Ricing FO - that didn't rice before

[Gloria McDonald01]

Hi - I have been making soap for a lot of years (since the mid 90's) and never ran into ricing until my last batch of Rose Soap using an FO from New Directions. I have used this FO before and never had any issues - but the last batch I made riced on me. Now I am paranoid about making my next batch. Has anyone else experienced this (ricing with an FO that was stable before) and is there a method that helps reduce the chance of it ricing again?

Thanks for any suggestions -- I did see someone add the FO to the oils before adding the lye in order to avoid ricing - but she also didn't use a stick blender and my batch is too big to whisk to trace. Does oil temp impact this at all (I usually soap fairly cool at around 95 degrees).

 

[KiwiMoose]

I often add my FO to my oils before mixing in the lye solution. It helps to ensure everything is at an even temperature which I'm convinced contributes to ricing (that is - when they're at different temperatures).

 

[Gloria McDonald]

I often add my FO to my oils before mixing in the lye solution. It helps to ensure everything is at an even temperature which I'm convinced contributes to ricing (that is - when they're at different temperatures).

Thanks - I am going to give that a try. It does make sense to me as well.