:( Two Dozen Wedding Soaps…Ruined.

[TheGecko]

I don’t know happened. Did I push the age of the Palm Oil too far? Was it the storm that came through last night and hung around all day with alternating hail and “OMG why did I war long sleeves”? Was it the 99% IPA I sprayed it with?

They had a little bit of soda ash on the bottom, but I didn’t think anything of it as I quickly unmolded two of the six molds before I realized there was a problem.

They are sticky spongy powdery soft on the outside, but solid on the inside. Whatever happened left the same spongy powdery layer in the molds. It had gone though saponification, the molds were easy to clean and I had tons of bubbles.

I’m about halfway through the soaps and thankfully I had reordered both colorants and they came in yesterday. And I am very blessed to have a soap supplier about 40 minutes from work so I could order everything from scratch.

It’s my regular recipe…no odd oils/butters. 33% Lye Concentration. The colorants are from Nurture Soap, the scent is BRV from BB. I had Master Batched both colorants so I would have a consistent color. The oils/butters were a bit odd, but looked fine once melted and I mixed to a light trace and poured.

Opinions please.

 

[AliOop]

No clue but I’m so bummed for you!!

 

[ScentimentallyYours]

Did you CPOP these? Looks like it could be silicone rash???

 

[TheGecko]

Did you CPOP these? Looks like it could be silicone rash???

No...just stuck them in the garage like the others. I've had silicone rash before from when I accidently 'baked' a soap. This is soda ash.

I just put in an order for Palm and Coconut Oil (and a couple of FOs 'cuz why not) and will pick up today. Of course, it is one of their short days so I will have to leave work even earlier, but I know the boss will be cool with it. While sometimes their hours are frustrating in that they keep office hours (closing at 4pm on Tuesday and 3pm on Friday and not open on Saturday), I am just grateful I can pick up quality ingredients and not pay shipping.

 

[cmzaha]

Dang it, I Hate when soap decides to do what it wants to do... The only thing I can think of is a temperature change from your normal. I have never run into problems with old palm oil and I soaped with a lot of palm oil of different ages. That is so frustrating, but on the plus side, you now have a lot of BRV soaps to use, since I am sure they will be fine after curing. Not that you asked, but soapsupplies.net has a beautiful BRV that soaps nice and does not discolor or accelerate. At least to my nose, it was a lovely fragrance and she still offers low flat rate shipping.

 

[Kari Howie]

What is BRV? And what is silicone rash?

 

[cmzaha]

What is BRV? And what is silicone rash?

Black Raspberry Vanilla Fo Dupe. Silicone Rash happens when silicone molds get to hope and cause little holes all over your soaps. It usually seems to happen if the soaps are oven processed although I am no expert since I only use or used individual cavity silicone molds and only experienced the rash once when I put one in the oven to force gel.

 

[Kari Howie]

Ah! Thanks for the explanation, C. Now I understand what happened to one of my soaps that came out of the silicone loaf mold pitted all over.

 

[AliOop]

@TheGecko Any chance your emulsion was very, very light? I've had something similar when I was doing a complicated design and working with the lightest emulsion I could obtain. My best guess is that it wasn't as stable as I thought, and there was slight separation after pouring.

 

[TheGecko]

Dang it, I Hate when soap decides to do what it wants to do... The only thing I can think of is a temperature change from your normal. I have never run into problems with old palm oil and I soaped with a lot of palm oil of different ages. That is so frustrating, but on the plus side, you now have a lot of BRV soaps to use, since I am sure they will be fine after curing. Not that you asked, but soapsupplies.net has a beautiful BRV that soaps nice and does not discolor or accelerate. At least to my nose, it was a lovely fragrance and she still offers low flat rate shipping.

I did soap a little cooler than the other batches, but not any cooler than I normally would have. I'll give another try at the higher temp...I still have plenty of time and if I still have problems, I now have more Palm Oil and Coconut Oil.

