Oil sitting on top of bar

[AimeeG]

Hi All, I am new here and new to soap making. Thanks for having me. I am enjoying the journey and learning new thing each day. I am new to navigating the forum so please forgive me if this has been asked many times before.
I have made a CP recipe last week which required re batching because there was a layer of oil on top of the bar. I think the recipe was ok...
(OO40% ,CO35% , SB 10%, castor 5%, sunflower 10%; water:lye 2:1, sf 5%) 3% sodium lactate, EO and kaolin clay, INS 155
I am in Australia where is it is quite warm atm.
I placed the batter, which seemed to reach trace in a wooden mound uncovered.
I then left the gelling batter on the bench overnight, but i had the air conditioner on.
I am wondering could the air conditioner affect how the soap sets, or is it a mixing problem to begin with.
The finished bar is still soft and uncut, but i did add a bit of water in the re batching. It has a beautiful later and is worth finding out what went wrong. I am going to try a really small batch this morning with a few changes.
Thanks for listening...

 

[IrishLass]

Welcome AimeeG!

The oily-layer problem is actually not all that uncommon. It happens to all of us at one time or another. It can be caused either by under-mixing or by an overheating issue, or by a particular fragrance oil (especially if not formulated for use in lye-based soap).....but sometimes it just happens and we can't seem to put our finger on why.

How deep was the layer of oil on top of the soap? If it was pretty thin/shallow, chances are very good to excellent that it would have absorbed back in over the next few days if left on its own and there would have been no need to rebatch. If it was a large enough amount to swish around when the mold was tilted, then you made a good call to re-batch.


IrishLass