Help!White speckles all over soaps!

[fattypiggy]

Hi.....need your help and advice on what is happening... i have been using the same formulas and ingredients(even the same brands) for the past years on the soaps and no issue so far until recently i don't know why all my soaps turned out with white speckled surfaces all over.

i am soaping with liquid oils only and lye temperature at 45 Celcius. sieved my lye all the time to ensure clear solution before mixture. lye used not in powdered form.

i have tried zap testing the white spots, they don't sting.

here are the pics to give better view of the issue.

previous soaps - fine looking
current soaps - with white speckles all over

sample 1 (previous vs current)

sample 1 (previous vs current)

it is really sad to see all my soaps turned like this. really appreciate any light to what is happening and how to prevent it! thanks so much!

 

[grayceworks]

Did you use Titanium Dioxide in coloring them? I know that can leave white spots like that if little clumps escape blending. Maybe other colors do it too? Not sure.

 

[AKjulz]

Are you using the same fragrance or EO as previously?

 

[Tienne]

How soon do these spots show up? Are they there when you cut or do they first show up later? Are they only on the surface or are they inside the soap as well? What do you line your mold with? (Thinking melted wax blobs from wax paper?)

Are they hard solid dots or soft and squooshy? Or hollow and/or flaky? (Tiny air bubbles? Steam pockets? TD or ricing lumps? Condensation spots?) Did you get a new stick blender?

Are they raised dots, pitted, completely flat or a combination?

Do the spots persist or do they disappear over time?

Try to think of any little thing you may have done differently. Including colours, scents, mixing temps, the way you insulate, batch size changes and even equipment. Anything at all you can think of. Give us some more clues. :?:

 

[Lin]

I can't really see the pictures well on this screen, so this may be a stupid question, but could it be soda ash?

 

[pamielynn]

The bottom one looks like air bubbles to me. You can drag a pastry cutter across it and smooth it out. YOu'll still see them, but the bars will feel nice and smooth.

 

[cmzaha]

I agree with Graceworks that if looks like td specks. The first round soap looks likd td cracking due to overheating. Did you use TD?

 

[judymoody]

I vote for air bubbles. The culprit may be your stick blender. Over time, the lye degrades the little rubber seal on the shaft and that can let air into the mechanism which gets incorporated into your soap. Try a new stick blender. You can get good used ones cheaply on ebay or new ones on Amazon.

 

[fattypiggy]

Thanks so much everyone for the replies!

judymoody - i did try to use hand stir yesterday instead of blender... the results turn out the same with white speckles..but lesser.

cmzaha, graceworks - didnt use any td or mica. from before and current , i have always used natural colorants like turmeric, green tea, clays and charcoal. these 2 samples, i used red clay for the first soap and charcoal powder and cinnamon powder for the second soap. in fact, this white speckles happened only recently to ALL my soaps.

pamielynn - tried to smooth it out on the surface but the dots looks disturbing as i am planning to sell my soaps...

lin - don't think it is ash soda as it is in the insides of the soap as well.

akjulz - all ingredients are the same.. same brands too

tienne - these spots showed up as soon as i un-molded them and cut them. all over in the soap, insides and surfaces. i lined my soaps with wax paper. the part where i lined (the outer layer of the round mold) there are are no such white speckles.

the dots appear to be hollow, squooshy and combination of completely flat and pitted. i used the same stick blender as before. the spots persist even after 1 month cured.

no changes in ingredients, scents, colorants and equipments, molds etc. oils at room temperature as i am using all liquid base.

the things that i did differently from (before) this problem persist:

1) changing the temperature of lye solution. the lye temperature changed to 45 Celcius during mixing. previous temperature when the soaps turned out okay was higher but i cant remember how much.

2) sieving the lye solution before pouring into oils
3) incubating the soaps with a thick cloth wrapped around mold.
4) changed from filtered tap water to distilled water
5) change the blender power from normal to turbo.

i have tried to change back to the previous ways it is not working too.
except when i hand stir, the speckles are lesser but still apparent.


thanks again for all the help!

 

[judymoody]

The only other thing I could think was that it may be temperature related. If my soaps go through hot gel faster (or in the days when I tried CPOP, I would sometimes get bubbles like that. Maybe you are insulating too much.

The other question I have is "have you changed cutters?" Wire cutters can leave those bubbles while a blade tends not to.

Regarding speed, I also find I get fewer bubbles with my stick blender set on a lower power setting.

 

[fattypiggy]

Oh dear! judymoody, you could be just right!

I just changed to wire cutter recently too from good ole kitchen knife(opps forgot to mention it earlier...)

let me try that tomorrow morning and let you know the results! thanks so much all for the comments.

i was really worried that they are lye residues.

 

[bkohlhase]

the round soap definitely looks like air bubbles..."burp" your stick blender, use short bursts on lowest setting and bang your molds and pot as much as you can. I have also wondered if using a little electric sander(w no sandpaper in it) "mouse" if used on the sides of your mold could agitate the bubble out-especially if you get a faster tracing soap. Also, don't let your soaps go into heavy trace...use a very light trace, pour carefully and slowly. If you are using a silicone mold, I always put them on an old cookie sheet or cedar box and I always CPOP my soaps, then bang again when they are in a hot gel stage-they come out creamy and smooth. I usually don't have TD crackles-even CPOP batches in the oven-I think they tend to crackle when the Td is not mixed with the lye solution. It is only for color so the lye does not affect the Titanium dioxide. This has been my experience.

 

[fattypiggy]

Bkohlhase, thanks so much.. Let me do it differently later based on your suggestions and update u guys the news!