Moldy cheese soap.....

[MGM]

I've written this post in my head a number of times, always with a different title. First was going to be Waiting, waiting....I'd done this exact recipe (well, almost), and had unmolded after 24 hours. This time I had to wait 3 full days and I likely could have waited another day, as it was still a bit soft.
The next title was going to be The girl who forgot to swirl, even though it looked kind of cool from the outside.



But then I cut the soaps and they looked great and I was going to title the post Pleased as punch! since I liked the look and there was a strong, fresh fragrance (lemongrass-verbena) (And I should have taken a photo at that point.....).

Then after a few days, I thought I saw DOS, little rusty spots.

And then I went away for a week and came back to brown soap! But not evenly brown, darker on the parts I bevelled. There's a pic of one slice cut in half; it's hard to see the colour difference, but it is lighter on the inside. And strangely, it's still a bit soft.




Soap Calc sheet below; additives were 1 Tbsp clay for the whole batch, then zinc oxide and activated charcoal for the colours. Any idea why the soap was so soft?



Upon rereading the reviews of NDA Lemongrass Verbena, I learned that it discolours...not sure how I missed that the first time.

Before the discoloration, my wife thought it looked like moldy Havarti. Now it's definitely smoked Gouda.

I can see why people make fragrance-free soap.....FOs are such trouble!

 

[Misschief]

Yup, I've had the same discoloration when I used Lemon Verbena. I can't speak to the softness though, other than to be patient.

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

hmmmmm I haven't used lemon verbena but once cuz I don't like the scent but it didn't discolor on me--I must have lucked out. I like the soap though, the one bar looks like a moon coming up by a mountain.

 

[IngridK]

In my efforts to do something 'different' at the beginning I did things like include mint leaves, topped soap with calendula and chamomile flowers from my garden. The mint soap cured and ended up looking like Stilton Cheese, the Mint is still giving me the gears and a recent batch with only EO and green clay seized and went brown... nasty brown... very nasty brown... the bars with calendula topping look great until you use them and the top gets mucky with dirt, the chamomile developed dampening off—something I only ever see when starting seeds for the garden and use chamomile tea to cure.... Soap is an adventure and sometimes you just go to bad places.

But it is working wonders on my obsession with 'saving everything'... I am getting over that... ;-)

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

Soap is an adventure and sometimes you just go to bad places.

love this--so true!!!

 

[MGM]

I like the soap though, the one bar looks like a moon coming up by a mountain.

Oooh, I see the moon and mountain now, @Marilyn Norgart! That's an end piece, but now it will be the best of the bunch. I am still pretty pleased with the patterns (this is the batch that I forgot to swirl, so what you see is what naturally happened when I poured the batter); maybe I'll learn to love the brown.....

 

[KiwiMoose]

It still looks good @MGM - and I noticed the mountain and moon too!

 

[Meena]

I've been starting to suspect my White Kaolin Clay regarding some recent softness issues I've been experiencing. Soaps with clays may take longer to unmould (and longer to cure, as well), but that's just my theory at this point.
It's not an excessive softness -- the soap isn't mush or anything -- but it is noticeable in comparison.

 

[IngridK]

I try to get all my CP soaps to fully gel. Seems I have to get them out of the mold and cut pronto the next day or they become unreasonably tough. If I unmold one that is a bit mushy I let it sit and air dry some more. I have heard that sodium lactate will help with hardening soft soap but have never tried it...

 

[Rogue-Soaper]

hmmmmm I haven't used lemon verbena but once cuz I don't like the scent but it didn't discolor on me--I must have lucked out. I like the soap though, the one bar looks like a moon coming up by a mountain.

I see that too. Have you considered lowering the water content? I get soft bars if I use a high water percent.