It looks like both partial gel and soda ash to me, but the matte crumbly look makes me suspect there is a lye issue...? I always gel though, so others who prevent gel are better able to judge. Don't worry yet
Yep- looks like partial gel and soda ash from where I'm sitting, too.
Re: the matte, crumbly look at the outer edges: I, for one do not suspect a lye issue. Whereas gelled soaps are typically firm /easy-to-handle with a shiny, slightly translucent look to them when unmolded and cut, their un-gelled counterparts are matte and opaque, and they take much longer to firm up enough to be able to unmold and handle and/or cut gracefully, especially if full water was used.
I typically gel all my soaps as a rule, but I always make enough batter to pour off into a cavity of an indy-type mold so that I can observe how my batch performs in an un-gelled state (my soap in indy molds never gel). All of my un-gelled soaps crumble at the edges and/or dent very easily when I try to unmold at the same time as I'm unmolding my gelled soap, even though it has set up by then, and
even with the addition of sodium lactate. Their consistency is very much like cream cheese- it's solid enough to hold it's own shape, but easily dents when pressed.
What helps me to be able to unmold my un-gelled soaps gracefully without having them crumble or dent (and without having to wait 3 or more days) is to stick my mold into the freezer once the soap has set up, and leave it there until it's hard enough to be handled without damaging it. Most times I put it in there and just forget about it until the next day, which is plenty of time. When I take it out of the freezer, I flip the mold upside down and run it under a stream of lukewarm water from the faucet, and they pop out cleanly and easily with just a little applied pressure.
IrishLass
