oozing soap

[corrine025]

Ok so I made a honey, goats milk and oatmeal soap the other day. The entire batch has milk and oatmeal but the honey is only in the bottom layer. I mixed the soap and everything was fine. Molded it and put a lid on and placed it outside so it wouldnt overheat. I live in indiana so its pretty cold outside right now. When the soap was brought back inside the next day I noticed some leakage from the bottom of the mold that looked like a soft salve. I was thinking what in the world is this?! Never seen anything like that before! I unmolded it and allowed it to sit for 2 days. The soap is fine to cut but it has these oozing pockets of that soft looking salve stuff. What is this and can the soap be saved?

 

[lionprincess00]

Have you zapped it yet? I'd take the tippy tiny sliver end of my finger, touch it to the edge, and lick. Rinse immediately. If it doesn't zap but has a retained flavor, it may help identify what it is. I'm thinking it separated?? Maybe? So my next question would be did you soap super cold and use fats and butters? Sometimes you reach a false looking trace, where it appears traced and thick, but the colder temps resolidified the fats or butters and they, in fact, weren't at trace.

 

[corrine025]

ok I stuck it to my tongue....no zap that I can tell. leaves a minimal taste. I soaped at around 120F. It seems fine. a little thick with the top part. the bottom part was still thin enough to pour. I just spooned in the top part. It was still fluid enough to spread around and such. It went immediately outside after molding. these "pockets" are in every bar but in different places throughout, they are VERY soft

 

[lionprincess00]

Well, all I can guess is some separation. I soap with freezer paper occasionally. I use one piece and fold the ends in such a way it creates the bottom end of a box so no leakage occurs. Inevitably there will be gelatinous looking goop, like yours, in the folds of the paper. It reminds me of clear jelly. my soaps don't have it, but the inside flaps of the paper do. I am really unsure. Mine doesn't zap either and the soap is fine. Because your did it in the center, I am at a loss. If the soap isn't zappy and the jelly isn't either, I'd save for personal use and rinse it after a couple weeks. But let it sit alone a couple weeks and see what happens (absorbs, stays, hardens etc). Hopefully someone here has a better explanation for it, because I'm very curious too!

 

[corrine025]

yes I hope someone can help lol! Ive never had this happen so Im at a loss here. Certainly dont want to sell anything dangerous. I will put it on the rack and see what happens.

 

[cmzaha]

You will have to rebatch it sorry to say. Did you happen to have lard in your recipe. I have had this happen with lard when the soap overheated and separated.
Have really not figured out the cause but I think the lard did not fully saponify, since it is a slow tracer and cooled to fast. Sorry I do not remember if it was an accelerating fo. Hate to tell you but it will not get better

 

[corrine025]

Ok well I will see what I can do about rebatching then. As long as it can be saved somewhow so at least I can use it

 

[cmzaha]

If you have some activated charcoal you could just make it into a charcoal bar if the color comes out to ugly. I honestly do not know what causes that to happen and have tried to reason it out, since it has happened to me on more than one occasion

 

[Seawolfe]

Wow Carolyn, that's a bit of genius right there for ugly colored HP or rebatch right there, charcoal soap always looks nice IMHO.