Keeping CP fluid for designs

[lisajudy2009]

Dear my wise and patient soaping friends, I decided that I would try the soap challenge last night, and the issue I ran into was my soaps got too thick too fast. I didn't add my EO until the last minute before I poured. Could it be I just used too many colors and took too long?

 

[kchaystack]

Dear my wise and patient soaping friends, I decided that I would try the soap challenge last night, and the issue I ran into was my soaps got too thick too fast. I didn't add my EO until the last minute before I poured. Could it be I just used too many colors and took too long?

It could be many different things. You might have fast tracing oils in your recipe(castor oil has been reported to speed trace). Maybe you need to use a weaker lie concentration(more water USUALLY means slower trace). You might have stick blended too much. Your colorants might have caused some thickening (titanium dioxide is pretty well known for this). You might have soaped too hot (heat speeds chemical reactions up) or too cool (this can cause hard oils to start to solidify and give false trace).

 

[lisajudy2009]

I do have caster oil in it. I think 10% I cooked everything down to about room temp. I didn't add the color or EO until the end. It was a mix of oxides, mica, and pigments. Diluted in oil. Water as % of oils (soapcal) was 38% is that what I up?

 

[shunt2011]

10% Castor may be part of the problem. If you post your recipe we can try to troubleshoot. if you have a lot of hard oils and soap too cool they could be a problem as well. Hard to say without knowing what you used.

 

[JuneP]

For buying time for multiple colors, swirls, it works best if you keep you hard oils down to about 45%. You can go a bit higher if you don't use too much palm, or butters, and use some lard as one of your hard oils. My basic recipe has 48% hard oils. I used 8 to 9% of mango butter as my only butter in this recipe. I also soap at room temperature. Go easy with the blender and only mix to emulsion with a blender. Then switch to hand blending till a light trace.

Also, make sure you F.O. isn't one that can accelerate trace. You may not want to do a water discount, or at least amend it if you are doing a big water discount. I used to do full water and lately I've lowered it a bit more, adjusting the lye concentration instead of using water discount. My lye concentration in my last soap was 29. I may up it a hair for this challenge. It will depend on how many colors I decide to use.

Dear my wise and patient soaping friends, I decided that I would try the soap challenge last night, and the issue I ran into was my soaps got too thick too fast. I didn't add my EO until the last minute before I poured. Could it be I just used too many colors and took too long?

 

[lisajudy2009]

My recipe was 30% coconut 30% lard 30% olive oil 10% castor oil.

Looks like I need to make some adjustments!! Thanks! .

 

[dibbles]

I'd take 10% from the coconut and add it to the lard or olive oil, and also lower the castor by at least 5%, adding that to the lard or olive oil as well. When I want time for swirling, I drop my castor to 2-3%, but that's just what I do. I think others use 5% with no problems. Lard is slow tracing, so there should be no worries there.

ETA: Here's a thread you might find useful http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=55411&highlight=slow+trace+bubbles

 

[kchaystack]

The recipe I used yesterday is:

30% Palm
22% Olive
20% Avocado
18% Coconut
5% Cocoa Butter
5% Castor Oil

I used a 33% lye solution of 1 part water, 1 part aloe juice, 1 part lye.

I blended to emulsion - used 5% Hungarian lavender EO.

It stayed fluid for ages. I did not time it, but I would have bet it was 30+ min, after I mixed the colors. Only the white started to thicken up, and it was not that bad.

I have video, I will edit and get it put up after I see how it turned out.

 

[cmzaha]

I'd take 10% from the coconut and add it to the lard or olive oil, and also lower the castor by at least 5%, adding that to the lard or olive oil as well. When I want time for swirling, I drop my castor to 2-3%, but that's just what I do. I think others use 5% with no problems. Lard is slow tracing, so there should be no worries there.

ETA: Here's a thread you might find useful http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=55411&highlight=slow+trace+bubbles

^^^exactly what I was going to recommend. I use no higher than 3% castor in my slow trace. Soap your high lard around 110º -120º F If the lard tries to re-solidify it can also decide to not saponify properly leaving a layer of lard in the soap. I always soap lard soap at a higher temp than my normal room temp. Also do not bring your soap batter to trace start pouring off for coloring at emulsion. By the time you are done coloring it will most likely be at trace

 

[penelopejane]

I haven't changed my recipe at all but I can keep it fluid now just by not SB too much. I have it around 110 (because I use butters etc) and i SH before the lye, after I add the lye I just SB to emulsion then add colours and everything with a spatula - I don't use the SB again unless I want a firm layer.

I know you can get more technical with lye concentration but trace is a good place to start.