Troubleshoot this please?

[WomanInTheWoods]

Okay, last night I made two batches of soap. Two different recipes altogether, and they both have issues. :?


This is a small batch (40 oz) of plain ol' gm soap scented with BB's Soapy Clean fo added in at trace. What are the dark spots in there? I thought this one went really well! :x I am hoping this is just maybe some oils that need to finish saponifying... but I'm just guessing~ still a total noob here. Please tell me this is just aesthetic and is not an issue. I made this for a friend...

And this one is a pumpkin soap. I dissolved the lye in half the liquid (dist. water) and added the other half of the liquid in the form of pureed pumpkin in with the oils. I set spices (cinn., nutmeg, cloves) in warm olive oil for a bit more than 24 hrs, shaking here and there, and then forgot to add them in with the other olive oil :x so I added it in on top of the rest of the oil. It was only 2.3 extra oz oo in a 90 oz batch, so I'm hoping it's just a bit extra superfatted. (orig. sf @ 8%) There is also just under 1T ppo honey added at trace. No fo's.

So what are the spots in this one? Same as the other one? I just don't get it! I thought this one went well, too, until I got it in the mold and it started separating. I put it in a prewarmed oven, lightly covered, and kept an eye on it while I cleaned up. About an hour or two later (sorry, didn't look at the clock~ was late & I was cleaning up) I peeked at it and it was all really dark, so I assumed it was gelled and wanted to avoid overheating it, so I took it out of the oven and left it on the front porch overnight. It looked great when I brought it in this morning~ just like a pie filling! But when I cut it I saw these light spots & thought wth? :?

I don't want to make another batch until I figure out where I'm going wrong. Anyone???

 

[soapbuddy]

The first one looks like spots of caramelized milk. The second one looks like it overheated due to the milk's natural sugars.

 

[WomanInTheWoods]

So neither needs to be rebatched, right? I just need to work on my milk soap techniques?

 

[soapbuddy]

So neither needs to be rebatched, right? I just need to work on my milk soap techniques?

I would check for zap on the second one.

 

[WomanInTheWoods]

Ok~ I zap test all the batches before allowing them to go out, but I'll be extra careful on that one, thanks.

What would be the reason it would be more likely to zap, so I know what to avoid in the future?

 

[soapbuddy]

Ok~ I zap test all the batches before allowing them to go out, but I'll be extra careful on that one, thanks.

What would be the reason it would be more likely to zap, so I know what to avoid in the future?

You allowed them to go out to testers or are you selling these? Properly formulated and correctly weighted recipe should have no zap or milk spots, unless they are from herbs or spices.

 

[WomanInTheWoods]

No~ I just have a big family with a lot of grabby hands! lol

I'd like to sell (very small scale) eventually, but not until I am confident in my knowledge & ability.

ETA: I did grab a bit of the scraps from cutting the bars, lather up & touched my tongue to the suds. No zap. I will test again to be sure before letting anyone have at these. Thanks again.

 

[soapbuddy]

No~ I just have a big family with a lot of grabby hands! lol

I'd like to sell (very small scale) eventually, but not until I am confident in my knowledge & ability.

Oh good! You had me a little worried.

 

[WomanInTheWoods]

So, to avoid the light spots in the pumpkin soap in the future, I need to NOT insulate/put the mold in the oven, correct?

I want to make a banana soap with a sugar cookie scent (the kids have been excited about that idea). I need to know where to tweak what I'm doing. Leaving the mold uninsulated on the counter, will it still gel? I assume so with the natural sugars in the banana, and I would probably add in some honey, too, so I would think I'd get a gel.... I just usually put the soap away and go to bed, not stay up and babysit it. One of the downsides of night soaping, I guess.

 

[busymakinsoap!]

You could try lower the amount of Honey you use too. 1 TB per pound seems like a lot to me. I use 2 tsp per kg (nearly 2 pounds). Too much honey and your soap will def overheat.

It kind of looks like it chrystalised, so make sure you mix the honey into your batch well. I warm it and add it either to a little bit of water or milk.

The first one also looks a bit like FO that hasn't been mixed properly?

Both should be fine to use if they don't zap, but in my experience the 'over-honied' batches are not the nicest to use.