Just some guy's soaps

[MomInWA]

@justsomeguy Super nice, and may I add how much I like your rack setup? I get rice krispie treats or rice cakes.

 

[melinda48]

Soda ash like crazy.

Before steaming:
View attachment 80925
After steaming:
View attachment 80926

Still to soft to unmold

I unmold mine before steaming so as not to “warp” the mold liner. I steam before I cut however. Far easier than steaming individual bars!

Friends, family, and customers. It'll be 18 bars when cut

I only get 17 (plus 1 1/2 incher) out of my long molds - am jealous!

 

[justsomeguy]

@justsomeguy Super nice, and may I add how much I like your rack setup? I get rice krispie treats or rice cakes.

Thanks!

I started with plain stacked bread trays and realized that was not workable so added in the shelving.

I unmold mine before steaming so as not to “warp” the mold liner. I steam before I cut however. Far easier than steaming individual bars!

I leave it on there after steaming because I just hate losing any soap

I only get 17 (plus 1 1/2 incher) out of my long molds - am jealous!

I like the mold so much I bought two more (polar vortex and snow is delaying delivery)

 

[justsomeguy]

Made a pound test batch of a revised formula trying to increase longevity. Mango/shea/PKO/Castor/stearic-acid.

Soaped hot (158° batter). Instant pudding adding in half the lye water. SB never used. About two minutes of stirring and done. Very very thick trace. But still just barely fluid. Scented with oatmeal milk and honey (vanillin free)

Hope to cut it tonightView attachment 81069

I cut the soap.

The tall one on the left is what I was trying to replicate but swapping out cocoa butter for a mango butter/stearic-acid combo. The two on the right are the results. Soaped hot to avoid stearic spots. Got the hard fats up to 208°. Then cooled it down to 150. Lye water (38% concentration) around 150 when combined with the fats.

Good things that happened:

• It's soap even though there was only about 2 minutes of spatula stirring
• No weird pockets of air in the mold given how thick trace was

Things that confused me:

• I've still got stearic-acid spots
• There is no soda ash at all
• The soap gel'd even though it was out in the open in a 68° room
• The gel'd color in the middle is way darker than the target

What I may try next time:

• 33% lye concentration
• Soaping at 130° with this formula
• Adding lye water even slower
• Reducing the stearic-acid percentage
• Wrapping it up in a blanket to get a full gel
• Dripping the longevity number from 41 to about 37-8

PS. I finally learned how to do that quote things correctly

 

[ScentimentallyYours]

I cut the soap.
View attachment 81083
The tall one on the left is what I was trying to replicate but swapping out cocoa butter for a mango butter/stearic-acid combo. The two on the right are the results. Soaped hot to avoid stearic spots. Got the hard fats up to 208°. Then cooled it down to 150. Lye water (38% concentration) around 150 when combined with the fats.

Good things that happened:

• It's soap even though there was only about 2 minutes of spatula stirring
• No weird pockets of air in the mold given how thick trace was

Things that confused me:

• I've still got stearic-acid spots
• There is no soda ash at all
• The soap gel'd even though it was out in the open in a 68° room
• The gel'd color in the middle is way darker than the target

What I may try next time:

• 33% lye concentration
• Soaping at 130° with this formula
• Adding lye water even slower
• Reducing the stearic-acid percentage
• Wrapping it up in a blanket to get a full gel
• Dripping the longevity number from 41 to about 37-8

PS. I finally learned how to do that quote things correctly

Because of how quickly this batch reached trace and the large appearance of the white spots, @justsomeguy is there any possibility they are small lye pockets? I ask because my stearic spots are usually smaller and spread throughout the soap. Are the spots hard? Or are they softer soap?

Does anyone know how to test larger white spots to determine if they are stearic spots vs lye?

BTW, I like the double ring effect in the soap cuts. I’d like to see what they look like after they have a couple weeks to cure.

 

[justsomeguy]

Because of how quickly this batch reached trace and the large appearance of the white spots, @justsomeguy is there any possibility they are small lye pockets?

I zap rested then and just stearic spots. No zap. Maybe I need to switch stearic-acid brands?

I ask because my stearic spots are usually smaller and spread throughout the soap. Are the spots hard? Or are they softer soap?

They're soap "soft".

Does anyone know how to test larger white spots to determine if they are stearic spots vs lye?

