What went wrong? 😔

[Chaiat5]

Hi everyone!

I made a CP soap of olive oil, castor oil and coconut oil … I’d run the recipe through soap calc and it looked like all was good to go.

1. The mix went to a thick trace awfully quickly so it was madness getting the stuff into the moulds… Is it because the lye and oils were too hot? They were both around 52°C.

2. The soap has a mottled appearance upon unmoulding Why has this happened?

I’m so sad … haven’t had a good run with my soaps lately.

Edit: such a shame because for the first time ever, the EOs are strong … in my previous attempts, the smell was always so faint. (This time: geranium + lavender + patchouli.)

 

[AliOop]

The soap looks fine to me. Your temperature wasn't that hot, so it could be you did too much stick-blending. For smaller batches, you can reach thick trace with 5 seconds of stickblending.

But to give you specific and helpful help, we need to know your entire recipe, including the amount of each oil, the amount of lye, the amount of water, and the amount of every single additive you used (FO, EO, clays, chelators, salt, sugar, etc.).

 

[Ford]

The mottled look may be from the heavy trace. It can get kinda chunkyish. At a certain point. When the trace has gotten away from me. Then when you pack it down. It looks like this.

 

[Chaiat5]

The soap looks fine to me. Your temperature wasn't that hot, so it could be you did too much stick-blending. For smaller batches, you can reach thick trace with 5 seconds of stickblending.

But to give you specific and helpful help, we need to know your entire recipe, including the amount of each oil, the amount of lye, the amount of water, and the amount of every single additive you used (FO, EO, clays, chelators, salt, sugar, etc.).

Oh... that is so kind of you... I picked the piece that looked least disastrous LOL! I really need to get more training and practice under my belt. I had made this soap before but handstirred/whisked it... the recipe wasn't tweaked via soapcalc either. This time I got the recipe 'vetted' and I used a blender, so I was all fired up. I'll persevere!

I'll attach the recipe used... It's quite basic – just the oils and EOs.

 

[Chaiat5]

The mottled look may be from the heavy trace. It can get kinda chunkyish. At a certain point. When the trace has gotten away from me. Then when you pack it down. It looks like this.

That's just what happened The trace was just unmanageable... I almost feel like going back to whisking by hand now!

 

[artemis]

I'll attach the recipe used... It's quite basic – just the oils and EOs.

But, which EOs, and how much? I don't see it in the recipe.

 

[Chaiat5]

But, which EOs, and how much? I don't see it in the recipe.

Oh right! It was about 23g of EO ... patchouli, geranium and lavender.

 

[Ford]

I only use the blender, when I want to speed things up. Now a days. Pomace olive oil is known to trace fast. Just changing OO. You,ll see a difference. Don't be so hard on your self. Remember.....this is supposed to be FUN!

 

[Chaiat5]

I’ll keep this in mind Thank you so much for the encouragement! I’ll give this another whirl

 

[dibbles]

My experience with geranium is quite limited as I don't care much for it, but I seem to remember it causing some acceleration. Olive pomace can also accelerate. And if you are getting used to using a stick blender, that likely played a part as well. It takes awhile to get a handle on how little stick blending is needed, especially in a small batch. Stick with it - it's such a time saver and a skill worth having. I think your soap looks fine - I would happily use that.

 

[Chaiat5]

My experience with geranium is quite limited as I don't care much for it, but I seem to remember it causing some acceleration. Olive pomace can also accelerate. And if you are getting used to using a stick blender, that likely played a part as well. It takes awhile to get a handle on how little stick blending is needed, especially in a small batch. Stick with it - it's such a time saver and a skill worth having. I think your soap looks fine - I would happily use that.

Ah... I have much to learn! I must manage my expectations. Thank you so much for your kind words

 

[AliOop]

I agree with prior comments. You used three fast-moving oils: coconut, pomace OO, and castor. Pomace is especially well-known for acceleration! Try regular OO instead.

Then you added geranium EO, which also accelerates. At the temperature you mentioned, your small batch size, with all of your accelerating ingredients, you probably wouldn’t need more than three, one-second bursts of blending, and probably less. The videos you see on YT are usually large batches, where so much more blending is required.

Another thing to consider is the source of your EOs. If they are from Amazon or the local store, they are often adulterated or oxidized, both of which can cause acceleration. Try making a batch without EOs and see if it behaves differently.

Meanwhile, your soap is just fine to use. I think the mottling is pretty!

 

[Chaiat5]

Oh the perils of pomace!! I now wish I’d used the loaf mould instead of trying to pack that mess into smaller moulds.

I think you might be right about the EOs as well – a soapmaker here told me that it is not easy to get pure oils … there aren’t any certified companies and some sellers don’t even know what they are selling!

Thanks so much for all the advice and the encouragement. I will live to soap another day

 

[AliOop]

Great attitude- love it!!