Oily residue on top of salt bar in loaf mold

[Clarice]

Hi all

I made two batches of salt bars this weekend, and the same thing happened to both:

here is the recipe: 80% CO / 20% AVO / 20% SF / 31% Lye Concentration / 1 tsp activated charcoal ppo / NaCl at 75% in one batch, 100% in second. I used table salt.

In both instances, I added the charcoal (mixed in a wee bit of oil) at emulsion, and then added the salt. In both cases trace came very very slowly and I never really got much beyond light-medium trace.

I poured the mixture into molds and waited. And waited. And waited.

In both cases I ended up with a top "layer" of oil that was between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick, and underneath it, solidified soap. I cut the loaves, and placed the slices on brown paper - and they continued to weep oil for about a day.

Can you help me diagnose my issue? Thank you!

 

[amd]

Did you force gel? The first time I made salt bars I CPOP (thanks to Google for the bad advice) and that's exactly what happened. Ever since then, I don't even cover or wrap salt bars when I make them. They heat up on their own thanks to the high CO, and don't need any extra help.

 

[DeeAnna]

Could be overheating -- that can cause the soap batter to separate in the mold, especially if you poured the batter into the mold at emulsion or light trace and then the batter overheated.

But I'm also wondering if you could have made a measurement error. The combination of very reluctant trace and oil floating on top of the soap in the mold can both be caused by not enough NaOH in proportion to the fat. Not sure -- it's just another possibility for you to consider.

 

[Cellador]

Is it really oil?
I ask because I live in a high humidity environment and my salt bars "weep" moisture from day one. Usually, it's visible droplets and not the layer of moisture you're describing....but just another thing to consider.

ETA: I was also just thinking -every soap in which I've used activated charcoal as the only colorant has had excessive bouts of "humidity weeping. " Maybe it's the binding properties...

 

[shunt2011]

I third the overheating. I did the same thing as amd and it was a mess. I just lightly cover just enough to keep the air off and let it do it's thing.

 

[Clarice]

I CPOPed it

Heat attack - thank you!!!!

Should I pitch?

 

[shunt2011]

@Clarice - You could just let it sit and see if it re-absorbs. I pitched mine. It was an oily oily mess. Decided I was done with that one. I have trouble when I CPOP anything. I only do it for a short time an a just warm oven once in awhile.

 

[amd]

I left my mess to cure for a few months and tried it in the shower. It was a greasy mess. I pitched the lot.

 

[Clarice]

Garbage Disposal Freshener

 

[amd]

Ehhh... I'm not sure I'd want to run an oily mess through my garbage disposal.

What you could do is grate or cut the soap into chunks and add it to a new batch of salt bar. I'd probably just do 25% of the old batch to the new batch (I wouldn't do 1:1 unless you want twice as much soap!)

 

[Clarice]

Good point

I have never re-batched, I will read up on it! Thanks @amd

 

[amd]

It wouldn't really be a rebatch, more like a confetti soap. Sorry, I didn't realize you hadn't done it before, so I'll be a bit more clear (sometimes I forget who is new... or who has more experience)

Here's what I would have done with my greasy batch if I had been more experienced at the time:
1. Check to make sure that greasy salt bar is not lye heavy. If you haven't ready the sticky on a safe way to test for zap, check it out here.
2. If greasy bars do not pass tongue zap, I would let them sit a few days and check again. If still no, then toss the batch. If yes, then proceed.
3. You can grate the salt bars, but I find that they do not grate well and it's a pain in the ... well... knuckles, so I tend to cut them into chunks. I like square chunks, but you might like more interesting shapes. I kept my chunks 1/2" or smaller.
4. Make a new batch of salt bars, get your oils to a trace heavy enough to hold your salt, add salt and soap chunks. Pour into mold.

The greasy bars will increase your superfat slightly, but for a salt bar that's probably an ok thing especially as they have AC which tends to be drying. As I mentioned in a previous post, I would only add about 25% of the chunks as "confetti" to the new soap, but if you have enough molds and don't mind that much soap, you could do the entirety of the old batch. I did this last January with a batch that I poured too soon so the salt settled to the bottom. My husband loved the confetti bars, so much that I don't have one to share a picture of. It was pretty cool looking though.

That said, I think @cmzaha has rebatched salt bars, but I'm not sure. Maybe she'll chime in with words of wisdom.

Another tip - I too have trouble getting the 80 CO / 20 Avocado to trace quickly. What I do is get it emulsion, throw a towel over the bowl, set a timer for 5 minutes and walk away. I come back after 5 minutes, give it a "zuzz" with the stickblender again, and repeat until I get a trace that I'm happy with. Sometimes this can take 15-20 minutes, sometimes it's good at 10. (BTW: the towel is to help the heat stay in the bowl so trace moves a bit faster, but maybe not necessary for you. My soap dungeon is chilly in the winter when I make my salt bars.)

I hope this helps!

 

[Clarice]

wow @amd thank you!

I was about to make another batch (still deciding what to do with failed!) and this trace trick will be super helpful thank you!

 

[Amy78130]

@Clarice - You could just let it sit and see if it re-absorbs. I pitched mine. It was an oily oily mess. Decided I was done with that one. I have trouble when I CPOP anything. I only do it for a short time an a just warm oven once in awhile.

Mine usually reabsorbs.. Wonder if table salt was iodized or not? Or would that make a difference?

 

[steffamarie]

Mine usually reabsorbs.. Wonder if table salt was iodized or not? Or would that make a difference?

I’ve used plain iodized table salt with good results but in individual molds. I prefer pickling salt but I didn’t notice any difference between how the batches of each behaved.