Teach Soap

I recently bought a 5 gal bucket of Palm oil. Used about the first half of it things were peachy. Then I am had a couple of batches of soap seize on me. Same basic recipe I have been using all along. Temps were good about 110 and I used 2 different FO's Applejack Peel and Bay Rum ( both BB ). After doing some research I read that repacked palm oil can settle the Steric acid and you should remelt what you buy and stir it packaging it in smaller amounts close to what you would use in a batch of soap to help deal with this issue. After re checking my recipe and scale I tend to think this may be what caused things to set up so fast. Recalling the oils as they melted there seemed to be a fair amount of small white inclusions in the oils before they were fully melted and my reading indicates that could be steric acids in the palm oil. My concern is I am half way through 5 gallons and it is to late to melt and re-portion it since it is already very steric acid heavy.

One batch I was able to save by stirring until my arm almost fell off ( to thick to use the stick blender ) the other seperated in the mold and I am going to have to re batch since it was obviously not mixed well enough when I poured it.

Any suggestions on whether I can salvage the Palm oil I have. Or should I simply reduce the amount of palm I use in a batch ( currently 30% ) and sub with another oil until I get through the Palm I have and buy in smaller amounts next time? Any input would be appreciated.

I've been buying Palm oil for awhile and have never had a problem and I've never had to remelt it either. I would make a batch of soap using no scent to see what happens.

Sounds like the stearic in the palm separated. The only way I know of to fix this, is to melt all of it, mix very well, then portion it off into smaller containers.

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

I was kind of under the impression that you had to melt it down once, mix throughly, and let it set up again and it would be fine. I guess I'm in for a surprise- I'm half-way through my bucket of palm

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ween rules

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- Mickey!

I'll leave this to the experts, but I used my first bucket without remelting and stirring and after 2 years, my soaps don't seem any different then the ones that I do now and melt and stir and put into smaller bottles.

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"Maintaining Balance Between People and Nature"

I bought a 50 lb. bucket of palm oil last summer when I ran out of tallow. It came in hot weather and I read to melt it down first and put it in small containers. That was a great pain in the a**. I called Soapers Choice and a very nice man suggested that I put it in my car in the hot sun to melt it all at once. It worked! I would not like to do that again cause it was all over my soap room in small containers. I noticed as it cooled it seperated again then hardened. But it was still easier to handle in the small containers.

I just melt it in the 5-gallon bucket, mix it well then put it in the fridge where it stays with the others, except for palm kernel which I don't refrigerate. The fridge helps it solidify while the steric acid is still mixed in well. An electric drill and paint mixer does the trick for me. You know....any excuse to use a power tool. Been doing it this way for years and so far, so good.

This is way OT but every time I see the subject line of this thread I can't help but think of Betty Hutton.

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- Mickey!

I have only purchased my oils from BB and NEVER had any problems. Perfect consistancy from my first pour to my last

Mickey, that's the first thing that popped into my mind when I read the topic!!

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Suzanne
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