Help!!! Oil leaking from soap!!

[Jackie Tobey]

Need advice please!! I have some soaps curing which are over 6 months old. They are sitting on a wooden rack and open to air. Why would they start leaking what feels like oil? They are in the same room and house stays 68 degrees year round. They were fine and now IDK if they are even safe for use.

 

[Jersey Girl]

Need advice please!! I have some soaps curing which are over 6 months old. They are sitting on a wooden rack and open to air. Why would they start leaking what feels like oil? They are in the same room and house stays 68 degrees year round. They were fine and now IDK if they are even safe for use.

Did you keep a record of ingredients in the batch and notes when you made it?

 

[lenarenee]

What is the humidity level?

 

[Jackie Tobey]

Did you keep a record of ingredients in the batch and notes when you made it?

Yes ingredients include CO(20%), sunflower HO (25%), Avocado(5%), Castor(5%), Lard (40%), Hydrogenated Soybean Oil (5%) from MMS. When I made this one I thought it was fully hydrogenated but later learned on this site and my contacting the company that is is partionally hydrogenated soybean oil. In the soap call I added it as Fully hydrogenated. 33% lye concert (95% NaOH, 5% KOH). Energy FO from BB. EDTA, Sodium Lactate, TD and two micas from MM. my note says it moved slow which I needed it to do.

What is the humidity level?

I’ll have to look when I get back home.

 

[Jersey Girl]

I’ve never used dual lye but assuming everything was measured correctly and assuming that it’s the only soap this has happened to I’m stumped! The SAP value for fully hydrogenated soybean and hydrogenated is nearly identical so I don’t think that has anything to do with that. Plus it’s a very small amount of your recipe. That said, the only recipe I’ve used soybean oil in has been the ones I’ve made with the great value shortening that includes tallow, lard & soybean and they’re not old enough to know how they will behave down the road. Is it a recipe you have used before?

 

[lenarenee]

Your soap was fine for 6 months, correct? If it was going to fail - it would have done so in the beginning. This makes me suspect that the glycerin in the soap is attracting moisture from the air ( and that you have high humidity in the soap's area). (just in case you didn't know already, glycerin is a natural by-product made from saponification, and glycerin loves to attract moisture. Melt and Pour soap base contains so much glycerin that they "sweat" even in moderate humidity and have to wrapped in plastic.)

 

[earlene]

Tennessee is rather humid right now, right? Or it was recently anyway, I think. If you don't have one, try puting a fan in the room. (A dehumidifier may be better, but they are a pain to maintain.) Our summers are quite humid as well, and even with AC my rooms upstairs still retain more heat & humidity. Of course, that's where my soap lives. Without a fan going all summer long, the same thing happens here with some of my soaps.

 

[DeeAnna]

In my experience, a well-cured soap that gets a wet layer on it is either (a) going rancid or (b) the humidity is high and the glycerin in the soap is absorbing moisture from the air.

 

[Megan]

In my experience, a well-cured soap that gets a wet layer on it is either (a) going rancid or (b) the humidity is high and the glycerin in the soap is absorbing moisture from the air.

I second this, I've seen both instances. I've had (a) happen when I store improperly and (b) during the spring/summer or the changing of the seasons when it gets pretty damp inside. You should be able to tell by smell. Or alternatively, you could just try putting a dehumidifier in the room and see if it goes away.

 

[Jackie Tobey]

Tennessee is rather humid right now, right? Or it was recently anyway, I think. If you don't have one, try puting a fan in the room. (A dehumidifier may be better, but they are a pain to maintain.) Our summers are quite humid as well, and even with AC my rooms upstairs still retain more heat & humidity. Of course, that's where my soap lives. Without a fan going all summer long, the same thing happens here with some of my soaps.

I checked the humidity of the house when I got home and it was 68% in a temp of 68. Maybe that is it. I wiped off the ones that were feeling slimy and the paper towel looked oily. Would this be considered sweating or is the oil breaking down now. Also, these may have been too close together as I was running out of room on my shoe racks and had them sitting closer together.
Should I be placing these in shrink wrap at 10 weeks and would this prevent this issue?

 

[Jackie Tobey]

I just checked on the ones that felt wet which I wiped down and replaced but moved further apart. They feel normal again and do not smell or look rancid. No did no off smell. IDK. I’m stumped.

 

[Jackie Tobey]

Oh and no there were several different ones from different batches of soap. Again they were all sitting closer together. After wiping down and separating they are all fine. No further sweating or whatever it was doing. Weird.

 

[lenarenee]

Oh and no there were several different ones from different batches of soap. Again they were all sitting closer together. After wiping down and separating they are all fine. No further sweating or whatever it was doing. Weird.

That does suggest its was sweating; the water would feel "oily" or thicker than water because there's a hint of soap in it. They'll like the better air flow!