Help with white spots

[em79]

Hi guys i just made this batch last night

450g Coconut oil
450g PAlm oil
100g olive oil
100g beeswax
160g lye
412g water
5ml teetree EO
5ml Rosemary EO
5ml Lavender EO
Half teaspoon lemon peel powder
Half teaspoon titanium dioxide

Now i wanted to make a white swirl effect thats why i used titanium (my first time using ) silly me just chucked it in instead of disolving it but this recipe didnt really give me time at all it pretty much traced immediatly and i just hand stirred as much as i could before it went too hard . After unmoulding this morning i have found these spots on the outer edges and im not sure what they are. Ive hacked into the soap to see if theres any inside but they are mostly on the outer rims . Please tell me they arent caustic lumps and that they're just my poor administring of titanuim dioxide :sad:

Close up of spots

 

[dillsandwitch]

If the TD wasn't mixed in it could very well just be TD spots. Have you Zap tested it? If it doesn't zap then its most likely just the TD which wont affect the use of the soap. HTH

 

[Dorymae]

Yup, TD spots and streaks. Very common if it is not dissolved first. Make sure you know what kind you have, some is water soluable, some is oil, and some is both.

 

[em79]

Oh thank goodness i didnt want to have to lose this batch they smell so nice and natural .
Yup did the yukky zap test no probs there !
Its my first time using titanium dioxide . When i purchased it i asked them if it was water or oil soluble she told me both so i guess its not and so i tried to disolve it in warm water and yeh it mixed up good . But how much am i supposed to use in a say 800gram batch ? Do i minus the water from my amounts or does it not matter ?

 

[dillsandwitch]

I wouldn't worry about deducting the water amount from your batch. Its such a tiny amount. I put my colours in small squeeze bottles with a couple of ball bearings in it and give it a good shake before adding. You can also use one of them mini mixers and mix it up in a small cup.

As for amounts I just eyeball it till I get the colour or shade I'm looking for.

 

[em79]

I wouldn't worry about deducting the water amount from your batch. Its such a tiny amount. I put my colours in small squeeze bottles with a couple of ball bearings in it and give it a good shake before adding. You can also use one of them mini mixers and mix it up in a small cup.

As for amounts I just eyeball it till I get the colour or shade I'm looking for.

Can those pre mixed bottles be put aside for a while and still be ok ?
I guess im gonna have to try that instead of making a mess each time

 

[dillsandwitch]

Yeah I mix my td with water and my micas with olive oil. They have been sitting for a while now and mo issues. They need a good shake befote use but thats about it

 

[KristaY]

I do just what dillsandwitch said - mix my TD with distilled water in a 3 oz bottle then use as needed. For some reason TD is very finicky in soap so when there's a questionable issue, it's usually due to TD. Definitely don't worry about accounting for the water since you'll be adding such a small amount to the batch. Very nice looking soap!

 

[cmzaha]

I personally prefer to mix my td with oil, since I always manage to get crackling with water TD. If you have the dual TD you could test both ways and see how it works out. TD usually will not completely dissolve so it is necessary to mix it before using in your soap. Be careful when pouring it into your batter and try not pour in the little undissolved particles.

 

[FlybyStardancer]

A recipe with 98% fast-moving hard oils including 9% beeswax? No wonder you didn't have time to mix in the TD! And I think most labels of TD will say whether they're water-soluble or oil-soluble. I tend to buy oil-soluble TD myself.

 

[not_ally]

I like oil soluble TD too, it seems to mix better for me. If it can go either way I just use oil. Everyone above is right, if you premix larger amounts and keep it on standby (which I do, too fidgety to do it anew for every batch) important to remember (a) to give it a good shake before adding to the batch and (b) mixing it into the batch well once it's in there. Although Stardancer's point is a good one, that recipe might not allow time for mixing TD into the batch well even if you have it pre-mixed. You might want to think of trying a slower tracing recipe?