Macadamia Soap Turned Purple!!

[Apothika]

Hello fellow Soapers,

I just made my second batch of soap ever! It was a pure macadamia Soap ... and as you can see it turned purple! What might have caused this?
No Essential oils added, No colourants. Only Macadamia, Water & Lye.
Recipe was a small batch

176g Macadamia Oil
21.52g Sodium Hydroxide
56.76g Water

calculated with a 33% water/lye concentration & 5% Superfat. I Assumed the bright yellow colour of the macadamia Oil Would stay yellow... not turn Purple.. any thoughts?

Help

Thank you!!

 

[KiwiMoose]

Weird! Must be something in the oil that reacts with the lye. You do know that with very little stearic and palmitic that this will remain a soft soap ( I think)? And not last long.

Have a read of @DeeAnna 's helpful info here: Soapcalc numbers | Soapy Stuff

Here's some single oil soap experiments here: Single Oil Cold Process Soap Lather Tests - Soap Queen

There's another link somewhere that i couldn't find with the results of single oils and longevity/DOS. Maybe someone could include a link if they have it?

Let us know how it goes though - should have a good label appeal!

 

[Apothika]

Weird! Must be something in the oil that reacts with the lye. You do know that with very little stearic and palmitic that this will remain a soft soap ( I think)? And not last long.

Have a read of @DeeAnna 's helpful info here: Soapcalc numbers | Soapy Stuff

Here's some single oil soap experiments here: Single Oil Cold Process Soap Lather Tests - Soap Queen

There's another link somewhere that i couldn't find with the results of single oils and longevity/DOS. Maybe someone could include a link if they have it?

Let us know how it goes though - should have a good label appeal!

Thank you KiwiMoose! I thought it may have been a reaction with the lye, I left the oils at room temp and poured the lye at 78 C - maybe that was too hot & scorched the oil or something? I do know a little about the stearic & palmitic qualities, but am still experimenting, I saw a soap company who made pure maca soap, and wanted to try. My first few batches will be 100 same oil soaps to see how they behave over time & softness & properties Ill let you know if I find out some more info!! I mean it doesn't look bad! haha I have a feeling it's not meant to be like that though.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Thank you KiwiMoose! I thought it may have been a reaction with the lye, I left the oils at room temp and poured the lye at 78 C - maybe that was too hot & scorched the oil or something? I do know a little about the stearic & palmitic qualities, but am still experimenting, I saw a soap company who made pure maca soap, and wanted to try. My first few batches will be 100 same oil soaps to see how they behave over time & softness & properties Ill let you know if I find out some more info!! I mean it doesn't look bad! haha I have a feeling it's not meant to be like that though.

Are you in Queensland? Definitely the land of Macas (and I don't mean Macdonalds). You'll get it a lot cheaper there than anywhere else i would imagine.

 

[DeeAnna]

Sometimes a phenol-based antioxidant such as BHT that is normally colorless will turn pinkish, purple-ish, or yellowish when the antioxidant is over-oxidized. The pink/purple color is most likely when the antioxidant is in an alkaline (high pH) environment. Obviously that happens when making soap.

There are certain conditions that have to be met for this "pinking" to occur, so it doesn't always happen. People report this in their soap from time to time, but not real often.

My guess is the macadamia oil may have antioxidants added to lengthen its shelf life -- it's not a long-lived fat and needs all the help it can get to have a decent shelf life.

 

[Apothika]

Are you in Queensland? Definitely the land of Macas (and I don't mean Macdonalds). You'll get it a lot cheaper there than anywhere else i would imagine.

I'm in northern NSW, which is much closer to brisbane than sydney, so lots of macadamias here too!!

Sometimes a phenol-based antioxidant such as BHT that is normally colorless will turn pinkish, purple-ish, or yellowish when the antioxidant is over-oxidized. The pink/purple color is most likely when the antioxidant is in an alkaline (high pH) environment. Obviously that happens when making soap.

There are certain conditions that have to be met for this "pinking" to occur, so it doesn't always happen. People report this in their soap from time to time, but not real often.

My guess is the macadamia oil may have antioxidants added to lengthen its shelf life -- it's not a long-lived fat and needs all the help it can get to have a decent shelf life.

