Teach Soap

I made some massage bars, they were made with beeswax (not too much), soy wax, mango butter, shea butter and a smidgen of grapeseed oil, and a small amount of color and fragrance. When I popped them out of the mold, they all have a white film. I am using a silicone mold, does anyone know why this occurred? Thank you.

Sonya

Could be the shea butter. Some people find that they like shea butter better if they've tempered it before using it.

Also, what kind of coloring did you use?

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Thank you for responding, I used a mica, should I not have used micas? hat does "tempered" shea butter mean? Thank you.

Sonya

The massage bars that I made and asked about in a previous post, I forgot to ask someone, what do I add do that the masssage bar would have a little bit more glide, do I add more liquid oils? I do want it to be hard at the same time, thank you!!

Sonya

Tempering is when you preheat your shea butter before you use it. You may want to google it, because I don't think I could describe it good enough.

Also, castor oil would give a nice glide.

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To temper shea butter you need to slowly heat it, over a low flame, and then keep it heated at 170-180 degrees for a period of time. I have read as few as 10 minutes is needed, to as much as 3 hours, and have never seen enough researched to back up which is better, or most optimum.

If you buy the hydrogenated shea butter or shea oil, tempering is not necessary.

Tempering is done because the triglyceride composition of shea butter is unstable. In order to obtain a good and stable crystallization the butter must be tempered, which is also known as a pre-crystallization process. The heating makes the triglycerides form into a stable crystal form, and facilitates crystallization when the butter is cooling. This way, when you reheat it and make your products, it will hold together and not give that grainy feeling. If you do not temper, poor crystallisation can lead to oil migration and bloom formation in the product.

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Tammy

Thank you Tammy for giving good instructions. I was in the middle of the flu when I typed that, so I didn't want to try to tell her how to do it with a fever wracking my brain LOL

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No worries winter, I am middle cold now and I find my explanations much simpler now too! Hope you are better now, or at least on the mend!

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy