Teach Soap

So I made 2 batches of soap last night with a new brand of palm oil I haven't tried before. And I got nice ((sarcasm)) white spots throughout the soap... especially on the top. They don't zap and aren't "crystal" or "powdery" in nature... so not a lye heavy problem. The only thing I changed in my method/recipe was the new palm oil.

I bought a ton of this kind of palm oil so it's not like I can just throw away a small batch and repurchase somewhere else. So I'm thinking maybe I can either strain some of the stearic out.... or soap at a higher temp? My oils and butters are always melted very thoroughly until they are nice and clear. I usually soap at 110° but I tried soaping at 125° to see if it would keep the stearic from hardening as it reached trace/got poured into the mold. But alas, that didn't work because the white stearic spots showed up as I was about to pour it into molds. What on earth is the difference between the stearic acid in the first kind of palm I was using (other than maybe it had less in it) and this new palm? Is it just a different kind of stearic that doesn't like to stay melted?

So should I try to soap at a higher temp? Or stain some of the stearic acid out? Or what else can I do?

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Soapmaiden (Natalie)

My entire oil mixture (including the palm) gets up to 160ish° F before I cool it to proper soaping temperatures..... but does this mean I have to soap at 156° F (and when I say "soap at" I mean the point when I mix my lye and oils together and begin to blend)? I didn't have to do that with my old palm oil...

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Soapmaiden (Natalie)

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

I saw that on another thread. However, I just opened a 35 lb. pail of palm oil, melted it slightly and mixed it thoroughly and am making soap from that batch this morning... and there are still huge stearic acid pieces. So I guess I got 35 lbs on the very bottom of their supply?

I actually think I solved the problem for now. I strained the palm oil as I was measuring it out. The very fine pieces of stearic are still in but the big chunks were held back. It looks like the texture of the old palm I was using. So I'm going to give this a try and see how it works.

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Soapmaiden (Natalie)

Some vendors buy their palm in large drums, then transfer to buckets. So it's still possible that what you have in your bucket is from the bottom of the drum.

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

This is what happened to me, my container was very stearic acid heavy. Mine was just a small amount, so I binned it. I wondered if straining it would help... let me know when you find out!

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

I strained my palm oil with a wire mesh strainer and the big stearic acid chunks stayed behind.... my soap looks great so far. No white spots and it still hardened! I guess that will be my solution until I use up this batch of palm.

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Soapmaiden (Natalie)

Thanks Natalie! Now I know for the future! Though I doubt BB would sell icky palm!

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

Well, BB is where I'm buying my palm from now on. I always liked their palm and never had a problem with it.

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Soapmaiden (Natalie)

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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!

Just surprised that BB wouldn't mix their palm super well before putting it in smaller containers.

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

Well, BB is where I'm buying my palm from now on. I always liked their palm and never had a problem with it.
I don't think she bought the bad palm from BB.

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