I made a mistake today

[Bunnybum1122]

Hi,

Today, I crafted a batch of green clay and spirulina soap. After finishing, I placed the soap mold in the oven to enhance the gel phase at 70°C. However, when I checked it an hour later, I noticed a significant amount of oil on the surface. I suspect this might be due to inadvertently adding an extra 9g of castor oil to the oil mixture. I’d like your opinion on the recipe formula to confirm if it’s the case.

Here's the detailed recipe for a 400g batch:

- Coconut oil: 120g, 30%
- Olive oil: 120g, 30%
- Castor oil: 40g (actually used 49g), 10%
- Shea butter: 80g, 20%
- Almond oil: 40g, 10%

Essential Oils and Additives:
- Lemongrass EO: 9g
- Rosemary EO: 9g (actually used 11g)
- French grey clay: 2 tsp
- Kaolin clay: 3 tsp
- Spirulina: 1 tsp
- Dried jasmine

Lye Solution:
- Lye concentration: 30%
- Superfat: 5%
- Lye: 56g
- Distilled water: 131g

Temperatures:
- Lye solution: 50°C
- Oils: 56°C

Additional Note: I mixed the clays and spirulina with a small amount of water and inadvertently added an extra 2g of rosemary essential oil. These two mistakes may have also caused the issue.

Please help

 

[lsg]

You can always try to rebatch the soap in a slow cooker.

 

[DeeAnna]

"...I placed the soap mold in the oven to enhance the gel phase at 70°C. However, when I checked it an hour later, I noticed a significant amount of oil on the surface. I suspect this might be due to inadvertently adding an extra 9g of castor oil to the oil mixture..."

The extra castor is not the problem. It's the high temperatures you used.

The initial soap batter temperature started around 126F / 52C, which is quite warm for cold process (CP) soap making. My starting temperature for CP is usually around 95F / 35C.

Then you used the CPOP method to further heat the soap at 160F / 70C. I don't find CPOP is necessary to get my CP soap to gel, even though my ingredients are starting roughly 30F / 15C colder than yours.

Basically the soap batter started hot and got even hotter. The emulsion failed due to these high temperatures, so the fat and lye solution separated.

If you feel you must use CPOP, preheat the oven only to 140F / 60C. Then turn the oven off, and put the mold into the oven, and let the soap and oven cool naturally. But given the very warm temperature of your starting ingredients, I highly doubt CPOP was needed for this batch.

 

[akseattle]

@Bunnybum1122 , I can't address the details in the way that @DeeAnna was able. But, I agree that it probably wasn't your extra 9 grams of castor oil, bu the heat. I have gotten some small cracks in my soap once or twice. I looked up why soap cracks and generally, the literature etc. was in agreement that unless it was dry cracks due to excessive clay, it was cause by the outside or top getting cool while the inside was still heating up. The heat causes cracks as it tries to escape the cool top. It says sometimes, the cracks will close up on their own. Other times, if the cracks are too big, you can just smooth over them and close them with a gloved hand. The crack on yours looks pretty big, did it close up? if not, you can try to smooth it closed.

What I notice the most, and why what @DeeAnna says makes sense is because the texture on the top of your soap looks like the texture on the top of my soap I made this past weekend. Instead of being smooth and shiny, it was matte and rough. When I pulled the side of the mold away from my soap, there was an oily liquid. When I unmolded it, it had little pock marks on all sides (starting about half way up the soap) where it had contact with the mold.

Like you, I had put my soap in the oven. I wasn't really trying to force gel it, I read that putting it in the oven at 170 for 1/2 hour, then turn off oven, then leaving in there for a day would prevent soda ash. I'd gotten horrible soda ash when I had used palm oil without mica. My oven doesn't get any cooler than 170 (I have learned), but I thought that was an okay temperature. Well, it wasn't. When I went to turn off the oven, I peaked at my soap. There was smoke swirling all around like hot oil had dropped on the oven floor. I lifted the lid off the soap (I had put a pot over the soap to keep the heat in-- that what I read one should do.) My soap looked all puffed up and starting to flow over the sides, the white, blue and black design I had sculpted in the top was a grey mass.
I was sick. And I don't mean that in a good way the way millennials mean it. I usually peek at my soap constantly, but I couldn't even bring myself to look at it for 24 hours.

I don't know if you have cut your soap yet- yours has alot of excess oil- but on the inside- my soap was actually fine!!! So, let us know if you were able to pour off the excess oil, cut it, and found that it was just fine! I'm a beginner and I don't really know if my soaps have gelled or not. But, I'm definitely not going to do the oven trick anymore! Let us know how your adventure ended!

 

[Bunnybum1122]

Thanks @DeeAnna and @akseattle for your detailed feedback. I really appreciate it!

I’ve just made another batch without putting it into oven, and it looks fine so far!

