White specks / spots in my cold process soap

[Fatima Abutog]

Hi, I made my first batch of cold processed soap and it's on its week 2 of curing. Yaaayyy!

However, I have noticed white specks/spots. Same happened with my new batch of cold process soap.

Hope you can help me identify possible reasons for this.

Details
- i used knife in cutting my soap
- i used 30ml tea tree essential oil
- 60% olive oil; 25% vco; 15% pili pulp oil
- 33% water discount
- 8% lye discount
- generelly soaped in room temp (30c to 32c)

 

[BattleGnome]

They look like steric spots to me. Perfectly harmless.

As far as I know steric spots happen when the different fatty acids have different melting points. Steric acid has one of the highest melting points and solidifies first as things cool down.

 

[Fatima Abutog]

They look like steric spots to me. Perfectly harmless.

As far as I know steric spots happen when the different fatty acids have different melting points. Steric acid has one of the highest melting points and solidifies first as things cool down.

I hope it's just stearic spots. Any tips how can i avoid it?

 

[BattleGnome]

I deal with it. You may be able to get rid of them in future batches if you control how your soap cools down (using the freezer or gel) but I’ve never tried or looked into it. The only other option I can think of is changing your recipe to include less steric but that may be dependent on oil availability in your area.

Maybe someone else can chime in with more advice

 

[Dawni]

They look like steric spots to me. Perfectly harmless.

As far as I know steric spots happen when the different fatty acids have different melting points. Steric acid has one of the highest melting points and solidifies first as things cool down.

But pili oil is similar to olive oil.. Should she be getting stearic spots at room temp? I understand it usually happens when using oils high in stearic acid, and/or soaping too cool, and/or not stirring properly.. But since I don't CP much I'm not sure of my understanding of it.

I'm more worried about the air pocket.... Have you zap tested this @Fatima Abutog? (Kamusta? Hehe)

 

[Mobjack Bay]

Here’s a helpful post on the Lovin Soap website.
https://www.lovinsoap.com/2017/01/white-spots-in-soap/

 

[Fatima Abutog]

But pili oil is similar to olive oil.. Should she be getting stearic spots at room temp? I understand it usually happens when using oils high in stearic acid, and/or soaping too cool, and/or not stirring properly.. But since I don't CP much I'm not sure of my understanding of it.

I'm more worried about the air pocket.... Have you zap tested this @Fatima Abutog? (Kamusta? Hehe)

Hellooooo! Crossing my finger I can find a way to fix this

I tried following the zap test in this forum. I didn't get that "zap", so I guess they are okay for use?

Could it be just small bubbles?

 

[Bann51]

The first time I got them, I thought I did something wrong and I had to dump it. Fortunately, like you, I asked. It was a special batch for a wedding. I ended up rebatching and it came out great. I know now I hadn't heated my oils to a high enough temp, particularity my hard butters. I doubt if it's small bubbles. Just embrace it and with these suggestions, you'll be fine.

 

[Megan]

The lovin soap webpage suggested above is very helpful. It all comes down to the temperatures. I know everyone tells me to soap at RT, but I know if I do I will get stearic spots. I actually have a batch I'm cutting today which I experimented at RT again...and I'm worried to cut it!

 

[Fatima Abutog]

The lovin soap webpage suggested above is very helpful. It all comes down to the temperatures. I know everyone tells me to soap at RT, but I know if I do I will get stearic spots. I actually have a batch I'm cutting today which I experimented at RT again...and I'm worried to cut it!

Agree! I read it and it's informative. Will try a new batch and heat my oils to 120f before mixing with lye solution.

Hope it'll work

 

[Mobjack Bay]

Things will definitely move faster if you mix lye with warmer oils, so you will want to keep that in mind. I don’t get steric spots when I heat my lard based oil mixtures (60% lard) enough to get them completed transparent and then let them cool back down to the mid to high 80s before I add the lye. My masterbatched lye would be in the high 70s as would any additional liquid I add. My initial batter temp is typically in the low 80s. I have even worked with batter lower than 80 after knowing for sure that I have a stable emulsion. This soap, for example, was made starting with the batter in the low 80s and it’s highly likely that the small portions I split out to color went below that. I can use the same approach with a recipe that has 20% palm, but have little experience working at low temps with recipes that have higher % palm. So far I’ve been keeping my temps higher (110-110F) when working with palm or butter rich recipes because I don’t use them for swirled or otherwise complicated designs. Regardless of the type of recipe I’m making, I always heat my oils enough to get them fully transparent and as bubble free as possible. I use 33% lye concentration or higher and have not had problems with acceleration. I typically put the soap into a thoroughly warmed oven (140F, then turned off), cover it and leave it overnight.