Question about trace ..

Soapmaking Forum

Help Support Soapmaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
That's not a crazy strong lye solution.

I am struggling to see why this batter moves faster than a nymphomaniac on a tinder date, I really am.

I think the best bet would be to take time for a full blow-by-blow run down. Where do you buy each ingredient, what brand is it, in what do you heat it, in what do you measure it, in what do you mix it, with what do you stir.......really as detailed as you can be to see if there is something obvious that's not obvious (using aluminum pans to mix in, for example)

I'll have to see what I can do ...... I'm pretty sure it *has* to do with something in the recipe. I started off soaping with a very basic recipe. When I thought my basic recipe was taking too long to harden, I changed the recipe.... I might just go back to my original recipe and start from scratch .....
 
Last edited:
In the absence of better information, I'm making an educated guess that you are most likely using your stick blender way too much. That is a normal newbie thing to do.

If so, time to lighten up that death grip on the SB button. A lot. Try to not use your SB more than, oh, about 10 seconds tops during the first few minutes of making soap. Limit your SB time to 1-2 second bursts between longer intervals of gentle hand stirring.

If you SB a lot right at first, what you're doing is revving up the saponification engine, popping the clutch, and driving that car to the top of a steep hill, so to speak. Then when you stop stick blending and hope the reaction will mellow out and take its time, it can't. The saponification reaction is heading down the hill and can only accelerate, not slow down. The trick is to start nice 'n easy.

Another question ... have you started to use a new container of one or more of your fats?

A couple of related threads:
http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=51768
http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=59418
 
Last edited:
I know I'm a bit late but I'll add a few cents....

When I use that much coconut and Shea together I have to be very careful about my mixing. I'm beginning to learn exactly how much blending gets me to the trace I want. Follow the advice that everyone has mentioned and aim for emulsification, if you overshoot to a light or medium trace it's much easier to deal with than thick or soap on a stick.

Temp wise, I've had luck waiting for everything to be roughly the same temp (the SoapQueen advice of writhing 10 degrees of each other). For me the temp tends to be 116F, otherwise I'm super impatient and barely wait for the lye to clear before starting.

Can you also post your new recipe? We can double check everything and you may find a human error in double checking what you actually measured out. Also, did you use any additives/scents that you didn't mention?
 
Although we don't have a full knowledge of how you are making soap and of what quality is every ingredient, I can list a few things that, all together or alone, can affect trace.

1) The temperature at which lye (NaOH & water) and oils will be mixed. The higher the temperature the faster the trace. Usually when a recipe has beeswax then all the ingredients must have a higher temperature than usual in order for the beeswax to remain in liquid form. Also the environmental temperature can speed up trace (eg. hot summer days)

2) The quality of the the oils used. If they are fresh enough so that they have a low acidity value (the number of fatty acids that have separated from glycerol and are flowing around free while they saponify instantly with lye). I have once made a recipe with 40% of cosmetic grade Shea Butter and I didn't have fast trace.

3) The intensity of mixing and the tool that is used. Using only a spatula for mixing can take a few hours to reach trace, where a whisk can lower that time to 30-60min and lastly a stick blender can achieve trace from a few seconds to a few minutes. How much time we are having the stick blender at the on state or the power it has in kW also plays a big role.

4) The water amount the recipe has. If the lye concentration is weak (eg. 25% lye conc. - too much water) then trace will not come easily as the more water we use, the less "power" lye will have to saponify the oils being more diluted.

5) Additives that can affect trace such as ethereal oils, fragrances and clays. The first two ingredients can have a chemical composition that can spead up trace while clays can absorb some of the the recipe’s water making a more concentrated lye solution while mixing.

I hope I helped a little bit (with my bad English) to understand the reasons for the fast trace you are facing.

Nikos
 
I'll have to see what I can do ...... I'm pretty sure it *has* to do with something in the recipe. I started off soaping with a very basic recipe. When I thought my basic recipe was taking too long to harden, I changed the recipe.... I might just go back to my original recipe and start from scratch .....

It's not the recipe (other than too much beeswax), it's the method.
See ngian's post.

The thing about making soap is that there are many, many different ways to do it.
On the internet and on this forum everyone has a different method and recipe.
You just have to sift through all the advice and work out a method that suits you and it will get much easier.
 
Last edited:
Room temp I make a big batch of it and it sits on the shelf until I use it.
What oil temps do you use when soaping with lye at room temperature? I've been trying to match my lye and oil temps at about 110F, would prefer using room temperature lye.

Thanks in adv.
 
The danger is soaping too warm. If you soap too warm, you speed trace and can lose the opportunity to swirl. So, if your lye water temperature is room temperature, it is OK. Your oil temperature only needs to be warm enough to keep the solid oils from setting back up and giving you false trace, hence the 110 F recommended temperature. Your soap batter will be warmer than that strictly from the exothermic reaction between the oils and lye, and that is not under your control.
 
What oil temps do you use when soaping with lye at room temperature? I've been trying to match my lye and oil temps at about 110F, would prefer using room temperature lye.

Thanks in adv.

I don't do what Susie does but I don't use lard so that might make a difference.
I use 10% Coconut and 10% shea so only small amounts. I heat these two until they are clear. When I make another batch I will take the temp but it's not really important in my process.

I SB the hard oils with room temp soft oils and FO.
Then I add the room temp lye and SB them very gently between hand stirring until I just get emulsion. Then I divide or colour as needed.
 
O.K., Thanks to all who have responded !! I just wanted to update you on what I think was going on ....... I’m about 99% sure I was blending in the lye water when it was too hot. Since, I have done about 2 more batches. I waited longer for the lye to cool down, and it worked out pretty good. I also cut down the amount of beeswax. I guess I was just too impatient …. Thanks Again !!! Timm …..
 

Latest posts

Back
Top