Since I changed the essential oils from rosemary + lemongrass to ylang ylang + jasmine, I noticed the mixture was ricing. I checked online and found that it could have been the EOs that were too “harsh”…see the photo below.

Hopefully it turns out great

You can always try to rebatch the soap in a slow cooker.

Unfortunately I don’t have one at home but will probably need one in the future

 

[DeeAnna]

"...changed the essential oils from rosemary + lemongrass to ylang ylang + jasmine..."

I wouldn't say floral fragrances are "too harsh" (not quite sure what that means even), but they are known to cause acceleration and ricing.

 

[ScentimentallyYours]

I noticed the mixture was ricing.

Rather than ricing, is there any chance those little lumps are from shea butter that wasn’t warm enough when blended with other oils? When all oils were blended together, were they warm enough to be completely clear? ie no cloudiness?

I’ve had Shea butter pull itself back together in tiny lumps (don’t know the term) in the soap batter when it wasn’t warm enough. I started warming all of my solid oils together and heating them to 180° F. I use a stick blender when blending in the other oils, which brings the temperature down and seems to homogenize the oils. With shea I need to soap warm for the oils to stay clear with no cloudiness. With the oils homogenized and still at 120° F, I add the lye water at 1.5:1 (40% lye concentration). I am able to do some beautiful color blends and swirls at this temperature, and it kickstarts the gel process.

 

[cmzaha]

Jasmine and Ylang Ylang are both notorious for overheating, accelerating, and ricing. In other words, they are all notorious problem EO and Fragrance oils.
You can rebatch in the oven in a stainless steel pan, which is my preferred way to rebatch, or an old enamel Dutch oven. I say old because it will ruin your enamel Dutch oven for cooking food since after a few batches of soap it damages the finish. I purchased an enamel roaster at a second-hand store for melting down rebatch shreds. When I rebatched in the oven I did it at 200º F 93 ºC

 

[Bunnybum1122]

Rather than ricing, is there any chance those little lumps are from shea butter that wasn’t warm enough when blended with other oils? When all oils were blended together, were they warm enough to be completely clear? ie no cloudiness?

I’ve had Shea butter pull itself back together in tiny lumps (don’t know the term) in the soap batter when it wasn’t warm enough. I started warming all of my solid oils together and heating them to 180° F. I use a stick blender when blending in the other oils, which brings the temperature down and seems to homogenize the oils. With shea I need to soap warm for the oils to stay clear with no cloudiness. With the oils homogenized and still at 120° F, I add the lye water at 1.5:1 (40% lye concentration). I am able to do some beautiful color blends and swirls at this temperature, and it kickstarts the gel process.

I added the soft and hard oils together in a glass bowl and put it in the microwave, then heated it until the oils were completed melted. When I blended all oils and lye water together, they were around 38C and looked clear / fine to me.

It was quite obvious that after adding the EO & FO, the soap mixture started ricing.

Jasmine and Ylang Ylang are both notorious for overheating, accelerating, and ricing. In other words, they are all notorious problem EO and Fragrance oils.
You can rebatch in the oven in a stainless steel pan, which is my preferred way to rebatch, or an old enamel Dutch oven. I say old because it will ruin your enamel Dutch oven for cooking food since after a few batches of soap it damages the finish. I purchased an enamel roaster at a second-hand store for melting down rebatch shreds. When I rebatched in the oven I did it at 200º F 93 ºC

It sounds like a good idea to rebatch it in a stainless steel pan since I don’t have a slow cook. Thanks for the suggestion!

I’m totally new to HP, do I need to add anything during the process or after the soap batch is melted? Do I just reshape it?

 

[AliOop]

"...changed the essential oils from rosemary + lemongrass to ylang ylang + jasmine..."

I wouldn't say floral fragrances are "too harsh" (not quite sure what that means even), but they are known to cause acceleration and ricing.

I agree, and would also say that those EOs can be pricey... which means that lower-priced versions are often adulterated. That can also cause problems.

 

[Bunnybum1122]

I agree, and would also say that those EOs can be pricey... which means that lower-priced versions are often adulterated. That can also cause problems.

I live in France and I only go for well known suppliers with good google reviews. I wish I was accessible to Bramble Berry or other big suppliers so I don’t have to worry the quality.

 

[MelissaG]

I live in France and I only go for well known suppliers with good google reviews. I wish I was accessible to Bramble Berry or other big suppliers so I don’t have to worry the quality.

I'm willing to bet you have some of the best suppliers in the world right in France. I'm a bit envious.

 

[akseattle]

I'm good with the suppliers I have access to here in the U.S. (well, except I would like to have local fragrance suppliers so that I could walk in and smell the produce...).
But, I'm pretty envious of the amazing cheeses and breads you have there in France!