swiss cheese holes in my soap :(

[Sweet T]

Ok so maybe it isn't quite as bad as swiss cheese but that's what the holes remind me of. They are slightly brownish but I don't think they are lye pockets. My batch had no color added just lavender eo and vanilla select.
Any ideas what these little brownish holes throughout my soap could be and how I can avoid them? Air bubbles? FO/EO bubbles? I tried to be very careful with my stick blender. Getting frustrated. My 3rd time was NOT a charm.

 

[semplice]

Can you post a pic? (I'm too new to CP to diagnose what the problem could be, I just want to see.)

Oh, and I'm sorry you're not happy with it. I'm only 4 batches in myself, and the first one is the best one. The rest have been pretty tragic!

 

[judymoody]

A picture would help, yes.

Have you zap tested?

Vanilla select will make your soap turn brown. So it might be the FO. Are the pockets like air bubbles or are they oozing liquid?

 

[dcornett]

Oh! I'm so sorry that you're having such a hard time. I'm with the others though, we would need more information and a pic would be good.

 

[Sweet T]

Here it is.... :'(


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Why did yours fail?

 

[Sweet T]

No zap and the actual consistency of the soap seems all right and it smell nice..... It's just **** ugly.

 

[dcornett]

Well, with the brownish flecks throughout it kinda looks like something wasn't mixed in well. My guess would be the eo/fo. But then there is another hole that is nice and round and has no discoloration that one does look kind of like an air bubble. Maybe someone esle can be more help.

 

[krissy]

i agree, it looks like EO/FO. the nice thing is you can rebatch if you want to very easily. just shred then put in microwave safe bowl and zap 30 seconds at a time until it is melted and then plop, push smush into a mold. not the prettiest soap with rebatch, though i have gotten very good rebatch results doing it this way.

 

[IrishLass]

I agree- the brown spots look like the FO did not blend in well. As for the holes, they look like air pockets. Those can be caused by a stickblender introducing air, and they can also happen when you pour at a thicker trace and you don't bang or jiggle the mold hard enough to release any air pockets.

IrishLass

 

[Sweet T]

That's what I will do then...I shall REBATCH. I will not accept defeat! I guess there is no better time to learn how to salvage mistakes, eh?
Is there a window of time that I need to do this? I mean, does the soap have to be freshly screwed up? I made it a few days ago (like Sunday, I think). Can I do it tomorrow? Probably a dumb question but I don't want to mess up my mess up even more. :?

Glad I made only a small 1lb batch! This much I have learned!

 

[krissy]

That's what I will do then...I shall REBATCH. I will not accept defeat! I guess there is no better time to learn how to salvage mistakes, eh?
Is there a window of time that I need to do this? I mean, does the soap have to be freshly screwed up? I made it a few days ago (like Sunday, I think). Can I do it tomorrow? Probably a dumb question but I don't want to mess up my mess up even more. :?

Glad I made only a small 1lb batch! This much I have learned!

when it is fresh, you do not have to add extra liquid, when it is older, you have to add some (small amounts) of liquid. i think you should be ok to rebatch tomorrow.