What makes the white blush appear on my soaps?

[nettles]

Hi all! I need to call on the collective head once again. What makes the white blush appear on my soaps after they have been exposed to air, soon after unmolding? It looks sort of like the whitish blush that is sometimes on an organically grown apple. I'm not talking about the white powdery stuff that forms on the top of the soap. I've got that pretty much eliminated by laying a sheet of butcher paper on top of the freshly poured soap. No, I mean stuff that appears on the BOTTOM of the soap. It is more noticeable on dark colored bars, of course. But I can take soap out of the mold and it looks perfect!!! Ahhh.... And then I stand the bars on edge to cure, and within an hour the bars start to turn white. I've learned to just ignore it, it seems harmless enough. The bars are otherwise fine, no ZING! on the tongue or anything. It seems purely aesthetic (sp?) but if I knew how to avoid it, I would. It takes some of the joy away from having a successful batch. Thanks...

 

[topcat]

It still could be the same thing - soda ash perhaps. I have had it appear sometimes on the base of a soap (at least I think that is what it was). If you spritz the bottom of your soap lightly with isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) and it disappears once the soap has dried off, it probably is soda ash. That is a trick that works on the top too if you get ash.

Tanya

 

[Lindy]

Hey Tanya - thanks!! I hadn't heard of that one before...cool

 

[NewbieSoaper]

Wow! Thanks for the alcohol tip!!

 

[topcat]

I luckily found this out from an experienced soaper on another forum and tried it out for myself on two batches which had developed soda ash on top over a week or so after unmoulding - works like a charm! I did find that on the dark brown chocolate batch I sprayed a little too much (overkill ) and as it dripped over the edges it caused a slight run/drip effect on the sides of the soap as it dried. Easily removed by scraping with a small sharp knife. Spraying lightly is the key, and maybe wiping off while still damp.

Tanya

 

[cdwinsby]

Thanks for the tip Topcat!! I'll be trying that one out very soon!

 

[nettles]

Yeah, Topcat. Thanks for the tip! I will try it out at the next opportunity and report back. Too bad I already wrapped my last batch that had it. Maybe it is even worth unwrapping just to see..

Nettles