Transparent soap troubleshooting

[sabon]

I made my first batch of transparent soap in a crockpot yesterday with 99% alcohol.
After I poured (tried straining but the liquid solidified immediately so I gently pushed away the froth and poured it into a tray) I put the tray inside the freezer but was opaque after freezing. So I melted it again, added some more alcohol and heated. When the liquid tested clear on glass I poured and put it inside the freezer.
Again I see that it is not transparent. Will it become transparent after curing? or did I go wrong somewhere?
The recipe I followed was Veggie recipe 1 from http://www.millersoap.com/glycerinsoap.html (recipe by Kristy)

Hoping to find some answers from you all

 

[new12soap]

What kind of alcohol did you use? I've never heard of 99%, is that rubbing alcohol? If it is, that will not give you a truly transparent soap, ethanol (everclear or very strong vodka) is much better.

From Kristy's post on Millersoap:

From what I have read in Catherine’s book, you can mix ethanol and isopropyl together to make soap but it will not be as clear.

If it resolidified immediately when you tried to pour it, perhaps the soap solids had not yet completely dissolved and it needed to "cook" longer? That part is just a guess...

 

[Fragola]

If it isn't clear at one point, it won't become clear again.

If it resolidified immediately when you tried to pour it, perhaps the soap solids had not yet completely dissolved and it needed to "cook" longer? That part is just a guess...

That doesn't seem right to me. If it looks clear in the pot, it means it's fully dissolved.

 

[new12soap]

Not necessarily, but as I said that was just a guess.

Sabon, your soap could have thickened and/or clouded for a lot of reasons, too little solvent, too high a temperature (resulting in evaporation of alcohol), not achieving proper gel, but the first place I would look would be the alcohol. Even though the transparency will improve some as the soap continues to harden and dry over the next week or two, isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol will not give you the same clarity as ethanol.

Catherine Failor's Making Transparent Soap has a good troubleshooting section, and in addition to Kathy Miller's website, you may want to do some additional reading here:

http://www.bearchele.com/soap/Tutorial.html

and here:

http://indiebeauty.com/group/makingtran ... oap-recipe

All of those resources indicate that you must cook the soap for a time after adding the alcohol. Also, in Failor's book, she suggests remelting and adding more solvents if your soap is not clear. Keep trying! If nothing else, I am sure they would make really pretty embeds in CP JM2C

 

[sabon]

Thank you for your inputs. I was out of town for a couple of days and yesterday I try to Login and the entire page showed error message the entire day and was really out of breath. But luckily I am able to enter the forum today Phew...

What kind of alcohol did you use? I've never heard of 99%, is that rubbing alcohol? If it is, that will not give you a truly transparent soap, ethanol (everclear or very strong vodka) is much better.

I used Absolute alcohol which is also known as Ethanol. So I thought it should produce a beautiful transparent soap.


I checked to see if there was any unmelted soap but it was clear with scum on top. I tried straining the scum but the liquid sort of began to harden in the strainer forming a sort of funnel below the strainer but once in the mould took sometime to harden.


Though the soap is not transparent it turned a beautiful opaque and smells wonderful ( for the first time my soap smells the exact smell of the EO i added unlike the CP soap!)

Thankyou all for your help, will retry the recipe and see if I can get it right the next time

 

[new12soap]

Yep, you are right, everclear should have produced a beautifully transparent soap! It sounds like you just didn't have enough of it, that's probably why it started to thicken up so quickly when you tried to strain it. Next time use a little more solvent(s), and make sure your temp is not too high.

I am glad you are happy with your soap! They hold true scent beautifully. Keep at it, you will get to transparency!

 

[sabon]

Yep, you are right, everclear should have produced a beautifully transparent soap! It sounds like you just didn't have enough of it, that's probably why it started to thicken up so quickly when you tried to strain it. Next time use a little more solvent(s), and make sure your temp is not too high.

I suppose that was my mistake, forgot to keep the crockpot at low Next time will do it in low

I am glad you are happy with your soap! They hold true scent beautifully. Keep at it, you will get to transparency!

Thanks a ton for your input, I fell I will get it right next time

 

[Fragola]

I don't think straining is possible, I mean it will always cause hardening.

I don't know what "scum" is There are 2 things I have noticed on top:

- foam
- a sort of "skin"

For both, it helps abundantly spraying with alcohol. If the skin gets too thick, alcohol doesn't help anymore, but with a swift move of your spoon, you can collect the skin and put it aside (alternately, you could try heating it again and possibly adding a little more alcohol so that the skin melts completely).

 

[green soap]

You did not say what oils you used to make the soap. No need to disclose any secret recipe. Some oils have fatty acids (palmitic and stearic) form insoluble soaps that have a milky appearance in both liquid soap and solid transparent soap. Some, like jojoba and avocado, have a good portion of unsaponifiable waxes (very good for your skin) that can cloud soap.

Coconut oil and olive oil are two good oils that have low palmitic, stearic and are usually used in liquid soaps, where the same issue could arise WRT cloudiness.

 

[sabon]

Fragola

I don't know what "scum" is There are 2 things I have noticed on top:

- foam
- a sort of "skin"

Scum has the following meanings (http://www.thefreedictionary.com) and of the following four meanings, I meant the first or at the most the other 2 and not the 4th .

1. A filmy layer of extraneous or impure matter that forms on or rises to the surface of a liquid or body of water.
2. The refuse or dross of molten metals.
3. Refuse or worthless matter.
4. Slang One, such as a person or an element of society, that is regarded as despicable or worthless.

Anyway you understood the word perfectly

I tried straining the liquid with foam on top because I read that I had to strain the liquid into a separate container, but just gave up the idea in between and directly poured into the mold after gently moving aside the foam with a spoon.

green soap

You did not say what oils you used to make the soap. No need to disclose any secret recipe

:? :?

sabon

The recipe I followed was Veggie recipe 1 from http://www.millersoap.com/glycerinsoap.html (recipe by Kristy)

As mentioned by her in her recipe, I used Palm oil, coconut oil and castor oils, (40, 30, 30 percent each)
Alcohol, Sugar Glycerin were added about 35,28,15 percentage respectively)