Thanks very much for your input DeeAnna! I was looking up your suggestions & read that Macadamia oil has 4 times as much vitamin E as olive oil So maybe this is the antioxidant? I am also thinking it could be due to the fact that we got this oil from the markets & the old gentleman we purchased it off said that Macadamia oil never goes off haha. I'm 100% Not sure on that take, as I didnt think it had a long shelf life, but I was also thinking it could be because its food grade and unrefined or maybe it is just off ... I have some refined oil here too that is much clearer & doesn't have a scent so I think I will replicate the recipe to compare the difference in Maca Oils.

 

[DeeAnna]

Tocopherols (Vitamin E) do function as an antioxidant, that's true. While Vitamin E might be a helpful antioxidant for human skin, it's not necessarily a good choice for preserving fats from oxidation and rancidity.

Too much antioxidant can actually increase the rate of oxidation (a process called pro-oxidation), so more tocoperol in a fat is not necessarily better. Since macadamia oil naturally has a lot of tocoperols, then ask yourself -- why does it have such a short shelf life?

IMO, there are other antioxidants that are less prone to causing pro-oxidation. ROE (rosemary oleoresin extract) is readily available and a proven, reliable antioxidant for fats.

 

[DeeAnna]

Couple more thoughts --

I should also add that tocopherols are not phenol-based chemicals, so tocopherols would not cause "pinking".

Unrefined fats can be more prone to oxidation and rancidity due to the trace impurities that would normally be removed by the various processes used to refine the fat.

 

[Alondrielle]

Made a cold process soap that contained Macadamia oil, light olive oil, castor oil, rice bran oil, cocoa butter and coconut oil.

Checked temp of both the lye and oil blend before combining. Oils were 32 degrees c (89.6 F) Lye was a little cooler.

The batter was a rich brown, much darker than any other batter.

Guessing now that this may be due to the macadamia oil, however it was also our first soap that used rice bran oil.

This is only the 5th cold process batter my little soaping group has made (family group just starting out)

 

[Servant4Christ]

Though I've never used macadamia, I have had a soap turn that color once. It was made with green tea as the liquid and ~40% hemp infused olive oil. The purple only lasted a week or two and then faded/morphed to the shade of green that hemp is known for. It'll be interesting to see if yours remains that color or changes throughout its cure.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

Made a cold process soap that contained Macadamia oil, light olive oil, castor oil, rice bran oil, cocoa butter and coconut oil.

Checked temp of both the lye and oil blend before combining. Oils were 32 degrees c (89.6 F) Lye was a little cooler.

The batter was a rich brown, much darker than any other batter.

Guessing now that this may be due to the macadamia oil, however it was also our first soap that used rice bran oil.

This is only the 5th cold process batter my little soaping group has made (family group just starting out)

This website shows a soap made with 100% rice bran oil, which causes some discoloration, but not enough to produce brown soap.

 

[linne1gi]

Sometimes a phenol-based antioxidant such as BHT that is normally colorless will turn pinkish, purple-ish, or yellowish when the antioxidant is over-oxidized. The pink/purple color is most likely when the antioxidant is in an alkaline (high pH) environment. Obviously that happens when making soap.

There are certain conditions that have to be met for this "pinking" to occur, so it doesn't always happen. People report this in their soap from time to time, but not real often.

My guess is the macadamia oil may have antioxidants added to lengthen its shelf life -- it's not a long-lived fat and needs all the help it can get to have a decent shelf life.

And yet Macadamia Oil has only 2% Linoleic acid, the rest being oleic, stearic & palmitic acids. I use this oil a lot, but only at about 20%.

 

[AliOop]

Made a cold process soap that contained Macadamia oil, light olive oil, castor oil, rice bran oil, cocoa butter and coconut oil.

Checked temp of both the lye and oil blend before combining. Oils were 32 degrees c (89.6 F) Lye was a little cooler.

The batter was a rich brown, much darker than any other batter.

Guessing now that this may be due to the macadamia oil, however it was also our first soap that used rice bran oil.

This is only the 5th cold process batter my little soaping group has made (family group just starting out)

Rice bran oil normally makes a very light soap, so I'm guessing it was your macadamia nut oil that darkened it. Did you include any other additives such as clay, botanicals, fragrances, or the like?

 

[linne1gi]

Made a cold process soap that contained Macadamia oil, light olive oil, castor oil, rice bran oil, cocoa butter and coconut oil.

Checked temp of both the lye and oil blend before combining. Oils were 32 degrees c (89.6 F) Lye was a little cooler.

