Hi all!
I have a problem with gel phase and my recipe. I've posted in other forums and tried my best at searching online for answers, but I still haven't been able to figure out what I'm doing wrong so I'm hoping maybe someone here can give me advice!
I'm using a recipe that has: 72% olive oil, 22% coconut oil, 3% cocoa butter and 3% shea butter. At first I was using 33% lye concentration. The problem I have is, my soaps never fully gel all the way to the edges. And it doesn't really look like a partial gel.
I've learned that maybe I should add more water to get a better gel. I tried 30% lye concentration, but still the same problem with the lighter edges. I am using a wooden mold with silicone liners, I insulated well with a woollen blanket. Also, I thought it would be good to have less water with my recipe since I use so much olive oil.
I also thought that maybe I'm over mixing it/stick blending too much. So I took a lot slower, hand mixed in between SB sessions, but still the same problem.
I also tried CPOP method, this time it gelled all the way, but it is still a little bit darker on the inside for some reason. Also, it over heated a little bit and I got alien brains. I would go for the CPOP method (won't let it overheat next time), but as I love citrus EO-s in my soaps, I'm afraid there will be nothing left of them after the CPOP.
A photo my soaps:
http://postimg.org/image/wseooa6l7/ Most of my soaps look like the ones on the picture, but I have had a few batches that have turned out fine! I've analyzed how I've made each batch, but I can't figure it out...
So at this point I'm just so frustrated and don't know what to do to get a proper gel. If you look at the image, what do you think could be going wrong with this soap?
So thankful for any advice you might have!
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