Stearic spots? Help!

[SoapSisters]

View attachment 41653 Hi, I'd really appreciate some feedback on this soap. I'm so frustrated! I made rice water (inspired by @Dawni) soap and I got stearic spots (I'm pretty sure that's what they are) both times.

I made the same recipe twice, just with more mica the second time.

189 g olive oil (35%)
189g HO sunflower oil (35%)
81 g coconut oil (15%)
27 g castor oil (5%)
54g shea butter (10%)
540 g total oils in recipe

3% superfat

Liquid/lye
122* g rice water ( ~38% lye concentration/ 1.6:1 liquid to lye)
74g lye

Fragrance@ 5% Essential Oils
14g lavender + 13g litsea = 27g total EO

Additives
1/2 tsp purple mica

2g of baking soda + 3g of salt added to rice water before lye


For the rice water, I boiled white rice and distilled water for about 10 minutes, strained out the water and let it cool.

The first time, I really didn't soap warm enough so I wasn't surprised by the spots. I didn't use a thermometer, but trace took a while and I think the batter cooled down. I also heated the oils until the shea was just melted.

What's so frustrating is that the second time, I soaped much, much warmer, almost hot to the touch. My lye/rice water was warm when I added it to the oils. Everything came to trace very quickly – no time to cool down – and I poured immediately. I wrapped up the mold in towels and put it out on my windowsill in the sun to keep it warm-ish.

What can I do differently next time to avoid these spots? Does the rice water have anything to do with it?

Picture: top – first soap

bottom left - internal cut; bottom right – external side

View attachment 41653

Here's the picture:

 

[penelopejane]

Are you sure the salt was fully dissolved in the rice water? Salt in batter can look like that too.

Did you strain the rice water through fine muslin?

One way to prevent stearic spots is to soap with all the ingredients at close to 42*C (110*F). Then wrap it in a blanket or put it in an insulated box. I wouldn’t put soap in the sun.

 

[SoapSisters]

Thanks for your quick reply! I didn't strain through fine muslin, only through a metal mesh strainer. But the rice hadn't started dissolving yet and there were no rice pieces.
I haven't used a soaping thermometer yet (been soaping for 6 months) but I may have to get one to get this right. I love shea in soap and really want to work this out!

My silicone mold was in a wood box when I poured. I covered that, wrapped it in a few towels and put in the afternoon sun. I thought the heat it was getting was close to what it would get in the CPOP method, but I could definitely be wrong about that.

ETA: Yes, the salt was fully dissolved.

 

[penelopejane]

Well you’ve ruled out a couple of things that can cause spots.

42*C (110*F) is really warm. But I don’t want overheating so I use a laser thermometer because it is quick and clean ( doesn’t require wiping) and they are cheap on the net. I’ve found the only way I can avoid stearic spots or swirls in my soaps which just about all have Shea butter is to soap at that exact temp. This also avoids partial gel.

I have thick silicone liners (nurture) in timber molds with lids. I put them in a polystyrene box and leave them overnight. In the depths of winter I put a wheat heat bag (sheared in the microwave) in with the mold.

I used to heat the oven to 42*C (110*F) (you need a thermometer for this too) and then turn the oven off before wrapping the mold in a blanket and putting it in the oven undisturbed for 12 hours.with this method you are not heating the soap. You are providing a nice little microclimate for the soap to do its thing (saponify).

You just have to work out a system that suits you, your soap recipe and your climate.

 

[SoapSisters]

Thanks for all your help! I'm going to buy a thermometer, because I love shea butter and hate those spots!

 

[DeeAnna]

These really don't look like stearic spots. They look like fragments of something, and I'm guessing it's the rice. Rice particles doesn't have to be obvious to cause spots like this, because even small fragments of rice will absorb water and expand, so they become larger over time. This would be especially true since you only cooked the rice for 10 minutes before straining -- the rice wasn't fully cooked and would not be as hydrated as it would have been if fully cooked.

PenelopeJane specifically asked if you'd strained the rice water through muslin. You said you'd only used a wire strainer and then I got the impression you didn't think finer straining through muslin would be necessary. It's your soap and your problem, but I think you were too quick to dismiss PJs idea. If I were in your shoes, I would take PJs advice to strain through muslin and confirm that this is or is not the solution to your problem.

 

[SoapSisters]

Thanks, DeeAnna, that's a very important point! I even didn't consider that tiny rice particles would absorb water, expand and become noticeable. I'll try straining through muslin next time, as PenelopeJane advised.

It's also a lesson for me to have only one new variable at a time, since I'm still new and learning all the time.

 

[Dawni]

Hi @SoapSisters... When I make the soap mentioned I use fully cooked rice, and cook it even more until it's mushy, blend it and strain that into my oils.

Together with the water used to soak that rice, it makes very nice soap but I've also tried one without the other and it's still good. I'm excited to see your next try

 

[SoapSisters]

Thanks for the information, @Dawni! Do you cook it in tap water or distilled water? When you say you strain it into your oils, does that mean only the liquid goes in? Are there rice spots visible in your soap? And the water used to soak the rice . . . is that before you cook it? Sorry for so many questions! I was just so inspired by how you described your rice soap.

 

[Dawni]

Thanks for the information, @Dawni! Do you cook it in tap water or distilled water?

Filtered. Those dispensers with the different layers of.. Not entirely sure what they are lol sorry. And you're welcome

When you say you strain it into your oils, does that mean only the liquid goes in?

At this point it looks n feels more like glue but I strain it in case there's bits n pieces that didn't get blended. It's more like pushing through the sieve than straining hehehe

Are there rice spots visible in your soap?

Not so far..... I don't know if it helps that I HP? But yeah.. so far I haven't got what you have, looking at the pics.

And the water used to soak the rice . . . is that before you cook it?

Yep! We wash our rice twice to get rid of dirt n stuff and then it soaks for a bit. I use this rice soaked water, together with the pureed rice, and rice powder for that particular soap, hence why I named it extra rice lol

Sorry for so many questions! I was just so inspired by how you described your rice soap.

Not a problem.. Glad to be of service lol good luck in your next batch!

 

[amd]

When I made my rice soap, I didn't cook it. I soaked the rice in distilled water for 24-ish hours, and then used my stick blender to blitz the rice and strained through a strainer with a coffee filter (I didn't have cheese cloth, ha!). The soap was really nice.

 

[IrishLass]

What does the baking soda in the recipe do?


IrishLass

 

[Dawni]

When I made my rice soap, I didn't cook it. I soaked the rice in distilled water for 24-ish hours, and then used my stick blender to blitz the rice and strained through a strainer with a coffee filter (I didn't have cheese cloth, ha!). The soap was really nice.

Never thought to blitz em before cooking. You've given me something new to try with rice.. Thank you

What does the baking soda in the recipe do?


IrishLass

Maybe it's a variation of Zany's faux seawater?

 

[SoapSisters]

What does the baking soda in the recipe do?


IrishLass

@Dawni is correct. Since my recipe is quite high in oleic acids, I use Zany's faux seawater (baking soda + salt) to make the soap less slimy. It works!

 

[amd]

Never thought to blitz em before cooking.

I didn't cook my rice. I would be concerned that the extra starches released by blitzing would turn the water into a gel if you cooked it after blitzing. I washed the rice, soaked it, blitzed, strained well and then used it directly in soap.