soaping troubles

[anordholt-dean]

Hi...I'm a long time lurker, first time poster and love browsing this forum! I've been making cp soap off and on for about 5 years, but my last three batches have not turned out so hot. I'm hoping someone can shed some light on what I might be doing wrong.

My recipes are pretty easy, and I've had the same problem with different recipes, so I don't thing the recipes are at fault. I always run everything through the soapcalc. Here is my latest example...

In a new 28 oz acrylic mold (but I've had the same issue with my 4 lb. wooden mold)

olive 8.4 oz (30%)
coconut 8.4 oz (30%)
lard 8.4 oz (30%)
castor 2.8 oz (10%)
lye 4 oz
water 6.65 oz (added lye to this)
goat's milk 4 oz (added to oils just before adding lye)
superfat at 5%
1oz fo (this one was lick me all over, but I've had the issue with 2 other fos all from different suppliers - bb, the original soap dish & an ebay seller)

I get a pocket of what looks like coconut oil throughout the soap and the bottom half looks like it overheated. I put this batch in the fridge overnight and got the same result. It looks great when I pour it in the mold, but when I go to cut it, I get this horrendous goop in the middle - no zap, just white-ish goop. It's pretty cold here right now and my kitchen is on the chilly side, but I thought the gm would help heat things up. I'm positive that I reached a true trace and even poured this one at a medium thick trace. Could my kitchen be too cold? It the soap still overheating even though my kitchen is cold and I'm soaping cool (around 100F) and putting it in the fridge? Any thoughts or suggestions?
Thank you!

 

[AlchemyandAshes]

What happens if you DON'T put it in the fridge? Like if you left it out on the counter? (Insulated or not)
I've never seen that happen...but I'm wondering if it's some form of separation, and since it's cold and Coconut Oil solidifies under 76 degrees, maybe instead of being an oily mess, its a goopy mess? Weird...I hope someone else comes along to answer this. I'm intrigued...:think:

 

[danahuff]

Maybe some more experienced folks will weigh in, but I had a very similar thing happen to a goat milk honey soap I made when it overheated. But it is strange that you had that separation even in the fridge. It definitely looks like some kind of separation. My hunch is that it is not just coconut oil you have in that white streak. I'd bet it is a combination of your oils.

 

[anordholt-dean]

Thanks for the responses! I'll try insulating on the counter next time around to see how that goes.

 

[lsg]

You might try hot process with this recipe using water for liquid and then adding cream after the cook.

 

[Yooper]

Instead of adding the milk to the oils (I think that's what you said you did), freeze the milk, and then use it in place of your water. Mix the lye into the frozen milk (it'll thaw FAST!) and stir well, then proceed.

Conversely, you can reduce the amount of water in your recipe and then stir in the milk at trace, but it's much easier to just use milk for the water and keep it cool.

I don't know if that is the issue, but it seems that stirring the milk into the oils means too much liquid in the mix as perhaps interfering with saponification as well as overheating.

 

[maiseycat]

If you put his numbers into soapcalc, it works out. He subtracted the weight of the goats milk from the total water needed, so he doesn't have too much liquid.

I have no idea what might have caused this beyond what others have suggested, though.

 

[anordholt-dean]

I rebatched this batch to save it. I did another 28 oz batch today, same recipe and put it in the freezer this time. I will get to the bottom of this problem! I've tried freezing the gm before but had the same issue with another batch, so I don't think the gm was the problem. I'll keep you posted on how the freezer batch turns out. Thanks for all the help! You guys are awesome. -Alisa

 

[Reba]

I too just experimented with goat's milk for the first time. Maybe I was just lucky, but after reading all the chats and research I decide to use powdered goats milk which I added the water called for on the can. I used a basic recipe and added shea and almond oil. I halved the water called for with the lye and then used the other half as the goats milk at trace. I wanted it to stay a nice creamy color and it did, so I was very careful to let the lye water cool to about 110. So far it looks great but I'm waiting a few weeks for it to cure. Are you using an immersion blender? I wouldn't have put it in the fridge as it appears to have not saponified all the way.

 

[Lindy]

That is definitely not overheating, it does look like some separation but the coconut oil wouldn't solidify like that nor would the lard. What temperature are you soaping at? Mind you I don't really think that should make a difference, nor should adding the GM to the oils rather than in with the lye make this difference. I am going to suggest changing the batteries in your scale.

Do you soap with a stick blender?

I can honestly say I've never seen this before.... Oh yeah, I would also recommend forcing gel on this by either putting your mould into a warm oven (I always turn mine off when I put the soap in), or wrapping with towels and putting a heating pad underneath.

 

[anordholt-dean]

Thank you Reba and Lindy - I do use a stick blended and will change the batteries in my scale. I did the same recipe yesterday and put it in the freezer overnight. I'll let you know how it turns out. If I get the same goody mess Ill CPOP the next batch. I'm determined to get to the bottom of this mystery. Thanks for all the help!