I put my tongue on it. Then put it on my tongue after digging it out

BTW, I like the double ring effect in the soap cuts.

Looks like it had two gel phases, doesn't it?

I’d like to see what they look like after they have a couple weeks to cure.

I'll pay post another picture here in about 2-4 weeks if I remember

Edit: my typist hates me

 

[ScentimentallyYours]

I zap rested then and just stearic spots. No zap. Maybe I need to switch stearic-acid brands?

They're soap "soft".

I put my tongue on it. Then put it on my tongue after digging it out

Looks like it had two gel phases, doesn't it?

I'll pay another picture here in about 2-4 weeks if I remember

This weekend I’m making my Shea butter recipe soap and will post pictures on how I temper hard oils to avoid stearic spots.

Glad to know those were not lye pockets!

 

[Nona'sFarm]

I cut the soap.
View attachment 81083
The tall one on the left is what I was trying to replicate but swapping out cocoa butter for a mango butter/stearic-acid combo. The two on the right are the results. Soaped hot to avoid stearic spots. Got the hard fats up to 208°. Then cooled it down to 150. Lye water (38% concentration) around 150 when combined with the fats.

Good things that happened:

• It's soap even though there was only about 2 minutes of spatula stirring
• No weird pockets of air in the mold given how thick trace was

Things that confused me:

• I've still got stearic-acid spots
• There is no soda ash at all
• The soap gel'd even though it was out in the open in a 68° room
• The gel'd color in the middle is way darker than the target

What I may try next time:

• 33% lye concentration
• Soaping at 130° with this formula
• Adding lye water even slower
• Reducing the stearic-acid percentage
• Wrapping it up in a blanket to get a full gel
• Dripping the longevity number from 41 to about 37-8

PS. I finally learned how to do that quote things correctly

Some thoughts -
First, I do NOT add stearic acid to my soaps and I am guessing that was why you were soaping at such a high temperature. I use 10% Shea Butter in most of my soaps and this is what I do - I heat the oils to 160F to make sure the oils are thoroughly melted, then let cool to 100 - 110 F before adding the lye water. Since I started this approach, I no longer get any stearic acid spots. I found soaping at higher temperatures causes soap to trace really fast.

Not sure what the white spots are, but glad they are not lye pockets.

To get rid of your partial gel bulls eyes, you can try putting the soap in the oven at a very low temperature (about 170F) for an hour, then turn off oven and leave in the oven until the oven cools down. See notes here from @DeeAnna . https://classicbells.com/soap/rescueOP.asp

I have used this method more than once and it has worked for me.

 

[justsomeguy]

Some thoughts -
First, I do NOT add stearic acid to my soaps and I am guessing that was why you were soaping at such a high temperature. I use 10% Shea Butter in most of my soaps and this is what I do - I heat the oils to 160F to make sure the oils are thoroughly melted, then let cool to 100 - 110 F before adding the lye water. Since I started this approach, I no longer get any stearic acid spots. I found soaping at higher temperatures causes soap to trace really fast.

I've tried that and I still get the spots. Big spots. Sometimes more like blotches than spots. So I'll keep trying.

Not sure what the white spots are, but glad they are not lye pockets.

To get rid of your partial gel bulls eyes, you can try putting the soap in the oven at a very low temperature (about 170F) for an hour, then turn off oven and leave in the oven until the oven cools down. See notes here from @DeeAnna . https://classicbells.com/soap/rescueOP.asp

I wasn't expecting gel because this is just a silicon mold no holder. I was just shocked that it did gel. The oven things does work nicely for me. One time the soap got to hot though and oozed oil

I have used this method more than once and it has worked for me.

 

[Nona'sFarm]

I've tried that and I still get the spots. Big spots. Sometimes more like blotches than spots. So I'll keep trying.

What if you did a formulation without stearic acid? Or does the SA add a property you're looking for?

 

[justsomeguy]

What if you did a formulation without stearic acid? Or does the SA add a property you're looking for?

Without the stearic-acid I get a nice bar but it's not as long lasting as the cocoa butter bar. I can switch to kokum butter which would solve the longevity problem but that's kinda spendy

 

[Humblegoat]

Without the stearic-acid I get a nice bar but it's not as long lasting as the cocoa butter bar. I can switch to kokum butter which would solve the longevity problem but that's kinda spendy

I do love kokum butter, really there is nothing like it!