I made my first batch of soleseife a little over a month ago. It’s curing nicely, but a white film has gradually formed over the bottoms of the bars. It doesn’t feel like the usual soda ash, it’s slippery and won’t come off using the usual methods. Besides which, I sprayed the bars (all in individual decorative molds) with alcohol 3 times within the first half hour after pouring, which usually prevents soda ash formation on my bars.
Also, there are some small squiggly marks in white on some of the bars. I don’t think they’re lye, but don’t know what else they could be. Any ideas? Undissolved salt? It looked to me like the salt was very well dissolved, but maybe I missed something. I dissolved the salt in the water, then added the lye.
Recipe was: 10 oz. coconut oil (50%), 6 oz. olive oil (30%), 2 oz. shea butter (10%), 2 oz. sweet almond oil (10%). I used 5.75 oz. of distilled water, 2.87 oz. lye, 1.15 oz. Celtic sea salt (20% of water weight). Superfat was 10%. Mixed at around 105-110 degrees.
The soap set up very nicely otherwise and I tried it out today – very nice slip and not drying. But I’d like to know what’s causing these surface issues so I can avoid them in the future.
Also, there are some small squiggly marks in white on some of the bars. I don’t think they’re lye, but don’t know what else they could be. Any ideas? Undissolved salt? It looked to me like the salt was very well dissolved, but maybe I missed something. I dissolved the salt in the water, then added the lye.
Recipe was: 10 oz. coconut oil (50%), 6 oz. olive oil (30%), 2 oz. shea butter (10%), 2 oz. sweet almond oil (10%). I used 5.75 oz. of distilled water, 2.87 oz. lye, 1.15 oz. Celtic sea salt (20% of water weight). Superfat was 10%. Mixed at around 105-110 degrees.
The soap set up very nicely otherwise and I tried it out today – very nice slip and not drying. But I’d like to know what’s causing these surface issues so I can avoid them in the future.