The batter was a rich brown, much darker than any other batter.

Guessing now that this may be due to the macadamia oil, however it was also our first soap that used rice bran oil.

This is only the 5th cold process batter my little soaping group has made (family group just starting out)

I use Macadamia Oil frequently, usually at about 20%, I have never had the batter turn brown. So I doubt it was the Macadamia Oil.

 

[AliOop]

I use Macadamia Oil frequently, usually at about 20%, I have never had the batter turn brown. So I doubt it was the Macadamia Oil.

I was just reading on another thread here that it could be the antioxidants that are added to Mac oil that could make it turn darker. But I'd still like to know if other additives were used, such as an FO with vanillin. Hopefully the OP will let us know.

 

[linne1gi]

I was just reading on another thread here that it could be the antioxidants that are added to Mac oil that could make it turn darker. But I'd still like to know if other additives were used, such as an FO with vanillin. Hopefully the OP will let us know.

I don’t know of any extra antioxidants that are added to Macadamia Oil, I add citric acid to all my soaps. In over 12 years of making soaps, my soaps made with Macadamia Oil are not any darker. Even if you were to add ROE, the amount to add is 1 gram per 1000 grams of oils, so that shouldn’t affect the color.

 

[AliOop]

I don’t know of any extra antioxidants that are added to Macadamia Oil, I add citric acid to all my soaps. In over 12 years of making soaps, my soaps made with Macadamia Oil are not any darker. Even if you were to add ROE, the amount to add is 1 gram per 1000 grams of oils, so that shouldn’t affect the color.

The other thread here was specifically talking about that, so I have no direct knowledge myself. It could be that different suppliers do add preservatives to it.

 

[linne1gi]

The other thread here was specifically talking about that, so I have no direct knowledge myself. It could be that different suppliers do add preservatives to it.

I tend to think it’s another factor. I’ve used several suppliers.

 

[DeeAnna]

I use Macadamia Oil frequently, usually at about 20%, I have never had the batter turn brown. So I doubt it was the Macadamia Oil.

The OP clearly said the soap batter turned ~lavender~, not brown.

I was explaining the use of certain antioxidants can cause a "pinking" effect which might be a reason. I'm not saying I ~know~ this to be the reason for the OP's issue, just that the times when people on this forum have encountered this "pinking" effect, it seems to be from a misbehaving antioxidant after some discussion.

Perhaps not all or even many manufacturers put phenol-based antioxidants into their fats, but unless you look at the OP's particular fat, you nor I can say for sure.

Also since the OP made a 100% macadamia oil soap and most soap makers, including you, are saying they normally use it as only part of a blend of fats, this also might have contributed to the different behavior of the OP's soap versus yours.

"...Macadamia Oil has only 2% Linoleic acid, the rest being oleic, stearic & palmitic acids...."

I agree macadamia oil is moderately high in oleic acid with a healthy amount of stearic and palmitic acids, but if you look further than the Soapcalc data set, you'll also find it's also unusually high in palmitoleic acid at around 20% or so.

I found out a long time ago that one can't rely on so@p recipe calculators for the whole story about a particular fat.

 

[linne1gi]

The OP clearly said the soap batter turned ~lavender~, not brown.

I was explaining the use of certain antioxidants can cause a "pinking" effect which might be a reason. I'm not saying I ~know~ this to be the reason for the OP's issue, just that the times when people on this forum have encountered this "pinking" effect, it seems to be from a misbehaving antioxidant after some discussion.

Perhaps not all or even many manufacturers put phenol-based antioxidants into their fats, but unless you look at the OP's particular fat, you nor I can say for sure.

Also since the OP made a 100% macadamia oil soap and most soap makers, including you, are saying they normally use it as only part of a blend of fats, this also might have contributed to the different behavior of the OP's soap versus yours.

"...Macadamia Oil has only 2% Linoleic acid, the rest being oleic, stearic & palmitic acids...."

I agree macadamia oil is moderately high in oleic acid with a healthy amount of stearic and palmitic acids, but if you look further than the Soapcalc data set, you'll also find it's also unusually high in palmitoleic acid at around 20% or so.

I found out a long time ago that one can't rely on so@p recipe calculators for the whole story about a particular fat.

Replying to what &alondrielle said, “my batter turned a rich dark brown”, as well as others that said it turned their soap batter dark, & some said brown.