I think iv understood the issue u faced and what ur waiting to know.
I just started Soaping .Made two batches using exact recipe of Jerrika zimmarman( she is a pro soaper and runs a channel on youtube) BUT failed miserably- So Temperature is the issue iv understood and am sure. Then after I started my research on the internet .everywhere I read and is mentioned that the temp should be AROUND 120-130 f ..BUT OF WHAT ? LYE OR THE OIL? I decided to keep my lye at 105f and oils at 115 in my 1st batch which failed ( at 115f my oils were not absolutely Clear ).. the oil mixture got very thick instantly on adding lye.My 2nd batch I tried with lye at 90f as I watched the video of Jerrika where she mentions that she waits till her lye is below 100f which I followed but failed again.. my oils were about 107ish where they were a little cloudy ( I was trying to keep a difference of 10f) as soon as I poured the lye the mixture thickened SO NOW I think that it's the temperature of the oils that is very imp ... It should be at the temperature where all the oils / butters/ fats are ABSOLUTELY CLEAR ( to give you a good flowery consistency to work) and not so much the lye temperature coz I have been reading that people use lye prepared a day in advance and just heat their oil to clear and donot encounter problem as I did ..next step after that should be to keep stirring not pulsing more than a second till emulsification takes place and then after trace of choice..
My recipe which failed and still am determined to use( coz I know it will give very good soap once I tackle it correctly) is -
Oils in% are - olive O pamace-25,Rice bran refined-20,sweet Almond-8, castor oil-5, coconut oil 22 ,Shea butter 20. Superfat -6. Water: lye-2:1.
Will appreciate if there is someone here who can give suggestion please ..