Papaya Soap gelled! Is it safe? HELP!

[divyadinesh07]

Hi
Are gelled fruit soaps usable? And how long are they fine to use before they go moldy?

I just made my first fruit CP soap. I pureed Papaya finely and added it to my traced soap and mixed.Poured it in my silicone mold and left it in front of the fan (without insulation). Yet my CP PAPAYA SOAP started to gel within 5 mins. I figured I'd let it gel completely.

It's been half a day and the gelling process reached the sides too. But there are lot of white soap clumps where the soap must have seized quickly.

Can I still use the soap?

 

[Susie]

Yes, gelled soap is perfectly safe. It should last as long as ungelled soap made with the same recipe does.

 

[Obsidian]

Of course its usable, gelling doesn't affect the fruit content. If the puree was fine enough, your soap shouldn't mold. Make sure you let it fully cure before you store it away.

 

[dixiedragon]

It should be safe. Try it on your hands. it's not at its best yet, so reserve final judgemtn until it's aged 6 weeks.

 

[Seawolfe]

Why would you think gelling was bad? I prefer gelled soaps, especially with fruit/veggie puree. Although I do filter mine through fine mesh before adding - so its really more of a juice.
And they are more likely to gel because of the sugar in them.

 

[dixiedragon]

I too am a fan of gelling. It also seems like my non-gelled soaps are more prone to DOS. I have a theory that because gel speeds saponification, there is less unsaponified oil to oxidize during that 6 week cure time.

I really ought to do an experiment. But I am lazy.

 

[divyadinesh07]

But won't gelling also ruin the properties of the fruit too? Plus any FO & EO I used would have evaporated leaving behind no scent.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Gelled soaps will also have some scent - might be less than non-gelled, but not by a huge amount.

At the end of the day, you're putting things in to a batter chock full of lye. If anything is going to cause issues for your scents or fruit, it'll be that.

 

[Susie]

Your FO/EO will be fine unless it is a known fader anyway.(Citrus EOs are notorious for fading.)

If the papaya "benefits" are able to survive the lye, they would survive the gelling.

 

[divyadinesh07]

This is the soap I made. Those white clumps are the parts which didn't get mixed properly. Is it bad to leave such clumps?

 

[dixiedragon]

Are the spots undissolved lye? If not, then they are fine.

 

[divyadinesh07]

No the lye dissolved completely. Those are soap batter which seized soon while I was mixing in the papaya hence the lumps!

But why haven't these lumps gelled like the rest of the soap?

 

[Dorymae]

No the lye dissolved completely. Those are soap batter which seized soon while I was mixing in the papaya hence the lumps!

But why haven't these lumps gelled like the rest of the soap?

The lumps were already in saponification, they had probably already cooled more than the soap which was just beginning to saponify. Gel is what happens when the heat from saponification builds on itself and (for lack of a better word) melts the soap into the gel. Once that initial heat is gone, the soap is probably 90 percent done, as far as saponification goes.

 

[MarshalArtist]

You have to take into consideration that the acid and sugars in the papaya puree will have used up some of the lye.

 

[navigator9]

But won't gelling also ruin the properties of the fruit too? Plus any FO & EO I used would have evaporated leaving behind no scent.

Whatever beneficial properties papaya may have for skin, is probably better utilized in a mask or lotion. Soap is on the skin for such a short time, and then washed off, it's hard to imagine you could reap the benefits of papaya by using soap. Don't mean to discourage you from using different additives in your soap, but my experience has taught me that the very basics, olive, palm and coconut, in the right proportions, are every bit as good as any additives I've ever tried in my soaps, with the exception of milks and oatmeal. And I think that those add to the general quality of the soap, and don't in themselves impart any special properties to the skin itself. Hope that makes sense, it's late. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that you don't have to add a lot of fancy additives to make a great soap. My basic soap is olive palm and coconut, customers love it and I sell lots of it. I worked on the recipe for a long time, tweaking it till it couldn't be tweaked any more. It's more about balance, than special additives. JMHO

 

[divyadinesh07]

Thanks everyone for those great replies. Helped me out a lot! Will take it into consideration for my next batch. Hope it turns out good