Weird partial gel???

[user 46585]

So I was cutting a loaf of soap today with a fragrance, mica and recipe I've used just fine and dandy prior. When I cut into the loaf it had this weird partial gel where the mica just sort of vanished. I have to say I didn't see this coming at all as I worked with a 35% lye concentration, dispersed white kaolin clay and I also kept it in a cool air conditioned room. I've not encountered a mica just poofing straight out of a soap after it had gelled like this. The mica was Orange Vibrance and the FO Satsuma Orange, both by Nurture. Has this sort of thing happened to anyone else?

 

[Megan]

Usually gelling makes the color pop, so I'm stumped. When I get weird colors after partial gel, I usually blame the fragrance, but I just checked nurture and that doesn't look like the culprit either.

 

[user 46585]

Usually gelling makes the color pop, so I'm stumped. When I get weird colors after partial gel, I usually blame the fragrance, but I just checked nurture and that doesn't look like the culprit either.

Yeah I'm really quite surprised haha. I've really never seen this before. The only I've heard of micas just vanishing were of purples and stuff not CP stable.

 

[Jersey Girl]

I’ve never seen anything like that but it’s super cool looking!

 

[user 46585]

I’ve never seen anything like that but it’s super cool looking!

Too bad I'll probably never be able to do it on purpose lol

 

[BDab]

Aictopus, I just cut my soap and found a similar phenomenon. I used alkanet root as my colorant, lavender essential oil as my scent, and added kaolin clay. I soaped at 100 degrees and put it in the freezer to keep it from gelling. My soap partially gelled but instead of the usual darker, more translucent circle, it was lighter and more opaque. I believe it was the kaolin clay that changed the way it normally would have gelled, as that was the one new ingredient I used. I was actually looking online to confirm my suspicions when I found your post.
I loved the way it turned out as well. And, interestingly, the center section didn’t show a gel line. I’m sure I’ll never be able to replicate it either. Such a shame!

 

[TheGecko]

Has this sort of thing happened to anyone else?

Yep. Time usually fixes it though. And no, I can't say why it happens. While partial gel usually occurs because the inside is hotter than the outside, the reverse is also a possibility.

 

[goat soap rulz!]

you should paint on a little green stem to make it look like a pumpkin!! Well, if it ends up staying