Thick trace

[linne1gi]

@Misschief and @ravenscents it sounds like I am the outlier here, perhaps, but I've read others having trouble with pomace tracing very quickly on them, as well. Perhaps it does depend on the brand? I had gotten mine from the olive oil producer that was very close to where I lived at the time. I've never tried any other brand, nor ever had OO trace fast on me since I stopped using it.

My experience with Pomace Olive Oil was similar to yours. Pomace Olive Oil is from the dregs of the olive, chemically extracted and some of the chemicals remain in the oil so generally it does trace much quicker. I also don't care for EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) because of the green tint. My preference is refined yellow Olive Oil (from the 2nd pressing of the olive). And I totally agree with DeeAnna in stickblending. I highly suggest stick blending for 2-3 seconds, hand stir, stick blend for 2-3 seconds, hand stir, etc. If I am going for emulsion, I may only stick blend 2 or 3 times total.

 

[Nyknits]

What you'll want to learn is how to spot emulsion rather than trace. For some soaps, medium trace is perfect but if you want to work with colours and design, learning to recognize emulsion is an important skill. Here's a video that will help.

Well, that was eye opening. Great video and channel. I wasn't familiar with it. Thanks for the recommendation.

My experience with Pomace Olive Oil was similar to yours. Pomace Olive Oil is from the dregs of the olive, chemically extracted and some of the chemicals remain in the oil so generally it does trace much quicker. I also don't care for EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) because of the green tint. My preference is refined yellow Olive Oil (from the 2nd pressing of the olive). And I totally agree with DeeAnna in stickblending. I highly suggest stick blending for 2-3 seconds, hand stir, stick blend for 2-3 seconds, hand stir, etc. If I am going for emulsion, I may only stick blend 2 or 3 times total.

Thank you. Good information. I can't wait to make my next batch.

 

[dibbles]

I agree with the others who find that pomace traces faster. And I too only stick blend for 2-3 seconds at a time and then stir, stir, stir.

 

[CatahoulaBubble]

I'm a chronic "stick blend one more time to make sure" and every single time I do it I send my trace into hyperspeed. I've started only stick blending at the beginnning for 2-3 seconds and then I stir by hand for 2 min and if it still looks really loose I will stickblend again for 2-3 seconds. I've been able to greatly reduce messing up my trace doing it that way and if I get the urge to stick blend just to make sure I smack my hand. lol

 

[linne1gi]

I'm a chronic "stick blend one more time to make sure" and every single time I do it I send my trace into hyperspeed. I've started only stick blending at the beginnning for 2-3 seconds and then I stir by hand for 2 min and if it still looks really loose I will stickblend again for 2-3 seconds. I've been able to greatly reduce messing up my trace doing it that way and if I get the urge to stick blend just to make sure I smack my hand. lol

You can even try whisking to emulsion. It's not that difficult and when you really need a light trace/emulsion (like if you are doing a lot of colors) it definitely will not over trace.

 

[Ladka]

What you'll want to learn is how to spot emulsion rather than trace. For some soaps, medium trace is perfect but if you want to work with colours and design, learning to recognize emulsion is an important skill. Here's a video that will help.

Thank you, Misschief, for sharing the video.

 

[Nyknits]

I'm a chronic "stick blend one more time to make sure" and every single time I do it I send my trace into hyperspeed. I've started only stick blending at the beginnning for 2-3 seconds and then I stir by hand for 2 min and if it still looks really loose I will stickblend again for 2-3 seconds. I've been able to greatly reduce messing up my trace doing it that way and if I get the urge to stick blend just to make sure I smack my hand. lol

I know I’ll get better results this week. Thank you for your input.

 

[earlene]

When I first started out, over stick blending was my norm. It takes self discipline and patience and faith in the process to learn to trust that if I didn't just give it a little longer, that the soap would still turn into soap if I stirred instead. But I did, and so will you.

As for pomace, when I use pomace I can actually get by without ever using a stick blender. And I rarely use more than 50% Pomace. My 50% pomace + 50% regular olive oil Castile soap can go from zero to 100 in mere minutes with only a whisk or a spoon and it's read to pour. And I soap at low heat whenever possible.

Your recipe there would be so fast moving, that I would not use a SB at all! CO heats up fairly quickly; pomace moves quickly and then you've got Castor. Nothing in that recipe is going to slow trace. Also heat plays a part in how fast a recipe traces, but in this case it's bound to be the pomace. In my experience I have never had a slow moving recipe that contained pomace olive oil even if it was cold.

 

[Nyknits]

When I first started out, over stick blending was my norm. It takes self discipline and patience and faith in the process to learn to trust that if I didn't just give it a little longer, that the soap would still turn into soap if I stirred instead. But I did, and so will you.

As for pomace, when I use pomace I can actually get by without ever using a stick blender. And I rarely use more than 50% Pomace. My 50% pomace + 50% regular olive oil Castile soap can go from zero to 100 in mere minutes with only a whisk or a spoon and it's read to pour. And I soap at low heat whenever possible.

Your recipe there would be so fast moving, that I would not use a SB at all! CO heats up fairly quickly; pomace moves quickly and then you've got Castor. Nothing in that recipe is going to slow trace. Also heat plays a part in how fast a recipe traces, but in this case it's bound to be the pomace. In my experience I have never had a slow moving recipe that contained pomace olive oil even if it was cold.

Thank you for your help. I was better at stick blending yesterday. I made a coffee soap and stirred quite a bit more than before. Still went a little over, but progress was made. All of you are so helpful.

 

[AliOop]

Thank you for your help. I was better at stick blending yesterday. I made a coffee soap and stirred quite a bit more than before. Still went a little over, but progress was made. All of you are so helpful.

Pictures, show us pictures!

 

[Nyknits]

This is my first try at a coffee soap. I used brewed coffee and coconut milk in place of the water. I also added the coffee grounds. The FO is Fresh brewed coffee from crafter’s choice. Boy, is it potent. I’m enjoying this so much. Although, not seeing my friends is leaving me with tons of soap.