My first seize....

[stargazer44]

Well I decided to try a new FO today. Everything was going just fine.... got my batch separated to add color.... poured the color on top and went to mix - and could barely get my spoon in my batter! I stirred, blended, begged and pleaded and finally gave in to the pudding like soap batter... and spoon plopped it into my mold. It was so stiff I couldn't even swirl it. I banged the heck out of it, but have a feeling I am going to end up with golf ball sized air pockets. The top just looks horrible..... hoping the inside ends up turning out super cool! One can hope, right??? :mrgreen:

Sad thing is I love this FO.... and I moved pretty fast so it didn't take long to set. I guess this will need to go into a single colored batch from now on.....

 

[VanessaP]

One thing you could try to do scrape it out of the pots/bowls, then knead it like bread dough to where its fairly pliable, then I would do a "hand swirl" and then smoosh it into the mold. All while wearing gloves, of course.

Seizing is one of the MANY reasons why I love HP LMAO

 

[sciboy]

I had a FO that would seize. You would think...okay, the temp is low enough, I'm working fast, I got this....than BAM! in a blink of an eye it would happen. I'd glop, push, and squish it into my loaf mold.

But, I always though seize soap, although it wasn't much to look at, always was a nice bar a soap I love it. Seized soap is hard, long lasting, and it really foams up nicely too.

seize=perfect & complete saponification.

 

[ewenique]

You can dump seized soap into a pot and hot process it. I've had soap seize and heat up enough to gel while in the pot. I've dumped it into a microwave safe bucket and zapped it to finish the gel, stirred and glopped into the mold. Obviously, using the microwave this way only works for small batches.

 

[lizflowers42]

You can dump seized soap into a pot and hot process it. I've had soap seize and heat up enough to gel while in the pot. I've dumped it into a microwave safe bucket and zapped it to finish the gel, stirred and glopped into the mold. Obviously, using the microwave this way only works for small batches.

Well hot diggity dog, I didn't know you could nuke soap to gel stage!

 

[jcandleattic]

seize=perfect & complete saponification.

Uhh? :wtf: no.

This is not a true statement.
It can equal that, but most times a seized batch if you cannot get it under control can result in lye pockets, air bubbles, separation in the mold, etc., etc.
In fact, it is probably a good idea to quickly put a seized batch into a crock pot and finish up the process the way you would an HP batch.

 

[Shannon_m]

I've had the last two batches seize on me, and those were my firsts too (different ways). Kind of a bummer but still ok even with air pockets. Mine weren't big and I banged the heck out of it. If it was reasonably movable (as in not rock solid) you might have gotten all the big pockets out. I can't wait for a cutting update on this one.

 

[stargazer44]

I haven't touched it yet. I am impatiently waiting until tomorrow afternoon to un-mold it. I will post an update! Fingers are still crossed hoping for a miracle! Thanks everyone!

 

[sciboy]

Uhh? :wtf: no.

This is not a true statement.
It can equal that, but most times a seized batch if you cannot get it under control can result in lye pockets, air bubbles, separation in the mold, etc., etc.
In fact, it is probably a good idea to quickly put a seized batch into a crock pot and finish up the process the way you would an HP batch.

I see what you are saying. I must have been lucky; it seems that the FO that would seize for me wasn't as bad as some. I never had any problems with lye pockets or separation.

 

[stargazer44]

I am thinking I should be okay with the lye. Everything was totally mixed and I had very light trace when I added my FO. Then I poured into cups to add color, and within 30 seconds it was pudding. I was able to mix the color with my stick blender, but had to plop it into my mold with a spoon. And by the time I had it in the mold and was ready to swirl - forget it! Anxious to see what it looks like tomorrow.

 

[cursivearts]

Don't feel too bad. I had my first seize the other day too, also a fragrance oil. Thankfully, it wasn't super fast. I had plenty of time to get it in the mold, but I was trying layering, and by the time I put on the top layer, it was like super chunky applesauce. It won't be pretty, but it will be usable! (I hope). I unmold today, so I guess we'll see. And if all else fails, there is always the crockpot!

 

[jcandleattic]

Don't feel too bad. I had my first seize the other day too, also a fragrance oil. Thankfully, it wasn't super fast. I had plenty of time to get it in the mold, but I was trying layering, and by the time I put on the top layer, it was like super chunky applesauce. It won't be pretty, but it will be usable! (I hope). I unmold today, so I guess we'll see. And if all else fails, there is always the crockpot!

This sounds more like acceleration than seizing, which is not quite the same thing.
Glad you were able to mold it though.

 

[stargazer44]

This sounds more like acceleration than seizing, which is not quite the same thing.
Glad you were able to mold it though.

I wonder if that is what I had too? I thought they were the same thing? (Not questioning you - learning!) Off to see what info I can find on seizing now! I did break down and cut last night. I do have some air pockets. It was still soft so I used my scraps to fill in the holes with my fingers. It doesn't look too horrible. I will post pics in a bit.

 

[ruby61]

Seizing I have only had once. It turned into rice soup in a matter of minutes. I recently had an extreme acceleration though lately, boy it was fine mixing but in a matter of sec turned into soap on a stick.

 

[jcandleattic]

I wonder if that is what I had too? I thought they were the same thing? (Not questioning you - learning!) Off to see what info I can find on seizing now! I did break down and cut last night. I do have some air pockets. It was still soft so I used my scraps to fill in the holes with my fingers. It doesn't look too horrible. I will post pics in a bit.

Acceleration can lead to seizing, that will rice first and then become soap on a stick.
But a true seize is when it IMMEDIATELY turns to brick (aka, soap on a stick) and you cannot stir anything into or move it, without added heat (like in a crock pot) to loosen everything back up.

 

[stargazer44]

Well here is my soap. Not as bad as I expected. It isn't even, (It was so stiff by the time I got it into the mold I couldn't spread it out), and there are air pockets. But no lye pockets. It smells wonderful, and is soft. I took some of the end scraps and smooshed it into the exposed pockets, and smoothed it out with my fingers. I will bevel my edges to clean it up a bit more in a day or two.

 

[Ruthie]

Looks beautiful to me. It may not have behaved well, but it looks sweet and innocent now.

 

[cursivearts]

This sounds more like acceleration than seizing, which is not quite the same thing.
Glad you were able to mold it though.

You're probably right. I've never had to deal with either before. It wasn't fun, but it was definitely workable, and the whole soap hit gel phase really quickly once it was in the mold, so fast, it got a tiny crack in the top.

That said, it still turned out much better than I expected. No lye pockets. A few lye crystals did form on top in one tiny spot, but the rest of the soap passed the zap test. It's a shampoo soap with a high sf so I'm just waiting for it to cure enough to test now....