Ricing! What's the worst that can happen?

[KiwiMoose]

OMG! Just had my worst ever case of ricing. Only the second time in my two years (gee has it been that long?) of soaping. The first time I had ricing it wasn't that bad and i poured and had a successful soap anyway. This time, it was pretty rice-y when I poured, despite trying to stick blend it out.
What might happen? Will it separate? Will I have to toss it? Or is it merely an aesthetic issue?
Reassurance required please

ETA: FYI - the FO was Rose Quartz which I suspect is from Nature's Garden.

 

[Guspuppy]

I had my first case of ricing the other night and ended up plopping it in the mold. It came out fine!

 

[KiwiMoose]

I had my first case of ricing the other night and ended up plopping it in the mold. It came out fine!

Good reassurance there thanks Gussy Boy. (My sons name is Angus and we call him Gus)

 

[Peachy Clean Soap]

Ive had ricing twice the 1st time I was able to save it' the second time it separated w/ oil floating on top the next morning' I tossed it in the trash It was awful. Hope your soap turns out for you.

 

[Misschief]

Yanno, in all the time I've been making soap (more than 5 years), I've never experienced ricing. Just watch, I've jinxed it now.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Ive had ricing twice the 1st time I was able to save it' the second time it separated w/ oil floating on top the next morning' I tossed it in the trash It was awful. Hope your soap turns out for you.

At what point did you see the separation occurring? Mine's gone though gel phase now and it's still holding together. It's on the cool down now. I'm worried that a couple of the colours didn't;t have the FO mixed in well enough. I stick blended the main batter to try and get the ricing out, but the three tubs of accent colours were only quickly stirred.

 

[KiwiMoose]

So here’s the cut this morning:

The single bars pictured are the worst affected. Zap testing has confirmed that the little yellow pocket is pure Rose quartz FO (my mouth still tastes floral!). I’m wondering of course how many of these pockets are inside the other bars where I can’t see them. I’m also wondering if they will dry up in time or if they will go rancid. Hopefully the former. This is a big batch for me, so I don’t feel like chucking $40 down the drain.

 

[Liesel Atwood]

KiwiMoose, Hey there! Your swirls are so pretty! But, if you aren't happy with the results, have you considered rebatching? I realize you would lose your design, but possibly you could colour or lighten a portion of the batter to try and achieve some sort of colour contrast that pleases you. I'm afraid I can't comment on the fragrance oil pockets, as I haven't dealt with this- - - - yet! LOL! I'd love to hear about what you decide to do! Wishing you the best.

 

[KiwiMoose]

KiwiMoose, Hey there! Your swirls are so pretty! But, if you aren't happy with the results, have you considered rebatching? I realize you would lose your design, but possibly you could colour or lighten a portion of the batter to try and achieve some sort of colour contrast that pleases you. I'm afraid I can't comment on the fragrance oil pockets, as I haven't dealt with this- - - - yet! LOL! I'd love to hear about what you decide to do! Wishing you the best.

I prefer to confetti mine rather than rebatch (too much like HP!)
But yes that’s an option I guess.

 

[Peachy Clean Soap]

So here’s the cut this morning:
View attachment 51649View attachment 51650View attachment 51651
The single bars pictured are the worst affected. Zap testing has confirmed that the little yellow pocket is pure Rose quartz FO (my mouth still tastes floral!). I’m wondering of course how many of these pockets are inside the other bars where I can’t see them. I’m also wondering if they will dry up in time or if they will go rancid. Hopefully the former. This is a big batch for me, so I don’t feel like chucking $40 down the drain.

Glad you were able to save it & your colors are pretty.

 

[Guspuppy]

Well that kind of sucks! I hope the FO reabsorbs!

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I prefer to confetti mine rather than rebatch (too much like HP!)
But yes that’s an option I guess.

I'm with @Liesel Atwood on this one. This is an excellent opportunity to experience an Oven Rebatch. Grate up the soap as soon as it's grateable. Dump it in a large stainless steel pot, lid it, and stick it in the oven for an hour. Easy peasy.

ETA: To see how this method works, I posted pics of rebatching some "holey moley" soap about a year ago. Pretty in Pink Rebatch

 

[KiwiMoose]

Well that kind of sucks! I hope the FO reabsorbs!

I have a similar photo from the last time this happened, and it did reabsorb, so here's hoping.

 

[linne1gi]

I have a similar photo from the last time this happened, and it did reabsorb, so here's hoping.

My only advice is to add fragrance dead last. Especially with florals which are notorious for badly behaving. You said you had 3 tubs of accent colors. I would separate out my batter and color it, hand stirring only, then add fragrance, then quickly pour into the mold. I've had ricing many times in the past (got really good at rebatching for a while) - now I am careful to read all the reviews and if there's even a hint at acceleration in the reviews, I HP the soap from the start.

 

[JillGat]

I'm with @Liesel Atwood on this one. This is an excellent opportunity to experience an Oven Rebatch. Grate up the soap as soon as it's grateable. Dump it in a large stainless steel pot, lid it, and stick it in the oven for an hour. Easy peasy.

ETA: To see how this method works, I posted pics of rebatching some "holey moley" soap about a year ago. Pretty in Pink Rebatch

What oven temperature?

 

[KiwiMoose]

My only advice is to add fragrance dead last. Especially with florals which are notorious for badly behaving. You said you had 3 tubs of accent colors. I would separate out my batter and color it, hand stirring only, then add fragrance, then quickly pour into the mold. I've had ricing many times in the past (got really good at rebatching for a while) - now I am careful to read all the reviews and if there's even a hint at acceleration in the reviews, I HP the soap from the start.

I did exactly that Linne - separated the colours then added FO last. As soon as it touched the batter it riced. One of the reviews said that it riced, and another said it behaved perfectly. Now there's another review that says it RICED badly! Guess who posted that one? LOL.

 

[linne1gi]

I did exactly that Linne - separated the colours then added FO last. As soon as it touched the batter it riced. One of the reviews said that it riced, and another said it behaved perfectly. Now there's another review that says it RICED badly! Guess who posted that one? LOL.

I’m glad you posted that review. At least the next person will know!

 

[Wynona Genesis]

Here's mine and it's pretty awful, it looks like ground meat. This is my first time using Fragrance Oil (rose FO to be exact) and I was really shocked when it happened, I knew adding FOs are a bit tricky so I made a small batch to test it out, good thing I did before making a bigger batch. Will wait for it to harden and unmold, hopefully there are no lye pockets, if there are, then I have to throw it away.

Any tips you guys can give once I make a bigger batch?

 

[KiwiMoose]

Here's mine and it's pretty awful, it looks like ground meat. This is my first time using Fragrance Oil (rose FO to be exact) and I was really shocked when it happened, I knew adding FOs are a bit tricky so I made a small batch to test it out, good thing I did before making a bigger batch. Will wait for it to harden and unmold, hopefully there are no lye pockets, if there are, then I have to throw it away.

Any tips you guys can give once I make a bigger batch? ☺

View attachment 52676

Yes - don't use that FO again

 

[Wynona Genesis]

Yes - don't use that FO again

haha yes, I guess that is the best thing to do.. Are there any other ways we can work around with FOs like this? It's my first time using FO, I usually use EO since they do not misbehave. Now I'm afraid to use FOs