I picked up four new FOs. I had ordered Lemon Verbena to see if I liked their version and something called Desert Sage because it sounded interesting. Then went I went to pick up my order they let me know that they now have a "Scent Bar" where you can open every EO and FO they have and stick little papers in them and OMG. So I bought Salt & Sea and Blue Lotus & Moss.

The company is Shay and Company and I have not been disappointed in anything I have purchased from them. The Customer Service is terrific and they have grown a LOT in the last two years. I was curious about shipping costs since I Will Call and even changing my zip code, the costs were pretty much in line with other companies I have used.

Any chance your emulsion was very, very light? I've had something similar when I was doing a complicated design and working with the lightest emulsion I could obtain. My best guess is that it wasn't as stable as I thought, and there was slight separation after pouring.

Because I was using pre-colored oils I made sure to blend to light trace since I wouldn't be able to easily 'see' that it was emulsified. I'm only using 12 oz of oils so it doesn't take much to get to trace. My test batches are usually 14 oz of oils at around 80F and three-three second bursts with the barest of stirring in between gets me between emulsion and light trace. I was soaping closer to 100% and five-three second bursts and a little more stirring in between.

 

[Feelin' Soapy]

I also buy much of my soap stuff at Shay & Company and am thrilled to have them nearby. I'm in love with their Rose FO as well as their Beachwood & Vetiver. @TheGecko I'd love to hear your reviews on the different FOs you've bought from them.

 

[TheGecko]

So I decided to give the current batter another try. This time I made sure to do the same thing I did with the original batches of soap...heating the oils more, stick blending a little more. Then I let them sit in the molds for an extra couple of days...in the house.

I'm reasonably sure now that it's not that the Palm Oil is too old, but the weather. The soaps popped out of the molds okay, but they were still sticky and I had some soda ash...which I expected since I left them in the house with lots of carbon dioxide from three humans and a three cats in a house still shut up for the winter. I'm going to do another batch tonight, but this time I'm going to cover them and either set them on a heating pad for a couple of hours or CPOP them (making sure I put a big note on the oven door and pulling the dial off 'cuz I can see my husband 'man looking' as he calls it and not see the note). It's been rainy for the last five days and cold and it is supposed to continue for another week.

 

[AliOop]

Do you have a heating pad and a big box? That's my version of the "O" (oven) in CPOP. Works a treat.

 

[dibbles]

'man looking'

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I’m so sad about your soaps, especially since you’re making them for a special occasion. I hope adding a little heat helps.

 

[TheGecko]

Do you have a heating pad and a big box? That's my version of the "O" (oven) in CPOP. Works a treat.

Two heating pads and tons of boxes. Crashed early last night so will try tonight.

That's what HE calls it.

I’m so sad about your soaps, especially since you’re making them for a special occasion. I hope adding a little heat helps.

It's put me behind schedule, but I'll be okay since I allowed extra time and it is doubtful that folks will be using the soap right away...if they do.

 

[dibbles]

That's what HE calls it.

I know. He has a good sense of humor.
I use heating pads and blankets too, and it works well for me. really am sorry you are having issues. I know these soaps are important.

 

[janesathome]

No...just stuck them in the garage like the others. I've had silicone rash before from when I accidently 'baked' a soap. This is soda ash.

I just put in an order for Palm and Coconut Oil (and a couple of FOs 'cuz why not) and will pick up today. Of course, it is one of their short days so I will have to leave work even earlier, but I know the boss will be cool with it. While sometimes their hours are frustrating in that they keep office hours (closing at 4pm on Tuesday and 3pm on Friday and not open on Saturday), I am just grateful I can pick up quality ingredients and not pay shipping.

Local supplier - I am really envious! Shipping prices in Canada are horrendous these days.
I have a question - what is silicone ash? I haven’t heard of it

 

[TheGecko]

Local supplier - I am really envious! Shipping prices in Canada are horrendous these days.
I have a question - what is silicone ash? I haven’t heard of it

Silicone RASH. It can sometimes happen when your soap overheats in a silicone mold...or you bake your soap like I did (was CPOPing and forgot to turn the over off). It's looks like you soap got a rash...rough and bumpy.