Soap after my disaster earlier this week...

[Luckyone80]

So after my horrible soaping disaster earlier this week I made another batch 2 nights ago. This time I used cucumber melon EO and dried dandelion leaves for the coloring/additive. Besides the annoying ash, I think it turned out pretty decent. I still need to get the hang of trying to color and do swirls within the soap.

 

[JustBeachy]

That looks good. Have you tried covering your mold, after the batter is poured, with saran wrap? I find it helps a lot with the SA.

 

[shunt2011]

That turned out very pretty. I agree with covering it. I usually spray with alcohol and then cover and rarely get ash.

 

[Luckyone80]

Yes I sprayed the top with 91% alcohol and covered with plastic wrap until the next morning, so roughly 11 hours it was covered.

 

[Luckyone80]

Now I did only lay the plastic wrap over the top of the mold, not directly on the soap b/c I didn't want to mess up the swirl.

 

[marilynmac]

Embrace the ash.

 

[SplendorSoaps]

Beautiful! It's always nice to have a "win" after a batch that doesn't turn out as planned. Once the soap is cured, you can hold the ashy parts over some steam and it will disappear in a few seconds. I'm just trying the rubbing alcohol on a batch I made last night for the first time, and it worked like a charm!

 

[Luckyone80]

I don't know what the deal with the ash is. Every batch I've made where I don't CPOP gets ash on it. I have tried using steam (doesn't work), I've tried using panty hose to gently scrub it off (doesn't work) and I've tried washing the bars and that hasn't worked either. :thumbdown:

 

[AMyers]

I have had decent luck with spritzing with alcohol once an hour for 3 hours or so after pouring. I know that it has worked because I always have a few "overflow" soaps that get ash, because I forget to spritz them!

 

[JustBeachy]

Now I did only lay the plastic wrap over the top of the mold, not directly on the soap b/c I didn't want to mess up the swirl.

That should be fine. Just try and get it as sealed as possible. I rarely have a problem with it anymore. If you do, the suggestions all work, though wiping it down was a pain for me. I have a steamer, so if I get some ash, I just steam it away. On non-swirl or decorative tops, I just plane it off.

 

[JustBeachy]

I don't know what the deal with the ash is. Every batch I've made where I don't CPOP gets ash on it. I have tried using steam (doesn't work), I've tried using panty hose to gently scrub it off (doesn't work) and I've tried washing the bars and that hasn't worked either. :thumbdown:

I'm thinking you might need to change your name, that's sounds unlucky. The panty hose scrub is a pain for me. Try steaming it just a bit longer.

 

[Luckyone80]

I have had decent luck with spritzing with alcohol once an hour for 3 hours or so after pouring. I know that it has worked because I always have a few "overflow" soaps that get ash, because I forget to spritz them!

I will try spritzing more than the one time and see if that makes any difference. Thanks!

 

[Luckyone80]

That should be fine. Just try and get it as sealed as possible. I rarely have a problem with it anymore. If you do, the suggestions all work, though wiping it down was a pain for me. I have a steamer, so if I get some ash, I just steam it away. On non-swirl or decorative tops, I just plane it off.

I've tried steaming several times, it doesn't work for me, I have like super ash or something.

 

[Luckyone80]

I'm thinking you might need to change your name, that's sounds unlucky. The panty hose scrub is a pain for me. Try steaming it just a bit longer.

I'm just not lucky when it comes to soap making, I master all other crafts, lol

 

[JustBeachy]

I've tried steaming several times, it doesn't work for me, I have like super ash or something.

I'm just not lucky when it comes to soap making, I master all other crafts, lol

LOL, I like that, Super Ash. Just a thought, you didn't think I was serious with that comment about using spent uranium, were you? :shock:

I do notice I have less of a problem when I CPOP. Something else you might try, that just dawned on me. There's a school of thought, I have no proof of it, that adding beeswax to your soap will help eliminate SA. I've been using it regularly for a while now and you know, I haven't had a ash problem in quite a few batches.

It's really not as hard to incorporate, as some make it out to be. I just melt it down with my oils, whisk the oils a couple of times as they're cooling down and mix in my lye water at around 110.

And Ok, I for one will still call you lucky. :razz:

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Can I ask if the soaps with added beeswax gel? Does it increase the temp similar to how honey does?

I just ask because ash rarely (never say never) forms where the soap has gelled but will happily form on ungelled areas. Alas I'm on the app at the mo, but do a quick search on the site for 'omg gmoh' and there you'll find a picture of a partial gel with ash on the ungelled areas only.

 

[JustBeachy]

Can I ask if the soaps with added beeswax gel? Does it increase the temp similar to how honey does?

I just ask because ash rarely (never say never) forms where the soap has gelled but will happily form on ungelled areas. Alas I'm on the app at the mo, but do a quick search on the site for 'omg gmoh' and there you'll find a picture of a partial gel with ash on the ungelled areas only.

I would say your train of thought is correct. I used to never CPOP and would get mixed results on the gel. The soaps that showed signs of partial gel always seemed to be more prone to the ash.

I can only answer from my experience. Since I CPOP most of my soaps these days, I would say yes they gel completely. I've heard people talk about the overheating of soaps with beeswax, but to be honest, I haven't seen it. It could be the percentage used in the batch. I use it at around 1% of the total volume.

I'm going to try an experiment this weekend with a batch. Same batch, four molds. One CPOP, covered. One CPOP, uncovered. One Freezer, covered. One Freezer, uncovered. See if I can "produce" ash in one of the methods. :lolno:

I'll post my results.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Found it! The one on the left clearly has a partial gel and the ash around the non-gelled areas. I had used the one on the right to remove the ash.

Looking forward to your experiments on this.

 

[Susie]

The only two times(thus far) have been on the soaps I avoided gel on. I now gel every soap. No more ash, no more partial gel.

 

[Luckyone80]

The only two times(thus far) have been on the soaps I avoided gel on. I now gel every soap. No more ash, no more partial gel.

Susie - what is your gelling process? Do you preheat the oven, turn off before adding the soap, etc, etc. What do you do?
I have overheated 2 batches, tried to gel one with just wrapping in towels and it didn't gel at all then my very first batch did start to gel and I didn't know if it was ok to let it so I tried to cool it down and it only went through a partial. So I'm trying to get a perfect gel.