Teach Soap

I just unmolded my latest batch and noticed something odd... well odd to me who is still very new at CP.

Most of the batch went into 3" PVC pipe molds, but I had some overflow that I poured into a thinner plastic cocoa container mold that I keep handy just for this situation. The odd mold soap came out a much lighter color than the soap in the PVC molds.

The recipe is olive, coconut, palm and castor oils with a strong red rooibos tea used in place of the water to make the lye. I put the tea leaves into the oils and also added a few drops of red gel colorant. Noticed no problems during the mixing process.

The majority of the batch is a nice dark salmon color while the odd mold is more like a light creamy peach color. The tea leaves are well dispersed throughout. Both look nice and uniform but if you saw them you would assume they were completely different batches and/or recipes.

The only thing I can guess is that the odd mold was not as well insulated and cooled much quicker than the rest. Would that make the difference? Will it have any impact on the end result or do you think they will all merge into the same color as it cures?

It's not a big deal but if this is something I could calculate I might try to use the knowledge in future batches.

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- Mickey!

I think it has to do with the vessel and the heat escaping. Soaptasticness wise, they will both be the same after cure. Color wise, maybe not.

(and I say this assuming there are no mysterious liquids looming on either batch...both having the same consistency other than the color...)

I've made a large batch of beer soap yesterday. I had a little bit of soap left over, so I poured it into a small mold. That little soap came out much lighter than the main batch.

It happens. It's still good soap in the end.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

It's the difference of heat. Soap that goes through gel phase has naturally brighter and more vibrant colors. I did a post with a photo here:

http://soap-queen.blogspot.com/2008/02/ ... batch.html

Notice the soap on the left with the dollop of better color in the middle? The middle went through gel phase and has a brighter, more vibrant color.The soap on the right is the same recipe with just a little more color added and full gel phase.

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Happy Soaping!

Anne-Marie
blog: www.soap-queen.blogspot.com
supplies: www.brambleberry.com

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- Mickey!