Ricing or almost soap on a stick?

[Guspuppy]

I was trying to do the mica/oil line thing tonight. Used my standard 55% lard recipe. I added the lye water and then the FO to the oils, SB slightly longer than usual bc I wasn't coloring any batter and wanted a slightly thicker trace to hold the oil lines. I left the batter for like 30 seconds while I re-stirred the mica and oils, and when I turned back to it I was super surprised to see it nearly solid. It had a grainy look and I thought, "is this ricing?" And hit it again with the SB, but it didn't change. So I just hurried and plopped everything in the mold. I did do the mica oil lines and when I tried to hangar swirl them I could feel that the soap at the bottom of the mold was nearly solid. So I assume it was not, in fact, ricing? As I understand it ricing is things starting to separate?

The FO was Ginger and Lime from Nurture and as I said in the "what soapy thing did you do today" thread, I had used it when making Zany's no-slime castile. That soap was ready to cut in 4 hours and I thought it wa the recipe but perhaps it was this FO!

 

[DeeAnna]

Yeah, I'd say you got a good case of ricing and acceleration! I'd suspect the FO is the culprit since you are an experienced soaper using a trusted recipe.

I don't think ricing is a case where the batter is separating. When my soap starts to rice, my perception is the batter is saponifying quickly in small clumps. I'm guessing the clumps form because saponification will be faster around tiny droplets of the offending FO.

Ricing doesn't necessarily have to cause a full-on seized soap. I've had soap that started to rice, but the ricing stopped after a short while. The batter still stayed fairly fluid throughout the process.

So sometimes ricing progresses to soap on a stick and sometimes it burns itself out.

 

[TheGecko]

I used it with my GMS recipe and had no issues...no ricing, no acceleration. I was testing the FO from two different suppliers for a wholesale customer...made a double test batch, split, added the first FO, poured. Added the Nurture Soap brand, stirred in...then decided to add a little Mica so my customer would remember which soap was which and poured. It stayed fluid the entire time. My GMS contains Olive, Coconut, Palm and Castor Oils, and Shea Butter. I also use Sodium Lactate and Kaolin Clay.

 

[Guspuppy]

I don't think ricing is a case where the batter is separating. When my soap starts to rice, my perception is the batter is saponifying quickly in small clumps. I'm guessing the clumps form because saponification will be faster around tiny droplets of the offending FO.

Thanks DeeAnna, that makes a lot of sense to me! Once the batter looked grainy it became too thick to pour, but I was able to scoop it into the mold and work quickly to do my planned design. Now I know what ricing looks like! (I did go study the photos in the pinned post but it wasn't exactly like any I saw in there.)

I used it with my GMS recipe and had no issues...no ricing, no acceleration. I was testing the FO from two different suppliers for a wholesale customer...made a double test batch, split, added the first FO, poured. Added the Nurture Soap brand, stirred in...then decided to add a little Mica so my customer would remember which soap was which and poured. It stayed fluid the entire time. My GMS contains Olive, Coconut, Palm and Castor Oils, and Shea Butter. I also use Sodium Lactate and Kaolin Clay.

Yes, the Nurture website indicates no acceleration or discoloration. I'm sure it is my specific recipe, which seems to move pretty quickly regardless of the FO I use, although one would not expect it to do so given the 55% lard component. The Ginger lime is just exceptionally fast for me!

 

[Mobjack Bay]

@Guspuppy Have you tried the NS Ginger & Lime again? I used it for about a year and half with no issues in my lard-based recipe, which I make at 85-90F, including for complicated designs. However, when I used it recently in a soy-based recipe that I start at 125F, I could barely get the soap in the mold. For that batch, the FO was a mix of the end of what I had on hand and new. Two older bottles were labeled “no acceleration” and the new one “mild acceleration.” I assumed it accelerated due to the temperature, but maybe the formula has changed. The NS website highlights the potential for acceleration, but describes it as “no acceleration” in the testing notes.

 

[Guspuppy]

I have not yet tried it again but I really like the scent so it is definitely on my list of soaps to make. I took a long break after soaping for the holidays and just last week started up again.

 

[cmzaha]

With some FO's even a slight temp change in your starting temperatures can make a difference in the way it affects your batter. I have one fragrance that a 5-degree difference in temperature will make my batter workable to almost non-workable, which I discovered one day when I was making back-to-back batches and happened to checking temps knowing it was a cranky fo, and I finally proved it was the temperature that made the difference.

 

[Corsara]

This is really good info to know! I just got a sample of this fragrance, and I was going to use it as my first time ever using one! I don't have a recipe formulated yet.

 

[Guspuppy]

I finally got around to using Nurture's Ginger and Lime again today, and once again it riced badly on me. The bottle says 'slight acceleration'. I had tried to just hand stir in the fragrance after emulsion was reached but it riced immediately and I had to hit it with the stick blender a bunch to keep it beat down. That got it too thick to pour, as per usual! Last time I had a high lard soap and wasn't positive it was ricing; or maybe soaping too cold and fats re-solidifying; but this time it was a 48% OO, 22% SAO recipe so that was definitely not the case!

 

[Corsara]

I finally got around to using Nurture's Ginger and Lime again today, and once again it riced badly on me. The bottle says 'slight acceleration'. I had tried to just hand stir in the fragrance after emulsion was reached but it riced immediately and I had to hit it with the stick blender a bunch to keep it beat down. That got it too thick to pour, as per usual! Last time I had a high lard soap and wasn't positive it was ricing; or maybe soaping too cold and fats re-solidifying; but this time it was a 48% OO, 22% SAO recipe so that was definitely not the case!

I haven't had chance to post my most recent fragrance oil testing results, but I did see a bit of ricing in a high lard recipe with ginger and lime too