Scratchy soap

[Plschrader]

i started using a bar of soap I made some time ago. I don’t remember the recipe but it was most likely pretty basic. Coconut, olive, palm, Shea butter, micas.

There is something hard and scratchy in the soap. It feels like little hard balls. In eight years of soap making I have never had this happen.

 

[shunt2011]

Well, without a recipe it’s going to be hard to troubleshoot. However, some have had that effect from soaping too cool and the hard oils re-solidifying in small bits making it scratchy. I’ve never had this occur so can’t speak first hand but there are posts on the forum.

 

[lsg]

Where did you buy the mica?

 

[earlene]

I would suspect the shea, but it would be best if you can refer back to your specific recipe and process to verify all ingredients.

Shea butter is known for becoming grainy. I also had soaps I made with shea become grainy. Personally I hate it when that happens because I am expecting a nice smooth bar of soap and get exfoliation I was not after.

Here is a SoapQueen article which explains how to temper butters that are prone to crystallize with temperature fluctuation.

https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-...tricks/soaping-in-the-summer-heat/#more-50951

 

[Plschrader]

Well, without a recipe it’s going to be hard to troubleshoot. However, some have had that effect from soaping too cool and the hard oils re-solidifying in small bits making it scratchy. I’ve never had this occur so can’t speak first hand but there are posts on the forum.

This is most likely the recipe
Sweet Almond 5%
Castor 4.11 %
Coconut oil 25.05%
Olive 40.79
Palm oil 22.9%
Cocoa butter 2.15 %
Super fat 5%
Mica from Mad Micas
1teaspoon TD
Oil weight 28 oz
Soaped at about 100 degrees

I would suspect the shea, but it would be best if you can refer back to your specific recipe and process to verify all ingredients.

Shea butter is known for becoming grainy. I also had soaps I made with shea become grainy. Personally I hate it when that happens because I am expecting a nice smooth bar of soap and get exfoliation I was not after.

Here is a SoapQueen article which explains how to temper butters that are prone to crystallize with temperature fluctuation.

https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-...tricks/soaping-in-the-summer-heat/#more-50951

Why all of a sudden. Same process for years

Where did you buy the mica?

Mad Micas

 

[earlene]

Well, that changes what I said before. If no shea, then disregard what I said before.

How old is this soap? What was the process used? CP, HP? Did it get scorched or hot at all during the Camp Fire?

To answer 'why all of a sudden?' I don't know. But I do know that I have had soap with shea that seemed fine at first develop little bits of graininess that got worse over time as the soap dries out even more.

Also, could you post a photo of the soap in question close up enough to show the scratchy spots. Could they be stearic spots?

 

[Plschrader]

Well, that changes what I said before. If no shea, then disregard what I said before.

How old is this soap? What was the process used? CP, HP? Did it get scorched or hot at all during the Camp Fire?

To answer 'why all of a sudden?' I don't know. But I do know that I have had soap with shea that seemed fine at first develop little bits of graininess that got worse over time as the soap dries out even more.

I can’t positively say there is no Shea in it. It is CP. I don’t think it got scorched. My house is standing. No outside damage. No smoke damage. However, the soap was drying. Other soaps same recipe at the same time so it must be somewhere in my process. Next batch will all be new ingredients including lye.

I can’t positively say there is no Shea in it. It is CP. I don’t think it got scorched. My house is standing. No outside damage. No smoke damage. However, the soap was drying. Other soaps same recipe at the same time so it must be somewhere in my process. Next batch will all be new ingredients including lye.

The other soaps aren’t grainy.

I can’t positively say there is no Shea in it. It is CP. I don’t think it got scorched. My house is standing. No outside damage. No smoke damage. However, the soap was drying. Other soaps same recipe at the same time so it must be somewhere in my process. Next batch will all be new ingredients including lye.

Boom. Found the recipe I used. It does have Shea but I have never had trouble with. I think I will rework it with cocoa butter. However. I put in 1.75% beeswax. I wonder if that could be it?

 

[shunt2011]

Could be you soaped too cool and the beeswax or Shea became solid bits.

 

[Alfa_Lazcares]

Do you have a picture of the scratchy bits? I ask because i had that happen to me all of a sudden with a recipe i always do and i still dont know what it was. It started happening, i kept making soap and then it stopped happening so i have no clue what it was, but I am interested in knowing if your scratchy bits look like mine.

