You win some, you lose some, so pissed!

[Luckyone80]

Well so I was terrified of making a goat milk soap, got lots of help and encouragement here yesterday and today. Got the courage to make some today, everything went super, better than expected until...gel phase and the damn thing has a crack down one whole side!! I hope the gap closes as it cools but damn I'm pissed!!

 

[OliveOil2]

The crack doesn't look very deep, I don't think it will close on it's own, but can be easily repaired. Once you have taken it out of the mold slice a very thin piece off the end. You can use this to fill in the crack, it will be just like soft putty, and you can smooth over with a small amount of water on your finger.

 

[Obsidian]

Another option is to lightly spray the crack with rubbing alcohol then using a piece of cling wrap, gently rub it and try to get it to close. I did this when I got a very large crack in a loaf, worked great.
I know some people gel milk soaps but personally, I never would, at least not on purpose. Next time, try putting it in the fridge. Really though, its a small crack and doen't look bad. Once the soap is cut it will just add the the handcrafted look.

 

[Luckyone80]

The crack doesn't look very deep, I don't think it will close on it's own, but can be easily repaired. Once you have taken it out of the mold slice a very thin piece off the end. You can use this to fill in the crack, it will be just like soft putty, and you can smooth over with a small amount of water on your finger.

Great idea, I will try that!

 

[Luckyone80]

Another option is to lightly spray the crack with rubbing alcohol then using a piece of cling wrap, gently rub it and try to get it to close. I did this when I got a very large crack in a loaf, worked great.
I know some people gel milk soaps but personally, I never would, at least not on purpose. Next time, try putting it in the fridge. Really though, its a small crack and doen't look bad. Once the soap is cut it will just add the the handcrafted look.

I debated on gelling but knew I would or thought I would be watching it like a hawk, I took 15 min to change the sheets on the bed, go check it and I'll be damned that crack was there. I will pop in the fridge next time.

 

[Obsidian]

You never know how a soap is going to behave and as you found it, it can go wrong in a hurry. My first bad crack happened in the freezer. It was a castile I didn't want to gel. The outside cooled off too quickly and I ended up with a huge deep crack right down the middle. Now I use the fridge for preventing gel unless I'm using a super heater like carrots or milk.

 

[DeeAnna]

Yeah, just gently try to close it up with your fingers (protected by gloves or food wrap) while it's still pliable. Nice tip about "puttying" the crack closed, Olive! I want to remember that one.

I agree with Obsidian, though. In the end, it will be fine. The crack looks horrible on top of the loaf, but it will look much less horrible when you cut the bars.

I ended up with some small cracks in a loaf that I had designed to look like rock. I put drops of gold mica mixed in glycerin with in the soap and on top to simulate flecks of "gold" in the "rock". When I saw the cracks, I dropped a little bit of the mica and glycerin mixture into the cracks. Voila! More gold flecks.

 

[pamielynn]

I agree - if it's still gelling (or at least still pretty warm) you can pinch that back together.

 

[HorseCreek]

How hot were your oils/lye? The only times I've ever had GM soap crack on me was when I didn't know to cool everything off first, and I make only GM soap

 

[Luckyone80]

How hot were your oils/lye? The only times I've ever had GM soap crack on me was when I didn't know to cool everything off first, and I make only GM soap

The oils and lye were around 80-85 degrees when I soaped.

 

[Luckyone80]

Well here it is the next day, I am actually really happy with it. I did patch the crack with the soft soap in the paper after I unmolded like Olive suggested so it doesn't look as bad but I still hate that it cracked. See first pic.
I will be making more but I think I will try the refrigerator method the next time. It does smell heavenly and I love the color.

 

[Cookie]

Beautiful! I want to use that soap :grin:

 

[Saponista]

I think it has turned out lovely. Looks really nourishing and natural. Would love to get my hands on it lol!

 

[Luckyone80]

Thanks guys! I can't wait to use it myself.