i made hp, with cinnamon and lavender eo's, and a higher amt of olive than i usually do, and i heard that i can add 1 oz of something to superfat? so i added castor, i have brown spots throughout bars, is this ok? did the castor do that?
last nights soap/problems?
- Thread starter honor435
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Soapmomma
Well-Known Member
I've superfatted with castor many times with no problems. Could it have been the cinnamon eo?
Super fat
For every one at the forum there is a great article written by Kevin M. Dunn
At cavemanchemistry.com......from the Hampden- Sidney College on super fat and weather to super fat at trace or use a super fat discount. I think you will be amazed with the results. Bottom line it makes no difference if it's done as a super fat discount or added at trace. There's also some interesting reading as well as curbing the dreaded orange spots.
Chainapa
For every one at the forum there is a great article written by Kevin M. Dunn
At cavemanchemistry.com......from the Hampden- Sidney College on super fat and weather to super fat at trace or use a super fat discount. I think you will be amazed with the results. Bottom line it makes no difference if it's done as a super fat discount or added at trace. There's also some interesting reading as well as curbing the dreaded orange spots.
Chainapa
yea but she HP'd her soap and added it after the cook. so the lye is already tied up. now there IS some discussion about how inert soap is and if the free fatty acids will swap with those tied up in the soap portion but that's not, I believe, what you were mentioning.
regarding the castor: no it doesn't brown
regarding cinnamon EO: use great care as it can be very irritating
regarding superfatting: "someone said I can add one ounce" is pretty vague. your recipe was already at a high superfat (9%) and the additional castor brought it up to 11%. olive is not the most stable of oils in terms of DOS so I personally don't recommend that level of superfat for a high (58%) olive oil recipe.
also your lye solution is terribly weak which means that, in general, unless you have overcooked it your soaps are going to shrink as they cure and warp. a cosmetic thing but still something to keep in mind. your solution was less than 21.5% and I generally for HP recommend 27%.
regarding the castor: no it doesn't brown
regarding cinnamon EO: use great care as it can be very irritating
regarding superfatting: "someone said I can add one ounce" is pretty vague. your recipe was already at a high superfat (9%) and the additional castor brought it up to 11%. olive is not the most stable of oils in terms of DOS so I personally don't recommend that level of superfat for a high (58%) olive oil recipe.
also your lye solution is terribly weak which means that, in general, unless you have overcooked it your soaps are going to shrink as they cure and warp. a cosmetic thing but still something to keep in mind. your solution was less than 21.5% and I generally for HP recommend 27%.
surf girl
Well-Known Member
chainapa, she added the castor after the "cook" (i.e. she's doing hot process). If I'm not mistaken, with HP, you can in fact superfat with a specific fat, unlike with CP.
surf girl
Well-Known Member
Woops, carebear beat me to it.
angbaby4974
Well-Known Member
always always always run your recipe through a lye calc. Typos happen all the time. 
honor435 said:
so, from the cavman article, it is normal, in high soft oils soaps to have spots and isnt harmful, some things may help, interesting article. I may try rosemary extract, next time, if i do a high olive oil soap.
surf girl
Well-Known Member
honor, if you got the recipe from this page http://www.soap-making-essentials.com/h ... basic.html (has olive, coconut, palm in the quantities you list), the water amount should have been 11.5 oz (which gives you a lye solution of 36%).
DOS (dreaded orange spots, which can also be yellow!) isn't harmful per se, but it is evidence of localized and systemic rancidity and rancid soap will soften and eventually stink.
However, in re-reading Kevin Dunn's work I find that his experimentation does not support high superfat making a difference in the development of DOS but rather the formula (i.e., selection of oils) itself. I stand self-corrected.
So have at it.
(either way the soap isn't BAD - don't throw it away!
However, in re-reading Kevin Dunn's work I find that his experimentation does not support high superfat making a difference in the development of DOS but rather the formula (i.e., selection of oils) itself. I stand self-corrected.
So have at it.
(either way the soap isn't BAD - don't throw it away!
surf girl
Well-Known Member
Hey, chainapa - that caveman chemistry article on DOS is cool!
