Teach Soap

Hi Folks -

I need help on multiple fronts. I do not know where to begin. It seems as if I'm regressing in my soap making.

When I mix my lye water into my base oils, it starts accelerating, ricing and, sometimes, seizing before I can really get going. I try to be careful to only do an emulsification because there will be more mixing necessary when I mix in colors.

I often wind up with blobs of batch, after I've added EOs/FOs, and added color.

I have seen where many soap makers have nice, slick, wet-looking bars. Not mine. They cure to a rough, almost salty cast.

I've got multiple problems, I'm sure. I do not know where to begin - recipe, temp, procedure, etc.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

BubbleBath

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Anna Rose @-}--
blog

It is impossible to "diagnose" without all the fact. You need to post your exact recipe, including lye and water amounts, temps,which FO or Eo you are using, and techniques (hand stir, stick blender, etc)

The more details you give, the more likely that someone can help you.

Anakiya -

Here you go:

Olive Oil (Refined A) - 35%
Palm Oil - 25%
Coconut Oil (76) - 17%
Castor Oil - 5%
Rice Bran Oil - 5%
Babassu Oil - 3%
Shea Butter - 3%
Cocoa Butter - 3%

7% superfat

Water is 38%. Water to Lye ratio is 2.778:1.

I stick blend oils with lye water between 95 - 100 degrees F. Mix until emulsified only. Add EOs/FOs and divide the batch into colors. I use a variety of EOs/FOs.

Something happens after the base oils are mixed with lye water. I make sure I am not even at trace because there is work and blending left to do.

Thanks!

I'm not an expert but it seems like you have a high percentage of Palm oil, which for me tends to speed things up. Have you tried lowering your palm and increasing your olive? Also, you could try soaping a little hotter, I usually do 110-120 degrees or so if I want to swirl and if I'm not using a milk recipe. Try to have your oils and lye water close to each other in temp. The more experienced folks can probably do a more in depth diagnosis!

Hi goodcleanfun -

Thanks for your reply. Yes, I make sure my batch oils and lye water are within a couple of degrees of one another before combining

I have not tried lowering my palm oil percentage, but I am open to anything that might work.

Thanks.

It sounds like you have a pretty nice recipe there, so just a couple of thoughts...You might do as Goodcleanfun said and try lowering your palm oil percentage to around 15-20% and raising your olive oil amount to make up for it. Or, you could switch out the palm oil for lard, which is very slow moving (in my experience), adds moisture and hardness and makes a wonderful bar of soap, also much cheaper! Just be sure to rerun it through the lye calculator because the saponification values for Lard and Palm oil are different. (You probably already know this, if so, I'm sorry I don't mean to insult you! )

Something else I do when I have a tempermental fragrance oil is to add it at the last possible moment after I have divided and colored the batch, then I whisk it in very quickly before I do my swirling in the mold. I usually just "eyeball" the amount of FO I put into each container but it usually works well for me.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes for you.

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If we weren't all crazy, we would go insane
~Jimmy Buffett

Thanks, Lovegreyhounds!

I appreciate your insight and helpfulness.

I will try these techniques.

The big head scratcher for me is why the ricing and, in some cases, seizing, takes place almost immediately after emulsifying the base oils with the lye water - before the batch is separated into colors and EO/FO is added. In the 30-ish seconds the emulsified batch sits while the color cups are arranged in a row for pouring, the batch does these unwelcomed things.

What is the optimal temperature for batching if one wants to employee various swirling? I am going at 100 degrees F now.

Many thanks!

BubbleBath

I would try soaping at 110 degrees (US).

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

Back to the palm oil - have you been fully melting and stirring it before measuring the amount needed for your recipe? It almost sounds like the palm is full of stearic. If you are melting it correctly, did you switch suppliers?

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

ljm1180 -

Palm oil fully melted and from same reputable supplier as always. Perhaps I should switch?

Thanks for your input.

BubbleBath

My regular recipe is 40% palm oil, soaped at 90-100* F and I have time for 20 colour swirls. I don't use castor shea and cocoa butter in one batch when doing lots of colours though. I'll choose 1 or 2 and forgo the rest. All 3 increase trace speed. I've also found that non-refined shea and cocoa increase trace more than their refined versions.

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!