What causes ashy tops? Do people care ??

[vjbakke]

Is there anything to avoid it? Recipe modifications? I have had some get lots of ash, and some get none at all. Do you think people buying soap care?

 

[fiddletree]

I find that I get it pretty badly with lavender EO, but otherwise not so much. Spraying the soap lightly with alcohol once it starts to set up helps some.

 

[vjbakke]

Ok, I will give that a try. Thanks

 

[serfmunke]

I added 5% shea butter or cocoa butter and now I never have ash.

 

[Genny]

I spray mine with alcohol ususally also, and it helps prevent it. I don't know if customers care though.

 

[judymoody]

For me I get ash if I don't gel, if I use a lot of shea, or with certain FOs.

But I use the alcohol spritz trick and rarely get it.

A light coating of ash generally doesn't bother people. If it were thick and heavy, I'd try to buff it off.

 

[maya]

i get it occasionally. oddly rarely with lavender e.o. and tbh, it doesn't bother me. it's a thin layer and i figure it's part of the handmade soap.

 

[Fragola]

People do care if you have an ugly spotted soap.

Probably not if you've got a sexy even layer of ash.

By the way, seems that ash can be steam cleaned.

 

[coral]

I also saw a video on You Tube where it was steamed off.
Also another soaper's trick of paint brushing with mica with a colour matching the soap.

My batches that I put Lavender Oil for some strange reason tend to get it.

 

[musiccitysuds]

Do you gel? When I don't gel my soaps I notice the ash is a lot worse. I lay a silicone baking mat (wax paper works too) on top of the soaps while they gel and harden. That seems to work.

 

[Genny]

After reading this post the first time, I decided not to spray alcohol on my next batch of soap. I was using the same recipe as usual, an FO I'd used hundreds of times (Kentish Rain from BB), gelled them like normal etc.

When I uncovered them, there's ash. Not tons, but it's there. I've never had ash before, so I just wanted to see if there was really something to the alcohol thing. So, in my opinion, yes there is.

 

[Cuckoo Bananas]

I think it depends on how bad the ash looks for a customer, sometimes it can really make it look more rustic and handmade but you definitely don't want it looking dusty or like it's just been sitting there for a really long time.....

 

[Seventeen Soaps]

If you don't do the fancy swirls on the top of your soaps then you can also cover it with cling film as this prevents the ash from forming too

 

[Robbiegirl]

Ash is sodium carbonate from what I was reading as I have some. Mostly happens when lavender is used.

 

[Seventeen Soaps]

It can happen even with no fragrance and I have never had it happen with lavender.

 

[bluevervain]

I get it sometimes and sometimes not. It find it to be one of the least predictable things in soapmaking.

When I'm trying to have flat, clean, sharp bars then it bugs me and I actually wash it off after the soap has cured. I take a damp washcloth and scrub/wipe it off the cut bar. (I'm going to look into the steaming that other people have mentioned.)

When I have meringue like tops of creamy natural colored soap then I hardly notice it so I just leave it. It never forms on top of mica, so when I dust mica on the top after pouring it in the mold, it doesn't form.

Also it seems less likely to form on larger batches which must have something to do with larger batches holding their heat longer than small batches...at least that's my theory.

I haven't noticed a connection with lavender EO.