Some much needed advice!

[Annie's]

Hello! I am fairly new to soap making, I started this spring and sense when have made several batches of soap and have become very addicted.....
So a couple days ago I made a cucumber soap, that was smelling and looking amazing...Then at early trace I added a cucumber fragrance oil and in an instant I could barley stir the soap..It was so thick, i worked fast and scooped it all into the molds...It was a process just to get it into the two different molds and get it pressed down. Then I was getting ready to move them from my kitchen back to my soap room and I looked at the one in the pvc pipe and it was a dark green and liquid again...xtreme heat!
I have heard before that fragrance oils can cause issues but this was my first experience with it happening to me. I took the soap out of one of the molds last night and it looked great but Im not sure if this will effect the soap in the long run...
Does anyone know what happened? or know which frangrance oils arent good or is it dependent on what recipe is being used...I am curious if there is a way to avoid this from happening again.
Any helpful information would be appreciated!
Thank you

 

[NancyRogers]

Sometimes fragrances can just cause trouble. It sounds like you were able to make it work. As long as your finished soap didn't separate (caustic oily mess on top) or have lye pockets (oozing caustic mess from holes on the inside) and doesn't zap your tongue, then it is find to use.

You can check out review boards to see what other soapers have experienced with a certain FO before using them. I like this board:

http://soapscentreview.obisoap.ca/index ... 951bdb23f6

And if you are working with a FO that you know will cause trouble, you could chose to hot process the soap instead. Or you could be sure to use slower moving oils like OO and Lard. Soap cool, do not take a water discount, and use a whisk to mix instead of a SB. Some FOs won't play nice in CP no matter what you do. It's trial and error I'm afraid.

 

[Annie's]

Thank you!
Is that how you know when your soap is fully cured, when it dont zap your tongue? Ive noticed that every recipe i find has a different cure time, some is 3 weeks and some is 6 weeks....I never know when its actually ready..

 

[NancyRogers]

No zap isn't really a good indication of cure. I gel most of my batches and they don't zap right out of the mold. Sure I could use them, but they wouldn't be great at that point.

The curing process is when the water evaporates from your bars leaving them harder, longer lasting, and much more bubbly. Yes, they do get milder over time, but that's not the biggest point. I'd say if your soap is still zappy after a week, it probably won't be mild enough to use no matter how long you cure. Ungelled soaps can take longer to fully saponify which will cause the soap to zap for several days (not in all cases), but at a certain point of getting zapped, you have to look at your recipe and consider that you measured something incorrectly or perhaps forgot to add an oil.

HTH

 

[Annie's]

Thank you again for your helpful information. Everyone is so helpful here, I really appreciate it..

 

[ilove2soap]

Floral fragrance oils will many times accelerate trace (make the soap batter get thick really quick). Some things that will help with slowing down trace is to soap cool or let the oils and lye get cool before combining (I will let them get around 95 degrees). If it is a tricky fragrance oil, you can also add it to the oils before adding the lye instead of waiting for early trace. Lastly, some fragrance oils are just monsters when it comes to speeding up trace so you may have to ditch the stick blender (which makes you reach trace even faster) and whisk the soap with a stainless steel whisk until trace is reached and then pour quickly in the molds. Hope that helps!!

 

[IrishLass]

Hello! I am fairly new to soap making, I started this spring and sense when have made several batches of soap and have become very addicted.....
So a couple days ago I made a cucumber soap, that was smelling and looking amazing...Then at early trace I added a cucumber fragrance oil and in an instant I could barley stir the soap..It was so thick, i worked fast and scooped it all into the molds. It was a process just to get it into the two different molds and get it pressed down...

This is what you call a very fast accelerating FO. That's why I love the ScentReviewBoard, as NancyRogers mentioned: http://soapscentreview.obisoap.ca/ You can read the reviews of FO's on there and their soaping results by various soapers before deciding to purchase your FOs.

Then I was getting ready to move them from my kitchen back to my soap room and I looked at the one in the pvc pipe and it was a dark green and liquid again...xtreme heat!

This is called the gel stage of saponification. Completely normal and nothing to worry about.

I have heard before that fragrance oils can cause issues but this was my first experience with it happening to me. I took the soap out of one of the molds last night and it looked great but Im not sure if this will effect the soap in the long run...

Not to worry. From your description of all that happened I have no doubts at all that your soap will be perfectly fine.

Does anyone know what happened? or know which frangrance oils arent good or is it dependent on what recipe is being used...I am curious if there is a way to avoid this from happening again.

As mentioned above, it is my belief that you experienced an accelerated trace due to the fast moving FO, which then caused your soap to heat up quickly and go into a quick gel. I've had this happen before with certain FOs, but the soap was always good in the end. The best way to avoid it is to go to the site I posted above and read the reviews. It'll help you to screen out the troublesome FOs.


IrishLass

 

[Annie's]

Thank you again, after doing a bit more reading I realized all I was witnessing when it went back to liquid was the gel stage. Which I knew all my soaps did but never watched it or peeked in at it..I always wrap them with blankets and check them the next day..
Im getting ready to make a soap with a rose fragrance this week, Im wondering if I should put the FO in the oils to avoid....
I guess I need to go do some much needed research on FO's on that link that was posted...
Thanks again, the advise is very much appreciated. Its one thing to google things and look them up but I prefer personal experience and advise...So THANKS!

 

[honor435]

welcome to the addiction! Are you doing cp?(cold process) soap your oils and lye/water at cooler temps, like 90. I dont add the fo to the oils, some do though. There are some fos that are just going to be naughty!

 

[Annie's]

I am doing cold process! I usually mix lye and oils at 100 but maybe ill try 90 instead..thanks