Worse batch yet. What have I done.

[Jennfromoz]

Well I've made about 10 batches so far and most have turned out OK. This one however is a disaster. Not only is full of soda ash, but it's completely chalky.
I used 10% sunflower oil, 30% Coconut Oil, 30% Olive oil and 30% Palm Oil. Could it be the sunflower oil? I never used it before. I can't think of anything else. It is very humid and hot where I live. Could the humidity have something to do with it?

 

[Drchurchillsoaps]

You use same fragrance? What temp did you soap at? Any additives? Did you stick blend more with this batch? How thick was trace when poured? Super fat level? Just a few questions that might help one of the pros diagnose your problem better. I’m no pro just another soaper. Hope you get the answer you need!

 

[dibbles]

All of what @Drchurchillsoaps said. Are you sure you had a stable emulsion and did your soap go through gel phase?

I doubt it's the sunflower oil - I use HO sunflower in almost every batch.

 

[SoapDaddy70]

I am not sure what happened there but just a little advice - I would stick with a simple loaf mold at the beginning of your soaping journey. I know those little molds have super cute shapes but you have so much going on and seems like a very stressful soaping experience to me. Filling all those tiny cavities takes a lot of time and patience. Mixing all those different colors into small batches also takes a lot of time. So many stressful variables involved. Buy a basic 8-bar or 4-bar loaf mold and get comfortable with the whole process of making soap before dealing with so many extra variables that introduce ways for things to go wrong.

 

[ResolvableOwl]

At 10%, sunflower (be it HO or HL) can do much harm, expect that it might slow down trace. IME, incomplete emulsion/too thin trace attracts soda ash.
I also second @SoapDaddy70: With relatively little hard oils in your recipe, individual moulds are a hit-and-miss when it comes to casting, and hardening up. High lye concentration, forced gel (CPOP), and increased “longevity” number in a soap calculator can help here, otherwise a loaf mould is a safer bet in any case.

By the way, the “ash” in your whirlwind soaps looks fantastic! It really adds depth into the relief. Too bad this is so unreliable, and so many of your tiny animal & object soaps broke apart.

 

[Jennfromoz]

I got it to a thin trace and used a fragrance I used before. As far as I know, I pretty much did everything I usually do when making soap. I used the recipe attached.

 

[Zing]

I really do like your swirled soap! Soda ash is just cosmetic.

When I use small individual cavity molds, I don't do my normal unmolding in 24 hours like I do with my loaf molds. I leave them in for several days in order to prevent soda ash. If I pop the small shapes out in 24 hours, the sides that had previously been in contact with the mold develop ash.

I've successfully and completely avoided soda ash by pouring batter, spraying with alcohol, cover with plastic wrap, and a piece of cardboard. I also gel so bury the mold under towels.

I'm sorry about your small shapes and I don't know why they crumbled. Just a suggestion: There are some cute shaped column molds that you can embed into a loaf mold. I find it easier to work with larger molds instead of those small individual cavity molds.

As an evangelist for lotion bars, your small molds would make for charming lotion bars!

Hang in there! It's been fun hearing from you. Thanks for documenting your journey.

 

[AliOop]

Agreed with @Zing that using small molds and taking the soaps out sooner than a couple of days will increase the ashing. If you want to use small cavity molds and reduce the ash, I strongly recommend that you cover them with plastic wrap after pouring; put the mold on a heating pad for a few hours, covered with a towel; then leave the plastic-covered soaps in the mold for 3 days.

Also, activated charcoal and cocoa powder both ash terribly for most folks. It is just cosmetic.

But if your entire soap is chalky (not just the top surface), that can result from mixing to a very thin emulsion. Try mixing a bit longer to make sure the emulsion is more stable. Chalkiness can also mean that the soap is lye-heavy, definitely zap test it.

 

[Jennfromoz]

Thanks everyone. I am making the small soaps for either inbeds or gifts for my nephews and nieces. I didn't realise that you should leave smaller soaps in the mould for longer. I'll do this in future. You learn something every day