Teach Soap

Hello.

I'm pretty new to soap making and am using a hand-me-down cold process recipe my parents used to use for their soap making busniess.

My first batch seized as I added to fragrance at trace. So I tried again and this time added the fragrance (which was honey oil) to the melted oils before adding the lye (both at 100 degrees f) It all went really well, no seizing and it poured like a dream into my shallow mould. I insulated it and after a week turned it out. I noticed the centre of my flat block was a darker circle, whist the edges where a lot pailer. Even so, it seemed fine and cut nicely.

I left it another week to dry and thats when I started to notice the problem. The back of my soaps (which would have been at the top of the mould as it was setting) had turned white, and the parts of the soap that where closer to the centre of the block, the darker parts of the soap, were a bit crumbly. The outter edges of the soap are PERFECT! I'm going crazt that I've managed to make half a great bar and half a bad bar, haha.

Just to give a bit more information, I made a very small batch, just enough to fill one shallow mould. Is this a heat issue maybe?

Herewith pictures to show what I mean - this is a single bar of the same soap in all pics.


Inside edge


Another inside edge


An outside edge (just how I want it!)


The other outside edge, again, just as I want it.


The bottom, that park exposed to air in the mould.


The top of the bar. Ignore the crumbs, this bar was in a carrier bag with all the other soaps and the crumbly bits stuck to it. The top is really good, just how I want it.

Taste test comes out A-OK, it washes wonderfully, makes a lovely lather and leaves a mild fragrance on my hands. I'm so close, I just want to nail this ugly crumbly problem.

Thanks people, I really hope you can help me. I'll be eternally greatful

That looks like a partial gel to me. That's why parts of the soap are crumbly.

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

From what I see, it looks like partial gel. If you are using single molds, it may be better to "force" gel by putting them in the oven at a low setting (below 190) for 15 minutes after pouring, then turn the oven off and let the molds alone until the next day. _edit_ Dang it soapbuddy, you are too fast for me.

Ahhh, so they were too cool then? Wow, putting my soap in the oven sounds so extreme, but then I'm a beginner and am practically tiptoing around my soap mixture for fear the slightest disturbance will ruin it, lol. Won't my plastic mould melt in the cooker though? I'm half tempted to get myself a decent loaf mould, are they easier to work with rather than shallow moulds?

By the way, super fast replies, you guys rock

The problem is actually uneven temp. You can also pop your mold into the refrigerator or freezer right after pouring to prevent gel, but ungelled soaps are crumbly.

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

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

Thanks so much. I'm seriously tempted to knock myself up a wooden mould. My brother in law is a whizz with woodwork so it's going to be no problem.

I've been doing a ton of reading too, just watched those fantastic Soap Queen TV episodes on cold process and I'm going to run my parents recipe through the lye calculator on Brambleberry too. They created their recipe in the days before the internet, so had no access to a lye calc. Time to modernise the recipe I never used a stick blender either, it looks like it takes no time at all! I was stirring the whole time and it took forever, no wonder my soap struggled to gel all over with so much heatloss.

Sadly I'm going to have to wait, I'm moving house on Monday, and am off to America a few days after that (I'm an English soap maker, hello). Things are far too crazy to start making soap as well. My husband tells me that you guys in the USA have HUGE craft and hobby stores, if this is true I'm thinking about buying a whole load of kit when I'm visiting.

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

A great guy to buy wooden molds from is DesignCraft Industries: http://stores.designcraftindustries.com/StoreFront.bok (not promoting a relative or family friend here - promise!) Reason I mention it is his prices are so reasonable I'm not sure you could make something yourself for that if you put a price on your time too

He's got an eBay shop too. SUPER decent to deal with and his molds are LOVELY with a fitted lid and everything plus I think he can do custom sizes too. A woman named Chrissy on one of the other soap forums raved about his molds and that's how I heard about them.

The soap molds help the soap to gel but it's a lighter weight wood (maybe fir?) so it does let some heat out IMO. Anyway, could be a great mold to experiment with. I'm really liking mine.

HTH,
Karri

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I soap therefore I am.