seen in other places(reddit, other forums) and that it appeared after the cut. The formation was just really odd.

 

[Jersey Girl]

It's definitely not air bubbles, at least not this recent issue. These were raised, and I could scape off with a fingernail. It wasn't there at the cut but appeared after.

I cut this batch with a knife.

Added: I'm starting to think it was ash based on images I've seen in other places(reddit, other forums) and that it appeared after the cut. The formation was just really odd.

It sure looks like ash to me. Here is one I recently made that got ash which worsened after the cut. Happened to me when I use silicon molds mostly. Looks very similar to yours.

 

[LilianNoir]

I think what worried me/freaked me out was that the spots were very circular and looked like a petri dish.

 

[earlene]

Definitely look & sound like ash to me, as well.

 

[AliOop]

Agreed on the ash. DeeAnna has a great article or post somewhere (not sure if it is here or on her website) about the different types of ash that you might see. Sometimes it is a like a dusting of powdered sugar that seems to get thicker with time. Other times, it is looks like snowflakes or crystals that grow bigger with time. Sometimes it comes right off with wiping, washing, or steaming, and other times it is very stubborn.

In any event, yours really does look like ash to me. You might try steaming it to see if it comes off. If it does, spray it with 90% RA and let it dry. It will probably be nice and shiny from that point forward. You can also plane it off, but goodness knows, none of us need more rebatch scraps, do we??

 

[kevenaeakin]

It sure looks like ash to me. Here is one I recently made that got ash which worsened after the cut. Happened to me when I use silicon molds mostly. Looks very similar to yours. View attachment 49897

I agree with that that's happened to me as well

 

[LilianNoir]

wanted to come back and say that it came right off with a spray of 91% RA and a light wipe so yeah. Ash! All other bars look fine! Thanks friends. <3