Has anyone experienced your CP soap seizing due to palm oil? I have used the Royalty soap recipe for several batches with no problems, but recently changed to a different brand of palm oil and my last 4-5 batches have all gone to trace immediately and I've ended up with soap on a stick. I can't think of anything else that's changed. Next batch will be without that palm oil (I kinda hope it's not the problem because I have about three pounds of it left).
Issue with Soap Seizing
- Thread starter KimLynn
- Start date
Help Support Soapmaking Forum:
Is it possible that the container of palm oil is old, or perhaps oxidized from being stored in a warmer area, or in sunlight?
If so, that will definitely accelerate your soap batter.
If so, that will definitely accelerate your soap batter.
I haven’t had it long, a couple months, but don’t know how old it was before that. I ordered it off the world wide internets, but I don’t think it was from one of the known good suppliers. It was subjected to some fairly warm temps for a couple of weeks until I moved it. Probably a combination of all those things. I’ll go back to the more-expensive-but-worth-it-in-the-long-run-providers. Sometimes it is all about “you get what you pay for”.
Was pleased with my latest rebatch of seized soap. Orange cranberry. It smells great! Still not pretty.
I found a slightly used salad shooter on line and let the seized soap dry out a couple of days before shredding. It worked great.@KimLynn it looks great! The texture and color totally go with that scent, too.
Just tell people you made it that way on purpose. They will believe you!
I agree it looks nice ‐ like pie with ground walnuts. You accidentally pulled out looks that people struggle to achieve on purpose. Even the top looks different and I can definitely mistake it for baked goods
The top has a thin layer of orange M&P that I had left over from another project. A happy coincidence!
And it made for a very effective crust!
akseattle
Well-Known Member
@KimLynn The last batch of soap I made seized really badly, I dumped over a cup of boiling hot water into it ( a 1000 gram batch- which was big for me) so that I could chop it up and soften it to and stir it a little to get into a mold. It was pretty unsightly but I unmolded it. It was firm enough to slice but soft enough I could have pinched and dented it easily. It had oatmeal and espresso grounds and it looks a little like meatloaf (or dog food?). But, I peak at about once a week. It's been almost a month, It's still soft .... don't know when all that excess water will ever evaporate off. But, I'm getting kind of used to it. It actually smells pretty good.
I really liked your idea of pouring a thin layer of M&P on top.
Even though it's been a month, since the soap is still soft, do you think it's too late to pour a little M&P on the top? (or dip it into some M&P?)
Or, maybe since I've adjusted to the look and am actually starting to be okay with it, should I stop while I'm ahead?
I really liked your idea of pouring a thin layer of M&P on top.
Even though it's been a month, since the soap is still soft, do you think it's too late to pour a little M&P on the top? (or dip it into some M&P?)
Or, maybe since I've adjusted to the look and am actually starting to be okay with it, should I stop while I'm ahead?
I’ve only had the one experience with putting the M&P on top, so I am loath to offer advice. I would be concerned that since your CP has started curing, the M&P layer might not stick. I did spray the top of mine with rubbing alcohol before putting the M&P on; you might want to score the top first, also, just to give the M&P more to stick to. I guess the worst that could happen is that the M&P layer peels off. Maybe try it with half the batch? If you do it, please let me know how it turned out!
akseattle
Well-Known Member
@KimLynn , although I got inspired by your M&P topped CP soap as a way to doll up my meatloaf bars, your warning is well taken. I've been buried at work and haven't had time to soap or to even peak at that soap for a couple weeks- which feels like a light year. But, the passage of time has helped me realize I should just stop while I'm ahead. I'll experiment with CP & M&P in a more thought way!
