My soap exploded in the mold??

[meganlanephotos]

Hello..
I made 4lbs of Gingerbread Pumpkin soap tonight. I poured half into a 2lb mold that I've used several times before with no issue and the other half into a cardboard box lined with parchment paper. I checked on it 25 mins after pouring into molds and the cardboard box mold soap looked great. The soap the 2lb mold looks like it exploded. It is an applesaucey consistency, with some seperated oils on top..or at least that is how it appears. The mixture is all over the outer sides of the mold and the towels I had covering it. I don't understand why one is fine, and the other is not. The only difference between the two is this: I covered the cardboard box mold with parchment paper, thin piece of cardboard and a towel. I covered the 2lb mold with parchment paper and thin piece of cardboard AND a think blanket. Could the mixture in the 2lb mold have overheated due to the additional blanket covering it? I'm so confused. Also, is it ruined? Do I need to throw it out? I really, really don't want to waste it all. If I leave it on the counter will it eventually saponify? Right now it is still uncovered on my counter, I don't want to re-cover it and risk it overheating more..in case that is why this happened in the first place. Is there any way to save this half of the batch? Is it possible that the same thing will happen to the batch in the cardboard box mold? Thank you in advance for your help!! I am including pictures of both molds for reference.

 

[dixiedragon]

It looks like it over heated. I think that type of mold held in the heat better than the cardboard mold. Also, I think spice FOs can cause overheating.

If you have all of the stuff, you could put it in a crockpot and melt it down.

 

[cmzaha]

Not knowing what you used for fragrance but I guarantee it overheated. Many pumpkin, coconut and floral fo's along with some vanillas will severly overheat. Honey and sugars and goat's milk will also cause heating in the mold. Some fo's will not even give you time to make it to the freezer with them. It actually looks like it went into a quick gel but may not have actually seperated. I would recommend letting it stay in the mold for a couple of days then remove it and see if it has oozing cavities inside. It may set up just fine. You can always rebatch if necessary. With these type of fo's I put my molds in the freezer, at least do not insulate. Spice Essential such as clove and cinnamon are also known heater eo's

 

[newbie]

Yep, overheating for sure. Those spice FO's can really generate the heat, plus whatever you may have added. Personally, I would put the separated one in a pot right now with some low heat and remix it together and remold. I don't have the patience to wait for a day or two and see if it sets and then have to rebatch it anyway. From what I see, I think the chances are not in your favor for a good set-up with time, but that's just my guess. I would keep an eagle eye on the other one.

 

[cmzaha]

Yep, overheating for sure. Those spice FO's can really generate the heat, plus whatever you may have added. Personally, I would put the separated one in a pot right now with some low heat and remix it together and remold. I don't have the patience to wait for a day or two and see if it sets and then have to rebatch it anyway. From what I see, I think the chances are not in your favor for a good set-up with time, but that's just my guess. I would keep an eagle eye on the other one

I am with you on putting it in a pot now, but thought she might avoid cooking. I have a coconut fo I was testing for a company that literally liquified, in individual silicone molds, in seconds. I never thought it would set up but it did. :grin:

 

[newbie]

When i have separation, I dump it together and stir it all up. It's usually hot enough that it is essentially cooking but I didn't know if it had cooled for her (if that's what you meant.) YOu may have meant you were trying to save her from having to rebatch at all, which would be awfully nice!

I am amazed about the coconut FO. I can just picture myself looking at it, blinking stupidly. I'm not certain I would have left it, to be honest, to see what happened. Did the FO go onto their line? Can you imagine being a beginning soaper and using it??!!

 

[Happysoap]

Too hot, Johnny, too hot is way too hot... It overheated and exploded. You could just scoop it back in the mold and blend it all back together again in the mold. Its not a big deal but the texture will not be smooth.

 

[meganlanephotos]

Thank you all for your responses. I had assumed the explosion was due to overeheating. After reading all of your comments, it certainly makes sense why it happened. I used a combination Pumpkin Pie FO, Gingerbread FO, Cinnamon EO and Clove Bud EO in this soap! Being that they are all known for causing higher heats, my poor soap was just a disaster waiting to happen!

Anyway, I just woke up and it's been 11 hours since they were poured into the molds. The cardboard box mold is still fine..not explosion. It appears to have gone through the gel phase properly..and it's slowly starting to harden. The exploded mess mold still looks exactly the same as last night. The center is still an oily liquid and the sides/corner areas are still more firm. I didn't receive your responses until this morning so I wasn't able to stir it again and repour. My question is, now that it is 11 hours later..what can I do to fix this? Several of you said I couldve poured it in a crock pot and reheated and repoured it last night. Can I stick do this successfully today? I do have a crock pot, but it's a very tiny one, I'm hoping the mixture will all fit. If it does not, can I use the oven or double boiler? How would that work? Also, if I am still able to put it in crock pot.. how long would I put it in there for? What heat would I put it on? This is only my 4th batch of CP soap so I am very new to all this. My first 3 batches came out fine, so this was a big shock to me. This is the kinda thing I expected to happen to my first ever batch of soap!

Thank you all again! I am looking forward to reading more of your answers. I am really hoping it is not too late to put it in crock pot or something. Please let me know!

 

[shunt2011]

I would throw the whole thing into a crockpot and hopefully it will all come back together. Then put it back in the mold and hope for the best. Or, since it's a small batch just toss it. I've had that happen a couple times and it's frustrating to say the least. However, with wooden molds you don't need to insulate it to heavily. I generally just but a piece of cardboard over the top and lay a towel over that then watch it. Especially with FO's that tend to be heaters.

 

[meganlanephotos]

How long do I put it in the crockpot for this morning? Do I leave the heat on low or medium or high? How long do I keep it in there before remolding? Thanks

 

[meganlanephotos]

Ok, so I ended up putting all the mixture from the exploded soap into my crock pot this morning. It's small, but everything fit (phew!) I turned the heat on low and left the mixture in for about 3 hours, stirring it occasionly. After about an hour, it was like thick mashed potatoes. After 3 hours, it was more like applesauce. It was at that point that I poured it back into my mold (now cleaned.) It has been in there for 8 hours now and seems to be doing alright so far. I have a thin piece of cardboard covering the mold, but no towels or blankets. It is hardening up a bit but still oft in the center, I presume. It feels a bit more leathery..almost like the top of banana bread..than my soaps usually feel. Is this normal for hot processed soap or soaps coming out of a crock pot? I've only done CP. I am including pictures of the soap that I took 5 minutes a go. Do you all think it's going to work? Will it turn to soap the way it should? I'm really hoping so! It smells delicious.. Also, now that it's been cooked in a crock pot, will it be ready for use quicker than it would have? When can I safely use it on my skin? Thanks again for all your help.

 

[newbie]

Yep, that looks about right. People who Hp usually cure their soaps for a few weeks; it seems like I read 4 the most often. This allows for extra water to evaporate, your soap will be harder and have better lather. Because saponification is done, you could officially use it now but it will be much much better with some age and will last longer. YOu can always cut a thin slice off the end to try now and cut the rest into regular bars to cure, if you can't stand it! Nice save!