Missjulesdid
Well-Known Member
ok, so I made a batch of birch beer soap yesterday and had a problem Here's my recipie:
15% castor
30% CO
15%OO
30%RBO
20% Palm
8% superfat
I used aloe juice for my water. and added 1.5 teaspoons of titatnium dioxide ppo into the melted oils (the titatinum dioxide is oil soluable)
for Eo's I used a EO blend containit 4parts birch, 1part anise, 1part black pepper I used it at a strenght of .25 ounces ppo I also added coconut powder to the EO blend.
I also added a handfull of poppy seeds
I tried discounting water for the first time with this recipe. I usually work with a 27% lye solution, but this time I went for a small discount by using the formula (Lye weight x 2) +2 = water so there was still more than twice as much water as there was lye in the solution.
so my batter came to trace very quickly- in less than a minute. I actually thought I was experiencing a false trace for the first time, so I stirred with a spoon for a little bit, but the trace was genuine, When I added my eo/coconut milk mixture, my soap immediately got little lumps in it everywhere. The majority of the soap still looked great, but it just had lumps... kind of like if you make gravy but add the flour right into the pot without first mixing with cold water... Is this what is referred to as Ricing???
My coconut/eo mixture was not lumpy and I've never had a problem with this in the past.
So anyway, I poured the mixture into the mold lumps and all, and I cut today and the lumps are orange in the center with a halo of clear around each orange spot. These spots are orange, but they can't be the Dreaded Orange Spots, since this soap is only a day old! (or can it be???)
Can one of you experienced soapers advise me on this??? How can I avoid this in the future. I wouldn't sell this batch, but is it safe for personal use???
15% castor
30% CO
15%OO
30%RBO
20% Palm
8% superfat
I used aloe juice for my water. and added 1.5 teaspoons of titatnium dioxide ppo into the melted oils (the titatinum dioxide is oil soluable)
for Eo's I used a EO blend containit 4parts birch, 1part anise, 1part black pepper I used it at a strenght of .25 ounces ppo I also added coconut powder to the EO blend.
I also added a handfull of poppy seeds
I tried discounting water for the first time with this recipe. I usually work with a 27% lye solution, but this time I went for a small discount by using the formula (Lye weight x 2) +2 = water so there was still more than twice as much water as there was lye in the solution.
so my batter came to trace very quickly- in less than a minute. I actually thought I was experiencing a false trace for the first time, so I stirred with a spoon for a little bit, but the trace was genuine, When I added my eo/coconut milk mixture, my soap immediately got little lumps in it everywhere. The majority of the soap still looked great, but it just had lumps... kind of like if you make gravy but add the flour right into the pot without first mixing with cold water... Is this what is referred to as Ricing???
My coconut/eo mixture was not lumpy and I've never had a problem with this in the past.
So anyway, I poured the mixture into the mold lumps and all, and I cut today and the lumps are orange in the center with a halo of clear around each orange spot. These spots are orange, but they can't be the Dreaded Orange Spots, since this soap is only a day old! (or can it be???)
Can one of you experienced soapers advise me on this??? How can I avoid this in the future. I wouldn't sell this batch, but is it safe for personal use???
