Liquid soap trace question

[bumbleklutz]

I've only made two batches of liquid soap, so I'm definitely new to the process.

The first batch was made using Irishlass's glycerin liquid soap method adapted to the oils I had on hand, and the second was her creamy cocoa shea again adapted to use what I had on hand. (I had a pound of mango butter I had to use for SOMETHING. ) Both times, the soap turned out great.

However, both times I stick blended until the soap reached the "taffy" stage, and it was zap free pretty much within minutes after reaching the "taffy" stage.

I never saw the ever elusive "Lawrence Welk Stage" (aka "flying bubble stage") either time. :cry: A couple of times, I "thought" I had reached trace, because the soap began to thicken, but when I quit stick blending; the soap thinned out to a watery soup.

So, I just continued to stick blend until very suddenly, I had "taffy". So, my question is this: What does trace look like in liquid soap?

 

[Susie]

I've only made two batches of liquid soap, so I'm definitely new to the process.

The first batch was made using Irishlass's glycerin liquid soap method adapted to the oils I had on hand, and the second was her creamy cocoa shea again adapted to use what I had on hand. (I had a pound of mango butter I had to use for SOMETHING. ) Both times, the soap turned out great.

However, both times I stick blended until the soap reached the "taffy" stage, and it was zap free pretty much within minutes after reaching the "taffy" stage.

I never saw the ever elusive "Lawrence Welk Stage" (aka "flying bubble stage") either time. :cry: A couple of times, I "thought" I had reached trace, because the soap began to thicken, but when I quit stick blending; the soap thinned out to a watery soup.

So, I just continued to stick blend until very suddenly, I had "taffy". So, my question is this: What does trace look like in liquid soap?

Just exactly what you described.

I rarely see flying bubbles, but even if I do, I still get "false paste" that then goes completely liquid. No matter which one you get, get the stick blender out, because in about 50 seconds, it will be paste. That is why we say just mix to emulsion, then put a lid on it and walk away. It will take care of itself from there.

 

[DeeAnna]

Trace in KOH soap can look and act a lot like trace in regular NaOH soap -- a stirrable mixture that looks like creamy gravy or pudding. But KOH soap may not show this "normal" trace -- it can jump right to a thick taffy stage. The essential point is to get the soap batter to a stable emulsion where it no longer wants to separate, and then you can walk away from it and let it saponify in peace. The catch is that a "stable emulsion" for KOH soap seems to be more variable than with NaOH soap, and that unpredictability can be confusing and annoying.

If you can stop at "normal" gravy-like trace and have the batter remain stable, that's fine. If the soap batter wants to become taffy thick, that's fine too. I think it's about the temperature of the batter and the amount of stick blending you do at certain critical moments. I've had batter that didn't quite want to become a stable emulsion even though it looked like it was as thick as gravy, but when I SB'ed it a bit more, it suddenly became taffy. Go figure.

 

[bumbleklutz]

Susie and DeeAnna, thank you so much for your insight and advice. It seemed that I NEVER reached a stable emulsion until bam!--taffy. I thought I must be doing something wrong, or that in my inexperience I just missed trace and went way past it...all the way to paste. It's good to know that sometimes that's just the "nature of the beast". Here's to batch number 3.