Soap consistency

[Guest]

What causes some soap to have a creamy, opaque appearance, and some to have a glossier, "gel-like" appearance? I've made 2 batches in the last 48 hours, both CP, both soaped at the same (cooler) temps and allowed to gel in a warm oven... the only difference is one batch was 70% coconut and 30% olive, while the other was 80% olive, 15% shea and 5% castor. The former batch came out more gel-like with some degree of translucency, while the latter batch has more of the creamy, opaque look.

Does this difference in oils affect the consistency of the finished soap, all other things being equal?

 

[Petals]

I'm no expert, but I'm pretty certain that it's the oils. I just had the exact same thing happen to me. One was more creamy and opaque and the other was extremely oily and wet and translucent. It's been about 5 days now and the one with the higher olive oil content has started to turn opaque. I think it may take a little longer to cure though.

 

[jcandleattic]

Yep, what Petals said. Different oils will result in a different appearance and also a different feel - after all, they are different soaps.

 

[Guest]

This should've been obvious.....

 

[jcandleattic]

This should've been obvious..... lol.

No, it was a valid question. Once soap is soap, it's hard to tell the different oils in it just by looks unless you do have something next to it to compare it too.

 

[honor435]

This should've been obvious.....

I made soap with high olive oil, still isnt hard, it been 2 wks, at least. I really like my olive, coconut, palm castor recipe. I did make some canola 45% and it turned out good, much cheaper.

 

[Guest]

I made soap with high olive oil, still isnt hard, it been 2 wks, at least. I really like my olive, coconut, palm castor recipe. I did make some canola 45% and it turned out good, much cheaper.

Using a water discount helps when you have a high olive recipe. Other than that I guess it just needs that extra time to cure.

 

[ewenique]

I noticed the same thing. I've only made a few small 1 lb batches. The one that was OO & CO had a more gel-like appearance when poured into individual plastic molds. But the part of that same batch that was poured into a milk carton had a more opaque look. The other batches I've made had Shea butter added and were opaque in appearance.