Tiny puddle and zap

[Cactuslily]

24 hours ago, I made a batch. Up til now, I've insulated. I wanted to try something different, so I popped it in fridge. I removed it this morning from the fridge and the mold. My first observation was it had retained its colors. Typically, I get ashy around the 24 hour mark. Also, it was still soft, so I placed it on a cookie sheet lined with freezer paper to dry out a bit. I just checked it, and found a tiny amount of liquid on the paper. Tested it, and got zapped. Is this a problem? I've never had this happen, but I've also never refrigerated my soap before. Is this a big deal?

 

[cmzaha]

When you do not gel it can take up to 72 hrs before it quits zapping. It is also better to leave an un-gelled soap a day or so longer in the mold and let it harden a bit more.

 

[lenarenee]

Freezing/chilling it slows saponification; it will take longer to harden up and to not zap. I'd let it sit at least another day....and probably 2, and try again.

I've frozen a quite a few, and they always take at least twice as long before they are ready to cut.

 

[Cactuslily]

Thanks Carolyn!

 

[cmzaha]

Your welcome. One other thing that can happen, but is not common is that a soap can heat back up after removing from the freezer or fridge. This is another reason why it is better to leave it in the mold longer especially if you do not know how the fo works. I had a fo I had never used before cause me all kinds of grief. The soap spent the night in the freezer, half the next day in the fridge then I decided to de-mold. Well about an hour later the soap decided to show me it was in control, it gelled after it was out of the mold. Fortunetly it was resting on a storage crate lid that caught it before the mess could hit my hardwood floor. Hubby probably would have made me quit soaping if I had ruined the floor. Lesson learned, never trust soap or new fo's

 

[Cactuslily]

My...so many variables and details to learn....and even then the little soap gremlins decide to bite ya in your well intentioned behind So far, no overheating in sight, but that could change. I do however, love that I don't have ash...at least at this point. I'm going to refridgerate next batch longer. An off topic ?: what determines the level of SF needed? It can't be an arbritrary number, so what's the method of determining this?

 

[KristaY]

The choice of SF is totally up to you and what you want or need the soap to do. If you have dry or sensitive skin you may want a higher SF, say 8%. If you're making salt soap with a high coconut oil %, you'll want to use 15- 20%. When it's for cleaning the house or laundry, 0%. I think Soap Calc's default is 5% because that's industry standard but you can do anything you want to do. It's your soap so your choice! That's one of the things I love about making soap - total control of all the ingredients including SF levels.

 

[shunt2011]

SF is a personal thing. I have several recipes and they are all a different SF. As KristaY stated it depends on your skin and that of your family. I pefer 8-9% for my skin during the winter months. I can tolerate lower during the summer months.

 

[claryza]

@cmzaha I'm interested in what you said. I have few batches of ungelled soap that colors so pretty after I take it out the freezer. But changes color, I suspect gelling after I take it out of the freezer after 24hours. Though I do not unmold them

 

[Cactuslily]

Should I have kept it in the fridge another day? I was worried it would get to hard as I used sodium lactate in it. I just started using that because I tend to soap with a lot of liquid oils. Other than that tiny puddle ( about the size of a dime) it was fine. However, it did proceed to get ashy on me. I've never refrigerated before except once when I had a wee bit extra batter from a cylindrical mold that I put into 2 small bars. Those 2 bars didn't get ashy at all. That's why I thought maybe refrigerating may help with that. Any suggestion for avoiding ash? The million dollar question, I know..thank you all for your input!