White Dots in Tiger Stripe

[KristaY]

I made my 1st tiger stripe last night and cut just now. I'm pretty pleased with it but I'm baffled by the tiny white dots/flecks in it. Hopefully you can see them on the sides of the bars. This has been happening to me the last couple of months. I've compared all my recipes and the only constants in the ingredients are coconut oil and NaOH flakes. The CO has come from 2 different bags but bought at the same time from the same supplier. Same goes for the lye - several containers but purchased at the same time from the same supplier. I've gotten all other ingredients from various locations and various brands. Everything was purchased within the last few months. There's no identifier on any of the containers so I don't know if they're from separate lots/batches. Anyone know what the white spots are and what I can do to prevent it?

 

[jenneelk]

I can't see them well on my tablet but looks like stearic, td, or lye spots. Can you take I n out and see if it makes a discolor spot on a paper towel when wet?
Did you use TD?

 

[KristaY]

I can't see them well on my tablet but looks like stearic, td, or lye spots. Can you take I n out and see if it makes a discolor spot on a paper towel when wet?
Did you use TD?

I DID use TD! I didn't think about it because I can see them in the green and black areas too but that could just be drag from cutting. When I picked one out and rubbed it on a paper towel all I got was white. When I mixed TD I put about 1 tsp in 1 Tbsp SAO then mixed with a mini frother/mixer. Maybe I didn't mix long enough? I'm certainly happier about TD flecks than lye. I'll have to go back to my other recipes and see I used TD there. If it were lye, how would that act on a wet paper towel?

 

[newbie]

The photo is pretty small comparatively but I can see the brightness of the flecks. It has to be TD; stearic would not be visible like that. It seems like people have the best luck avoiding TD spots/lumps if they pre-mix the TD and allow it to sit for at least 30 minutes and longer seems better, for both oil and water dispersible. Some people make up a batch in a container and then just pour or measure out form there, so it is always fully saturated.

I love your soap. The striping turned out great.

 

[KristaY]

The photo is pretty small comparatively but I can see the brightness of the flecks. It has to be TD; stearic would not be visible like that. It seems like people have the best luck avoiding TD spots/lumps if they pre-mix the TD and allow it to sit for at least 30 minutes and longer seems better, for both oil and water dispersible. Some people make up a batch in a container and then just pour or measure out form there, so it is always fully saturated.

I love your soap. The striping turned out great.

Thanks Newbie! I've been thinking about pre-mixing some of my favorite oxides but haven't given it enough thought to decide which oil may be best for that. I had some green chrome I made a couple of months ago, had extra, so popped on a snap on lid. When I opened it to use in this batch it had an odd smell so I pitched it. I used sunflower oil for that so used SAO for this. Maybe it's supposed to smell odd? No idea, but better safe than sorry!

 

[CraftyRedhead]

I'm no help with the spots, in fact I can't see them on my phone.. But you've got a beautiful soap there

 

[coffeetime]

I don't use TD but I had read that the water-dispersible TD worked better and caused less streaking and mottling. Maybe try that? And just add it to some of your water the night before you soap.

 

[KristaY]

I'm no help with the spots, in fact I can't see them on my phone.. But you've got a beautiful soap there

Thanks CraftyRedhead! It was my first attempt & I certainly learned a lot.

I don't use TD but I had read that the water-dispersible TD worked better and caused less streaking and mottling. Maybe try that? And just add it to some of your water the night before you soap.

I'm definitely going to try it, coffeetime. Thanks for your input!