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If your shea butter smells rancid, don't use it. It normally smells kind of nutty. Before making anything with it, you can heat all of it to 160ºF, stir it very well, and then quickly refrigerate it to cool off. That should give you a smoother consistency for making other soap and other products.
As for your soap, if those white spots feel like soap or wax, they are mostly likely stearic spots, not a result of bad shea butter. Stearic spots are cosmetic only, not dangerous.
To prevent them, be sure heat all of your solid oils and butters to at least 160ºF. Then mix those melted hard oils very well with the other liquid oils before cooling them down and adding the lye solution. That ensures that all of the stearic acid is fully melted and incorporated with the other fatty acids, and prevents the spots from developing.
However, if those spots feel crusty or crunchy, that could be unincorporated lye crystals, which would be quite dangerous. It doesn't look like that from the pictures, but please check to be sure.
As for your soap, if those white spots feel like soap or wax, they are mostly likely stearic spots, not a result of bad shea butter. Stearic spots are cosmetic only, not dangerous.
To prevent them, be sure heat all of your solid oils and butters to at least 160ºF. Then mix those melted hard oils very well with the other liquid oils before cooling them down and adding the lye solution. That ensures that all of the stearic acid is fully melted and incorporated with the other fatty acids, and prevents the spots from developing.
However, if those spots feel crusty or crunchy, that could be unincorporated lye crystals, which would be quite dangerous. It doesn't look like that from the pictures, but please check to be sure.
I have been making 35 oz loft with no problem same ingredients and then I made 70 oz and now I have those spots.
I made just now 35oz with only oils, no shea butter. It was not as bad but It has some on a few soaps. My first time happening.
I guess I need to heat the coconut oil to 165°F as well.
I made just now 35oz with only oils, no shea butter. It was not as bad but It has some on a few soaps. My first time happening.
I guess I need to heat the coconut oil to 165°F as well.
I did another batch of 70 oz and again white spots. I heated the coconut oil and shea butter to 165°F and still have those horrible white spots. Does not happen when I make 35 oz.
What kind of molds are you using? Do you use the same mold for the 35 oz batch as the 70 oz batch? I wonder if the problem lies in the 35 oz mold?
How hot was the oils when you poured in the lye water? How hot was the lye water? How hot was the resulting batter?
Hope Elisabeth 68
Member
My thought is stearic spots as they look just like them. But also, I personally don't buy stuff off Amazon for soap unless it is from a very reputable company that just happens to have an Amazon store. And I check that out first very carefully as there are simply a whole lot of fakes on there.
Something is happening with the larger batch size that isn't happening with the smaller one. When you heated the oils for the larger batch, did you stir them very well so that the temp was uniform throughout? And did you then blend in the unheated oils very well, so that the mix was homogenized before adding the lye solution?
It is possible that you have some older butter that has oxidized, resulting in more free fatty acids that saponify almost immediately when the lye solution is added. Maybe this phenomenon is exacerbated with the larger batch size?
@AliOop The 2 photos with pink gloves have really big chunks shown. Is it possible to get stearic spots that big?! 
Also, could it be the that shea butter left (if left) as SF got really solid again?
Also, would tempering shea butter be of use here? It is done for cosmetics, to avoid the product getting grainy if it remelts again.
The refined and unrefined shea butter is very different as well. Unrefined tends to get grainy if not tempered.
Also, could it be the that shea butter left (if left) as SF got really solid again?
Also, would tempering shea butter be of use here? It is done for cosmetics, to avoid the product getting grainy if it remelts again.
The refined and unrefined shea butter is very different as well. Unrefined tends to get grainy if not tempered.
akseattle
Well-Known Member
@Phantomina the shea butter can definitely produce white stearic spots, that is for sure, which is why it is recommended to heat it to 160ºF before letting it cool down for soaping. No need to temper it per se, however, as it is just going to be saponified once it is combined with the lye solution.
@akseattle I was wondering about TD spots, as well. But it shouldn't make a difference whether it was a small batch or large batch, unless of course the larger batch just wasn't stirred as well.
Overall, I'm kind of leaning towards the shea butter being rather old and oxidized. Even if heated well, there will still be a lot of free stearic acid that will saponify quickly - which can definitely leave spots like that. I could see where increasing the batch size would increase the likelihood of larger pockets of the stearic acid that create the larger, more visible white spots.
Hard to say, but it seems like perhaps this batch of shea butter should only be used for smaller batches, or maybe use it up quickly in some high-shea soap recipes, and start over with a fresher batch going forward.
@akseattle I was wondering about TD spots, as well. But it shouldn't make a difference whether it was a small batch or large batch, unless of course the larger batch just wasn't stirred as well.
Overall, I'm kind of leaning towards the shea butter being rather old and oxidized. Even if heated well, there will still be a lot of free stearic acid that will saponify quickly - which can definitely leave spots like that. I could see where increasing the batch size would increase the likelihood of larger pockets of the stearic acid that create the larger, more visible white spots.
Hard to say, but it seems like perhaps this batch of shea butter should only be used for smaller batches, or maybe use it up quickly in some high-shea soap recipes, and start over with a fresher batch going forward.
akseattle
Well-Known Member
@AliOop , what you say makes sense.
I haven't made soap since 9/6 and I haven't used T.D. since late July. I think I am still experiencing PTSD from my T.D. struggles up to that time.
So, that's probably why I see white spots and think "Oh no, TD!!"
If you meet me for lunch, don't wear a polka dot shirt .....
I haven't made soap since 9/6 and I haven't used T.D. since late July. I think I am still experiencing PTSD from my T.D. struggles up to that time.
So, that's probably why I see white spots and think "Oh no, TD!!"
If you meet me for lunch, don't wear a polka dot shirt .....
