Soda ash issue

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Traumabrew

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I have had soda ash develop on my soap tops. I never had this issue before and I have not changed anything about technique. I always liberally spritz the tops of the soap with alcohol.

What can I do to fix this issue (the soaps have a highly textured top and I would have to cut the top off each soap)? Also, what else can I do to prevent this from happening. I thought I read some where that decreasing the water might help. Finally, are there some oils or ingredients that increases the risk of developing soda ash?
 
I have also experimented with beeswax.... Don't put in salt bars at 5% - you get useless paperweights! I have used in CP at 1-2% effectively. Before I started using I had ash on almost all of my soaps. The wax took care of it.

I have not tried on my vegan soap yet - but will with carnauba wax
 
To get rid of it once it has formed use a steam iron that has a shot of steam button and steam it until it disappears.

I spray with alcohol and cover the soap in the mold, heat it and keep it wrapped for 24hrs. If I don't do all of that I get ash.
 
I too spray with alcohol and then cover so the air can't get to it. The only time I get ash is when I uncover too soon and let the air hit it. Also, lower liquid use helps as well.
 
I think unless you can soap in a controlled environment where temp, humidity and other factors are always constant you may end up with ash sometimes. When I do get ashy soap and don't want to spoil the carefully swirled or piped top, I steam it. You can get a pretty inexpensive hand steamer on-line and it's great for cleaning and shining up your soaps - and steaming wrinkles out of bridesmaids dresses at the last minute.:)
 
My method after the ash has develop, and the soap is at least a week old, is to spray it with alcohol, and gently brush the ash off with a soft toothbrush. Works great.

Someone posted a very good video, can't recall who, but the title was "soda ash, looks promising" or something like that.

That one works for me well too, as long as I do not go water crazy.
 

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