variations in color

[MooreThanBags]

I am making goat milk soap using olive oil, coconut oil, lard, and lye. I have made three batches that have all turned out well (I think) but the color of the bar is lighter on the outside edges and dark in the center. In addition, my small molds produce a lighter color bar than my 12 bar mold. Am I doing something wrong or is this normal?

 

[Seifenblasen]

It is perfectly normal. The darker center is most probably due to gelling. The smaller molds do not retain heat as well so they probably never went through the gel phase, thus lighter in color.

Here are some photos showing the difference in color for the same formulation (and colorants), with and without the soap going through the gel phase:

http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body- ... e-friends/

 

[MooreThanBags]

Thanks so much for the information; love making soap but probably don't know enough about the process it goes through. I need to read some good basic articles on the art of soaping.

 

[soap_rat]

I read about 6 books on soapmaking before I started, and I only learned about gelling here. I now wonder if there IS a good book on soapmaking, that explains gelling, the importance of an accurate scale especially for small batches, those small batches' tendency to cool down so trace comes slowly, how using a lot of EV olive oil slows trace...that's all important stuff that my books left out!

 

[Pepsi Girl]

I agree with all that! In fact when I started soaping I didn't even have a book. Then I started picking up a few books and I had one long distance friend that also made soap so we would talk now and then. But really I was on my own. Then one day I found this forum. I have learned as much and maybe more here then all my books, for sure I've learned more of the little helpful tips!!

 

[Seifenblasen]

I have only one book, Susan Miller Cavitch's "The Soapmaker's Companion". It is a comprehensive book with good information even though I do not necessarily agree with some of her opinions.

Everything else I learn online. There are tons of good resources (including this forum). Some of the ones I find helpful:

http://www.soap-making-essentials.com/index.html
http://www.soap-making-resource.com/
www.soapqueen.com
http://thesoapbar.blogspot.com/ (MAJOR soap ****; mostly for ideas and inspiration)
http://www.lovinsoap.com/
http://blog.thesage.com/
http://www.millersoap.com/

It helps that in my past life I did a stint as a "bucket chemist" so some of the concepts just come easily.

 

[MooreThanBags]

Thanks for all the input and the links to resources. I will certainly check them out. Beginner's luck has held through my fourth batch of goat milk soap and each time I am learning ways to keep my lye mixture from getting too hot and scorching my milk. I am setting my lye container in a large stainless steel bowl with ice around it and that seems to work for me.

 

[danahuff]

I have found that Milk Soapmaking by Anne Watson was a great book that focuses on all types of milk-based soaps and breaks down the process and how it differs from other types of soap very well.