My recipe traces to fast!! Help with swirling!

[Eblaja]

Hi everybody, I hope you can help me out!

I am relatively new to CP soap making. From the time of my first batch I have fell in love with soap making. The further I go the more I like it and enjoy it.:grin:

I have a particular recipe (below) that I like, however it traces very fast and will not allow much time for swirling or playing with the butter.

It was ok while I was making one color or 2 color soap, but I would like to add some more color and do some swirling.

How can I tweak my recipe without compromising in quality and hardness at the end. I unmold after 24 hours and cut sever hours after.

The other problem that I have is oils. In UAE, where I live, not many types of oils are available and importing is a real killer, (I am already importing the shea and coco at a cheaper rate).

Below is the oils that are available to me: Shea, Cocoa, coconut, olive, almond, sunflower, canola, Castor.

The receipt that I use now is:
Castor – 5.29 oz or 150 g
Cocoa - 6.88 oz or 195 g
Coconut 76 – 16.23oz or 460 g
Olive oil – 19.75oz or 560 g
Shea – 5.43 oz or 154 g
Water at 38% and I superfat @ 5 %

It would be nice if I can have some time (not much) just enough to add the beauty of my colors to the soap.
Please, please, please!!

 

[ZandarKoad]

While this may be overkill, it would improve the overall quality of your finished product. I say overkill, because it could potentially take HOURS for your soap to trace, and you'd need to leave it for a good 48 hours before cutting... It could also change the natural color of your soap.

Switch to extra virgin olive oil. I've used it in all my batches so far, and it really slows things down. Perhaps just virgin (instead of extra virgin) would not be as extreme?

 

[melstan775]

I think your oil availability is good. It looks like a standard recipe. you can always use soapcalc.net to check your recipe. I find I trace quickly also, but I know the culprit is I soap at low temps and over blend. Try just going slower next time and see what happens.

 

[Eblaja]

Hi melstan775,
thank you for your input, so if i use the stick blender for beginning and then switch to a spatula while adding color, do you think that will help to slow down the trace?
Thank you for your help

 

[melstan775]

Yes I do think that will help. That's what I do. The blender in small containers more or less turns it to pudding when I do it. Next time I am just going to barely emulsify, add colors and then blend and see what happens.

 

[Eblaja]

thank you Melissa,

I shall try that tonight,

also can anyone advice a safe receipt for the FO (frequency oils) as when i try it in my usual recipe the batch seized.
Available Oils to me: Shea, Cocoa, coconut, olive, almond, sunflower, canola, Castor.
Thanks

 

[Seifenblasen]

What temperatures do you soap? If you soap cooler, it will in generally slow down the trace. Also, are you using any essential/fragrance oils? Some of them tend to accelerate trace, to the point of seizing.

 

[VanessaP]

That amount of olive oil is just under 37% so no, using refined or extra virgin isn't going to make a big difference in trace time between the two. Eblaja, are you using extra virgin/refined or pomace olive oil? Many soapers report that pomace makes their trace super quick. I don't use pomace, I use refined olive oil (not pomace, not extra virgin) and when I use more of it, my trace time is longer but not hours. When I make 100% olive oil soap, I have to use a 40% lye solution in order to get my trace to take less than 10 minutes.

 

[lsg]

You have also got some hard oils in the recipe, you might consider reducing the amounts of those and soaping at a cooler temp, both lye and oils. I bring the soap just to a good emulsion and then separate and add the colors.

 

[soapcakes]

Soaping cooler definitely helps slow down trace for me. I notice when I have used frozen liquid for the lye solution, that I have plenty of swirling time with those soaps.

Like lsg mentioned above, just taking your soap to a super-thin trace (just past emulsified) and then splitting it into the colors for swirling will really help.

 

[Pilar]

You could try:
Castor oil ................... 150g
Cocoa butter ................... 195gr
Coconut oil ..................... 176gr
Virgin Olive oil, ............. 560gr
Shea butter .................. 94gr

Superfatted ...................... 10%
Concentration ....................... 30%

Water ................................ 349gr
Sosa ................................ 150g

 

[Eblaja]

Hey guys,
Thank you so much for your help, so much useful info!!
Also, following Melissa’s advice, last night I made a batch, after bringing to good emulsification I stopped using the stick blender. I divided my butter in different portion added the color and used my spatulas to mix. I definitely had more time to play with my colors but the butter will definitely start to stiffen up at the end. But hey, it is so much better.
I usually get the oils to 38-37C and the Lye to 35-34C, if lower temp will slow the trace down even more, how low can I go to be on the safe side?
I will post some pics after I get it out of the mold, I am a bit worried that the TD (titanium dioxide) did not mix well. I actually had to use the stick to give it a good stir. What do you mix your TD in, water or oil?
Thank you lots
Elena

 

[Eblaja]

By the way... Forgot to mention. I use citrus EO (lemon, bergamot, orange) and lavander. I thought these are safe. I did not had issues with them before

 

[Eblaja]

Ok, just to let you know that after the advice on checking what olive oil I use. I found that it was a mixture between olive and pomance. So, last night I bought a olive oil only bottle and tried it again, I also refused the temp to 34 for lye and 36 for oil. Wwwwaaaaww!!!! Thank you guys! What a difference!! I had plenty time to play with my soap!!!
I am thinking now that maybe I should try to add the FO to it too maybe it will not seize on me that fast!!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

 

[Eblaja]

This one was done after the first try, it is with pomance and olive mixture. But I did not sti k blend after emulsification. Jensen you can see that TD did not mix very well... (((

 

[Eblaja]

This one I made last night , it has only olive oil (no pomance) the texture was much better... And I had plenty time to mix my color ( with a stick blender) .... Will cut it tomorrow and update... Yaaay so happy!!!
Now I can properly mix my TD without having speckles!!!!

 

[Badger]

Wow, these are beautiful! i love your colors, they are so vibrant! I am glad that people were able to help you out and things have slowed down enough for you to be able to do such wonderful patterns

 

[Eblaja]

Just an update, the soap with olive oil is the winner. Beautiful texture!!!