false trace?

[aussie]

Hi all, I'm a newbie CP soaper on the east coast of Australia.
I'm wondering if there is a way to tell false trace from true trace as you are stirring, or as the soap is setting up.
I have just made my 6th batch, my 3rd batch with goats milk. My recipe was 50% olive oil, 15% castor, 15% coconut, 20% shea butter, with frozen fresh goats milk for the liquid.
I've made similar batches before (high olive oil with a mix of castor, coconut, and sweet almond) but haven't used shea butter before. Another difference was a slight liquid discount... the goats milk had lost about 5% mass due to drying in the freezer.
The mixture thickened up pretty quickly when I put the lye/goats milk mixture in, and it reached trace really quickly... around 5 minutes of on-again-off-again stick blending. Previously batches have taken me 15-20 minutes to get to trace.

So... did the shea butter and/or water discount speed trace up that much? Or have I been fooled, and the shea butter has started to resolidify?

Is there any way to tell while you are still stirring, or while the soap is setting, or do you have to wait til you cut it?
I can watch it pretty closely as I haven't wrapped it, don't want it to gel, cos I don't like the colour the milk goes.

 

[Sue Bear]

I have found that Shea butter can accelerate the time it takes for your soap to acheive trace. Not only Shea, but I have found that most butters in the higher percentage that you used, will cause soaps to set up pretty quickly. Let us know how they turn out and post us some pics.

 

[aussie]

Thanks for that, that makes me feel a bit more hopeful!
It seems to be setting fairly quickly... already quite firm, and no separation visible at this point (its uncovered in a shallow tray cos I don't want it to gel). It isn't getting as warm as my earlier batches but we also have cooler weather here now.
I guess I'll have to wait and see what it's like when I cut it... soaping is a real test to my patience!

 

[Relle]

I don't use shea in my gm, I made some this morning and mine gets to trace fairly quickly, usually about 5 mins, so I don't think the shea has brought it to trace quickly. I've never had false trace so can't help on that one, I do mine with frozen gm and this morning mine didn't seem to heat up either, it must be the weather. I've found all my GM sets fairly quick. Mine is now in the frig too, I made it at 9am so will pull it out tonight and let it sit uncovered to harden a little and see if I can unmould tomorrow,maybe Sunday. Let us know how you go.Where on the east coast are you ?

 

[Hazel]

I've had false trace and it started to separate within a few minutes of being poured into the mold. If your soap is solid, then it should be fine. However, I have had batches where I had soaped too cool and hadn't blended the soap enough. The soap looked fine except for the bottom layer. I could see a difference in texture. I pinched a little off the bottom and it was crumbly and a bit oily. I rebatched these loaves and the soap turned out fine.

Kathy Miller's troubleshooting info has been very helpful for me. Here's the link in case you haven't seen it. http://www.millersoap.com/trouble.html

 

[aussie]

Thank you everyone! I took it out of its tray this morning and cut a few pieces...

[attachment=0:1hv9jb98]goaty-oaty shea.jpg[/attachment:1hv9jb98]

It is still quite soft and a bit cakey. I guess with the olive oil it will take a while to harden, and I think the oatmeal makes the cut a bit less smooth too. Plus I used a big chunky kitchen knife so that won't help
Relle its interesting what you say about goats milk soaps setting more quickly, I haven't made enough batches to notice the difference! Is it something in the milk do you think, or are you using different oils for those soaps? I've done goats milk before but not with shea butter, I definitely noticed a difference in trace time (I'm thinking now it was true trace) and I think it might be hardening up slightly more quickly too.
I'm on the mid-north coast of NSW, nearest big-ish town is Coffs Harbour.

 

[judymoody]

Pretty soap! Reminds me of a nice oat bran scone.

 

[Relle]

I have no idea why the GM seems to set quicker, I've lost count of the batches I've made, but it still happens, I like it like that. Looks like you could have left your soap a couple more days before cutting, with the wet weather lately everything is sticky. I use the same oils in all my soaps. My sister lives just north of Coffs in Mullaway just off the highway.

 

[aussie]

Thanks Judy! I'm pretty happy with how they turned out too. I haven't ventured into colours and fragrances (partly cos they're expensive, partly cos my skin is so sensitive) so I'm glad these came out a pretty colour.
And yeah, I definitely could have left them in a bit longer, but I was worried and impatient and wanted to cut them to make sure they were ok inside. They are just for my own use so I'm not too worried about the fuzzy edges

 

[Hazel]

You can use spices to add some color to your soap. I posted some links to info about this on another topic. Just scroll down a little and you'll see the links.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=32139

 

[aussie]

Yeah thanks, I have used natural colourings before for other stuff... but even natural things can be skin irritants. Just trying to keep things as simple as possible at the moment!