Where did I go wrong!?

[melissa826]

Hi All! I am BRAND new to Cold process soap making. I have always done melt and pour. But I just LOVE the look and feel of cold process and had to give it a try.

I made my first batch and fingers crossed, everything looks ok. Smells great and is sitting out to cure.... So I decided to make a second batch...

Here was my recipe:

30% Olive Oil
30% Coconut Oil
30% Palm Oil
10% Sweet Almond Oil

I then added a little ground up Eucalyptus leaves and some Sea Clay (for color) and then a very light amount of Essential oils (lemongrass, lavender & eucalyptus)

Everything seemed to go ok... I used the brambleberry lye calculator superfatting at 3%... measured exact....

When I went to cut the soap today...here is what I got. The top and ends of the loaf were a creamy opaque color while the inside and bottom was not...almost like it hadnt gotten to the same curing stage or something...I have no clue. And the other thing...there were some creamy colored "blobs" scattered throughout the soap. Not bright white...the same color as the top layer.

How can I tell if it is lye heavy...or just something weird. I hate to destroy the whole loaf not being sure. And if it is "lye heavy" how did it get lye heavy if I used less lye this time (because I did superfatting 3% instead of 0%)......

Any tips would be most appreciated!!

 

[Genny]

It looks like your soap just partially gelled. That's why it's darker in the middle. The blobs scattered throughout are most likely stearic acid from the palm oil or resolidified solid oils if your house is cold.
I always recommend that soapers superfat at 5% or above. Doing anything lower really ups your chances of lye heaviness due to inaccuracies in weighing.

 

[melissa826]

Ok....so sorry (total newbie here)....is being partially gelled ok or not ok? Sorry! I guess, do I have to throw it away....rebatch....or wait 4 weeks and see what happens?

 

[melissa826]

And yes, my house is COLD! It might have only been 60-62 when I made this batch. And now that I think of it...as I was pouring..I remember some blobs dropping into the mold but it was sort of too late to do anything and I thought maybe I imagined it or it was a small chunk of coconut oil that somehow hadnt melted...

 

[Genny]

Partial gel is fine.
As long as your soap passes the zap test, it should be okay. http://www.soapmakingforum.com/f11/zap-test-visual-guide-30690/

If your soap is less than 48 hours, I'd wait to do the zap test though.

 

[chicklet]

Congrats on transitioning to CP. Partial gel is just a cosmetic issue and bothers the soap maker more than anybody else. After you poured your batter into the mold, did you cover it up with anything? What kind of mold did you use? It looks like it got very close to full gel.

 

[melissa826]

I used a wooden mold that my hubby built...and ugh, I did forget to cover it for like the first 4-6 hours...I'm so used to the melt & pour that I totally forgot until I looked over at it before bed and thought "oh no! it's not insulated!"

And thank you soooo much for all this advice, I went from wanting to cry....to being excited that if I don't get zapped tomorrow, I may actually have a viable bar of soap!

 

[TeriDk]

You definitely want to up the SF to at least 5%.

 

[melstan775]

Could she rebatch this one if it doesn't turn out just right?

 

[Genny]

Could she rebatch this one if it doesn't turn out just right?

Yep, she could. I'd add just a little bit more oil though during the rebatch.

 

[judymoody]

I agree with the superfatting recommendation - at least 5%. I use 8-10% myself but I am prone to dry skin and live in a dry climate.

I am a little concerned about the white blobs. I had some soap that turned out like that when I soaped too cool and the white chunks were lye heavy. My theory is that the lye didn't dissolve fully and then the crystals then reappeared in the finished soap. I rebatched and the soap, while ugly, lathers well and is very nice to use. Had I not rebatched, the caustic bits would have been very dangerous. Your soap may be totally different, of course. I just wanted to alert you to the possibility.

I hope it turns out to be fine and I'm worrying about nothing.

 

[DWinMadison]

So here's a question re superfatting. I typically shoot fr a 5% sf, but since my colors are suspended in oil I've been bumping tha own to 4% lately to compensate for the extra oil in the color. Is that ok?

 

[melissa826]

Thanks for all the info everyone! I did the "zap" test...and only tasted soap! I'll try again in a week just to be sure...but I think the not totally gelled might be right!

 

[Scentapy]

This won't help with your current situation but just a tip for the future: Cover your soap with Saran Wrap before insulating to avoid the ugly ash. I was having a period of time where EVERY batch I made had ash on top. I read a tip to cover in Saran Wrap and viola... the last 9 batches have been ash-free

 

[2lilboots]

This won't help with your current situation but just a tip for the future: Cover your soap with Saran Wrap before insulating to avoid the ugly ash. I was having a period of time where EVERY batch I made had ash on top. I read a tip to cover in Saran Wrap and viola... the last 9 batches have been ash-free

Once I started making beer soaps I had to cover my soaps with plastic wrap as well. Ash was inevitable. I noticed that when I used orange or spice EOs or FOs I had trouble with ash as well. It is tough to do decorative tops or swirls when you have to cover it with a wrap. Or you could dust it heavily with cosmetic glitter, that tends to hide a good bit of the ash.