Water marks

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Gravy

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This is my batch from the 24th. Its now 4 days old. I pulled it out of the mold after about 32 hours or so.. It looks like it has water marks on it. I was fairly exact with the recipe. Any ideas why it would do this and if it will go away?

The recipe is attached, but I basically followed the formulas on soapcalc.net.

20170528_114007.jpg


View attachment MoisturizingSoap_12x3.8oz.pdf
 
I like your phrase - "I was fairly exact with the recipe" ;)

Did you use full water in this recipe? I've had times where the gel looked weird and swirling - like you have - and I found reducing the water (as I became a more experienced soaper) seemed to end that. You can still have partial gel, but as the soap cures the effect diminishes and sometimes even disappears.
 
Yes, I used the full amount of water called for in the recipe. I measured all ingredients to the hundredth of an ounce.
 
It looks like both partial gel and soda ash to me, but the matte crumbly look makes me suspect there is a lye issue...? I always gel though, so others who prevent gel are better able to judge. Don't worry yet ;)
 
Gravy, if you used individual molds and didn't insulate sufficiently, that would explain the partial gel. And the edges being crumbly when taking out of silicone molds can be prevented by adding some salt or Sodium Lactate to your recipe. It'll help prevent the difficult unmolding from silicone molds. (If you used silicone.)

Sometimes soap starts out uneven like that, but over time will normalize. I've had soap come out of the mold with a 'rind' look around the outer edge of the soap, but it disappeared as the soap continued to cure. The final soap was uniform in color without the look of a rind around the edges.
 
It looks like both partial gel and soda ash to me, but the matte crumbly look makes me suspect there is a lye issue...? I always gel though, so others who prevent gel are better able to judge. Don't worry yet ;)

Yep- looks like partial gel and soda ash from where I'm sitting, too.

Re: the matte, crumbly look at the outer edges: I, for one do not suspect a lye issue. Whereas gelled soaps are typically firm /easy-to-handle with a shiny, slightly translucent look to them when unmolded and cut, their un-gelled counterparts are matte and opaque, and they take much longer to firm up enough to be able to unmold and handle and/or cut gracefully, especially if full water was used.

I typically gel all my soaps as a rule, but I always make enough batter to pour off into a cavity of an indy-type mold so that I can observe how my batch performs in an un-gelled state (my soap in indy molds never gel). All of my un-gelled soaps crumble at the edges and/or dent very easily when I try to unmold at the same time as I'm unmolding my gelled soap, even though it has set up by then, and even with the addition of sodium lactate. Their consistency is very much like cream cheese- it's solid enough to hold it's own shape, but easily dents when pressed.

What helps me to be able to unmold my un-gelled soaps gracefully without having them crumble or dent (and without having to wait 3 or more days) is to stick my mold into the freezer once the soap has set up, and leave it there until it's hard enough to be handled without damaging it. Most times I put it in there and just forget about it until the next day, which is plenty of time. When I take it out of the freezer, I flip the mold upside down and run it under a stream of lukewarm water from the faucet, and they pop out cleanly and easily with just a little applied pressure.


IrishLass :)
 
Yep- looks like partial gel and soda ash from where I'm sitting, too.


What helps me to be able to unmold my un-gelled soaps gracefully without having them crumble or dent (and without having to wait 3 or more days) is to stick my mold into the freezer once the soap has set up, and leave it there

IrishLass :)

i too unmold after freezing. I use plastic boxes which unmold beautifully after freezing. i can't seem to unmold without freezing...anyhow... i was wondering if you knew whether freezing cp soap could affect the scent of the essential oils.
Debs
 
i was wondering if you knew whether freezing cp soap could affect the scent of the essential oils.
Debs

I only soap with FO's, so I can't say for sure, but for what it's worth, freezing does not seem to have any affect on the scent strength of my FO's.


IrishLass :)
 
Hear, hear! What Irish Lass said.

And if you don't want to deal with a soft, powedery un-gelled soap, you can try doing a "CPOP after the fact" to firm up the soap. It works really well the times I've tried it. https://classicbells.com/soap/cpopAfterTheFact.html

Just wondering....how long after unmoulding and cutting can you leave a batch before CPOPping....

I am not sure I like the texture or look of the ungelled lavender swirl I made...so very different to the gelled soaps I've made previously but its been a week now.....
 
Regarding freezing your soap, how do you handle the condensation after you take it out? If it was in a log mold, do you cut it right then or wait for the soap to come to room temp and set some more?
 
Regarding freezing your soap, how do you handle the condensation after you take it out? If it was in a log mold, do you cut it right then or wait for the soap to come to room temp and set some more?
Hi. I put the uncut bar on a cake rack. I let it drip for 90 mins ish then cut with a soap cutter or knife. My soap is soft enough to cut ok. I tried to cut it earlier but it's too brittle and much later it's goo soft! I then place the rack with the individual soaps on over a tea towel for 8 hrs ish and turn regularly to dry before re homing them to cure. Hope this helps.
 
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