slow trace recipe recommendation
- Thread starter sunny_
- Start date
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Hi Sunny- I don't have a recipe to share of my own that isn't also on the higher end of oleic or lard, but I do have a great link to share with lots of great tips on how one can control or slow down trace: http://www.modernsoapmaking.com/controlling-trace-in-cold-process-soapmaking/
IrishLass
IrishLass
It's not so much the recipe as the technique, how warm your working space is, additives and so on. Coconut oil and butters are considered fast tracers but a fair number of people have good experience with those, they seems to need to be soaped a little warmer from what I can tell. I think a good idea would be to make a couple of trial batches and see if your particular recipe does best under warmer or cooler circumstances.
Chispa
Well-Known Member
I found that using a milk frothing whisk instead of a stick blender helped a lot with controlling trace. With a stick blender the soap seems to skip light trace and go to medium. And even if I stop using the blender there, it progresses by itself right to heavy trace in about five minutes. With the whisk I get everything to emulsion and work with it there, splitting it and adding colors. I whisk the split batches to a very light trace and mold them at my leisure. I've done that for my last two batches and have been very happy with the results.
I imagine the soap recipe makes a huge difference here.
I imagine the soap recipe makes a huge difference here.
Actually recipe makes a huge difference with trace. I can tell you chicken fat slows trace
. What do use use for your hard oil? I find a nice mix of avocado or sunflower HO with Olive and cutting down castor will make a big difference. I will note however that almost all my soaps poured at emulsion or very light trace will eventually obtain some dos spots when carted back and forth to markets, in the sun and in the heat, even with the addition of EDTA and BHT. I know many do not believe it but castor will make a big difference in trace, when I want a slower trace I use 2% castor. Also I am not kidding about chicken fat slowing trace. When I poach chicken or make scoop I keep the skimmed fat in the freezer until I have enough, then I clean it by simmering in water, usually a couple of times until it is a creamy light yellow, which I use at 15-20%. Even with a quicker tracing batter you can still work with it if you just take it to emulsion, separate, mix your colors and pour. It just takes time and patience to learn how to work with the batter. When I first started I thought I would never get the hang of coloring.