 

[Plschrader]

Do you have a picture of the scratchy bits? I ask because i had that happen to me all of a sudden with a recipe i always do and i still dont know what it was. It started happening, i kept making soap and then it stopped happening so i have no clue what it was, but I am interested in knowing if your scratchy bits look like mine.

They hard things are hard to see. They feel like hard balls. I am going to blame the beeswax.

They hard things are hard to see. They feel like hard balls. I am going to blame the beeswax.

When I cut them off I can squeeze them and they go away. Īwhen you lather up with a bar it feels like I intentionally put an abrasive in it.

 

[Alfa_Lazcares]

Mine look like this if i take them off and like this on the soap

I dont use beeswax nor butters, as i said, it happened then stopped then happened again and stopped again.

 

[Plschrader]

It looks exactly like mine. What the heck?! Did you just carry on as usual or did you make any adjustments to your process? It really takes the joy out of soap making when you don’t know how to correct this.

 

[DeeAnna]

Commercial soap makers call this "grit." It can range in size from small sandy grains up to large-ish lumps. The amount can vary from a few pieces scattered here and there up to super lumpy bumpy everywhere.

If you want to get a better handle on what this is, it's time to collect some of the grit and evaluate it. If you haven't used beeswax or other solid ingredient with a high melt point, that eliminates one issue. Check if it's fat -- Regular soaping fats will melt at or just above your body temperature, but are insoluble in water. Check if it's soap -- Soap will not melt near your body temperature, but should dissolve or at least soften if soaked in water.

Grit in soap can be material that is not soluble in water. But grit can be just everyday plain ol' soap ... just soap that is less soluble in water than the soap that surrounds the gritty bits.

Grit can be caused by additives that are not completely dissolved or melted. For example, I've had gritty soap when I didn't properly dissolve milk powder in water before adding it to my soap batter.

Grit can be caused by overheating soap so bits of it dry out more than others. This is an issue often seen in hot process soap, but I imagine it can occur in cold process soap as well, especially if one soaps fairly warm.

Grit can be created when grains of less soluble soap form early in the soap making process. This might happen from fats that have a high % of free fatty acids (FFA) or by using fragrances or other additives that contain chemicals that accelerate saponification. You might see ricing in the soap batter or the soap will come to trace quickly, but you might not see these clues if the FFA content is lower.

Grit can also form over time in a finished soap that starts out perfectly smooth and not gritty, but it gradually re-crystallizes to form harder bits. This re-crystallization can be triggered by swings in storage temperature -- it's the same process that causes chocolate or shea butter to become grainy.

 

[Alfa_Lazcares]

It looks exactly like mine. What the heck?! Did you just carry on as usual or did you make any adjustments to your process? It really takes the joy out of soap making when you don’t know how to correct this.

I didnt change anything in my process, this is my thread with all the info

Scratchy soap help
https://www.soapmakingforum.com/index.php?threads/Scratchy-soap-help.71807/


I think my recipe is there but anyway, no, I just carried on as usual, i made like 20 batches after it first happened that turned perfectly fine, then a couple months ago made some salt bars that ended up with the scratchy bits, not to many of them but they are there, and then i tested some other soaps i made after that and they are fine. So i have no clue and basically i am learning to live with it ha!

 

[SaltedFig]

@Alfa_Lazcares If you get an otherwise plain soap with the scratchy bits, could you add a picture to your thread?
(I had a bit of trouble distinguishing which was the soap confetti and which were the scratchy bits in the soap bar, although your photo of them in your hand made it very clear what they look like outside of the soap ).

DeeAnna's suggestion to run some simple tests to try and work out what material the scratchy solids are made of might be enough to finish working out how they are occurring.

Looking at the shape of yours, Alfa, I would think they are some sore of salt that has re-crystallized, and knowing whether they melt [they shouldn't] and whether they dissolve [they should, if the theory of them being salt is correct] - knowing what the tests results are can mean that the focus can be put in the right area (or, if my example of them being salt proves to be wrong, then shifted to another area for exploration)

They hard things are hard to see. They feel like hard balls. I am going to blame the beeswax.

When I cut them off I can squeeze them and they go away. Īwhen you lather up with a bar it feels like I intentionally put an abrasive in it.

I would agree that they look like beeswax, but beeswax isn't usually scratchy - as beeswax isn't soluable, but stearic soap is, that could be tested easily by trying to dissolve in water (if they dissolve, it's not beeswax). If they do dissolve, then the melt test (in your hand) would work, because fat melts at the lower temperature, but beeswax would need a higher temperature to melt it.