identify the problem

[Milashka]

Please, help me to identify the problem. I used a cold-process, olive, coconut and laurel oils. There are the small spikes. What are they? I mixed lye with oils at 100 F. Thank you.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Can you post your full recipe in weights please?

Does the soap zap in general? Do these spots zap particularly? If so, when did you make the soap?

 

[Milashka]

Thank you for your message. I made this soap on December 21st, and it doesn't sting anymore. As a fact, I am already using it, and it is lovely. However, the appearance has these small bubbles, and I don't understand where they are coming from. I used 30% coconut, 17% laurel and 53% olive oil. Thank you very much.

 

[Gerry]

Does the surface actually feel bumpy? Did it gel? If they aren't air bubbles, sometimes when soap gets a bit overly hot during gel the fatty acid constituents will conglomerate during crystallization. If that's the case it's just a cosmetic thing. I find it shows up more noticeably in uncolored soaps since the spots are more white or less translucent than the surrounding area.

 

[Obsidian]

Do you use wire to cut your bars with? I don't know the reason but sometimes those bubbles appear when using wire cutters.

 

[CaraBou]

They may be stearic spots, caused when your soap cools slowly, which allows stearic acid to solidify distinctly from the rest. If you gel, try freezing the soap after it is done gelling so it cools more rapidly, and see if that helps.

 

[Milashka]

Thank you

Thank you everyone. I did a huge batch of 96 soap bars, so it might have gotten too hot even though I mixed the ingredients at 100 F. Any thoughts?

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

That's a massive batch - have you used that mould before?

 

[Milashka]

big batch

That's a massive batch - have you used that mould before?

I did and it turned to be fine. This time, however, there are these small bubbles.