Pictures of the white chalky residue on my soap bars....

[Jerry S]

I posted a thread a few topics ago..."What's the white chalky residue on my bars"...I hope I'm not being redundant here posting this as a new topic but I didn't know how else to do it...

Here is the first shot of my bars after a little use having a chalky white residue on them.

This is another shot of the same 2 bars...

The other bars of soap that I made have a nicer color to them (these aren't the prettiest) but the other bars end up with the same type of chalky look...Any ideas will be appreciated...

Thanks, Jerry S

 

[dubnica]

This looks like ash....

 

[cmd439]

I would say ash as well. Try spraying with rubbing alcohol and giving it a gently rub with a wash cloth.

I still get ash. I sprayed the top of my last soap with alcohol after pouring and it helped alot. I got slight ash on the sides after I cut, but only noticeable to me. I tapped the air out of my stick blender before using it and I think that helped reduce the ash.

 

[Deda]

Ash, learn to embrace it. It makes your life easier.

 

[Jerry S]

The dreaded white ash....

No, no, no!!…it’s to Yukey…
As mentioned, the bars don’t look like this out of the mold. They get that way after a few uses…
cmd439…are you saying that you spray your bars just out of the mold with alcohol and that keeps them from getting the ash?…
I thought maybe it’s the way I made these bars of soap…with mostly hard Oils…I used PKO, CO, CB and no OO or Castor…I super fatted them at only about 4 %…Great hard bars, lathers like crazy, lots of bubbles. I love the stuff. I thought of giving some of these away for gifts but not if they are going to look like this after a few uses.
Maybe I should have added some soft oils in my recipe..like Castor or a little OO…
Anyway, that’s guys and ladies :wink: thanks for your input…
Jerry S

 

[Deda]

Hold the phone, ash happens before you use the soap, not after.

Could it just be lather left to dry on the bar?

 

[soapbuddy]

Could it just be lather left to dry on the bar?

That's the same comment I made in the other thread. Could you rinse the bar off, dry it with a paper towel, then spray with alcohol to shine it up? See if that bar stays the same in a couple of days without touching it.

 

[Jerry S]

The dreaded white residue..

Well then Deda, it’s not ash cuz all the rest of my bars have been setting since May and they look fine. No residue at all on them, just like the clean on in the photo’s. It’s not dried lather because I rinse the bar off after use, but then the white stuff appears by the next day..

Ok, I’ll spray off the bar I’ve been using with alcohol and see what happens in a couple of days after I start using it again…

Jerry S

 

[Sunny]

just curious why you care if it's happening after the bar is already in the shower...

 

[Jerry S]

the dreaded white residue..

Good point Tasha. Since it’s just me using these hard bars for now, I don’t care. BUT..I wanted to give some of my new batches as gifts for the holidays and I wouldn't want the recipients to put up with what they look like after they start to use them..
Jerry

 

[ToniD]

Just a wild stab--what about the FOs or colors?

 

[Sunny]

to put your mind at ease a little, if I were receiving it as a gift and it got a chalky residue after using, I would have just assumed it was from the lather... It's good that you are looking into it if it concerns you but don't worry too much!

 

[newbie]

I would bet it's because of the very high percentage of cocoa butter you use. This reminds of the look chocolate will get if it heats and cools too often- you know how it gets chalky? It isn't ash but I bet it's one of the oils in the cocoa butter separating slightly in the heat of the shower and then cooling. I would try a small recipe recalculated to include a little OO or Castor- man, then it would be REALLY bubbly!

 

[Bean13]

WOW! Point for Newbie. Good thinking. I totally agree seeing I just got some deodorized cocoa butter yesterday and the chalky stuff looks exactly the same. But I don't rememebr how much cocoa butter you used...

 

[Jerry S]

the dreaded residue

Hey you guys!…3 great responses that all make sense to me…lol.. The FO I used was a green tea that I got from Bramble Berry a couple of years ago . The color came from a combo of mixing a couple of food colors. (Weird I know) but I was experimenting and it turned out sort of purple.

Newbie, you may be on to something here with the idea of my hard oils (which I originally thought may be the culprit). This particular batch was made from 65%-CO, 20%-CB and 15%-PKO. That was it, no soft oils. I’m going to mix a couple of small batches of a couple of these “hard bar” recipes and throw some Castor in it and see what happens. I’m nuts about the lather and bubbles anyway so more can’t hurt... a guy thing.

Jerry S