Why did my soap still get a partial gel?

[Sandraruba]

Hi Guys,

I am new to this forum and new to soap making. Started about a month ago and I must say it is quite addictive.

I have read many online articles and this forum on the gelling phase of the soap. I also saw a few youtube video's on it. But I still have a question.

Last week I made an almond butter soap and I made some decorations on top. So in order to keep my decorations I put my soap in the freezer and after 24 hours I took it out of the mold I put it in the fridge for another 24 hours, after that I took it out and when it reached room temperature I cut it. It turned out perfect.

So last sunday I made an cucumber soap with fresh mint leaves. I made a cucumber soap like this before and I let it gel, which burned the mint leaves, so there are black specks in that soap. To avoid that this time I put the soap in the freezer sunday. I took it out of the mold after 24 hours (monday afternoon) but left it in the freezer and on tuesday I moved it to the fridge. This morning I cut it and to my huge surprise there was still a partial gel.

I left it out the entire day and when I just checked there is a huge darkened partial gel circle in my soap. I am so bummed out by this.

How is it possible that it still reaches a partial trace in the freezer? And why did it happen to this one and not the almond butter soap?

 

[lemontongue]

Use a thermometer and soap at cooler temperatures - the soap might have gelled before it got a chance to get cold

 

[Sandraruba]

I do use a thermometer and I soaped this around 50 degrees (Celsius). Should I go down to 40 degrees or even less?

 

[DeeAnna]

50 deg C is 122 deg F. If that is your batter temperature when you start to mix, that is very warm, Sandraruba. I normally soap in the range of 30 to 45 deg C (90 to 110 deg F).

 

[Sandraruba]

Okay, thanks, I'll try that.

Now that I think of it... the almond soap was colder when I soaped it.


Could that also be the reason why my soaps get really hot if I do let them through a gelphase? If I make any decorations or swirls on top of my soap and let them gel I loose everything and it flattens out.

 

[VanessaP]

Even if you did mix up your soap when it was cooler, if you added a fragrance, it could be that the fragrance is a heater, usually florals are the culprit of heating up. Honey is a known heat producer. Also, I'd like to point out that any botanical such as tea leaves, flower petals, etc, that you put into soap will turn brown. The only exception is calendula petals.

 

[bodhi]

Without knowing your whole recipe i can only guess, but the fresh mint was probably the culprit. Try dried next time.

 

[DeeAnna]

Gel by its nature means the soap has gotten hot enough to change its phase from a soft solid into a gel (thick liquid). Gelled soap is very soft and this is the reason why your top decorations are flattening out.

If you do not want the soap to gel, start with cooler ingredients and keep the molded soap cool. Some people put their soap into the refrigerator or the freezer. Others just do not cover their soap -- they leave it out at room temperature.

 

[Sandraruba]

Thanks guys, this really helps. I'll get the mint of the plant and dry them to begin with and I'll work with cooler ingredients.

I must add that I live in the tropics so room temperature for me between 28 to 33 degrees Celcius (±80 F).

I can put the soap in an airconditioned room and see how that helps. And otherwise, the freezer/fridge it is.

Thanks, this means a lot to me. I was getting so frustrated that my soaps were always getting so hot.

 

[three_little_fishes]

I had a partial gel like that last week. Big gelled circle in the middle of a beautiful white bar. All of these are great ideas to try. It was also recommended that I put my mold in the freezer for a couple of hours before I make up the batch of soap and pour it into the mold.

 

[Sandraruba]

Gel by its nature means the soap has gotten hot enough to change its phase from a soft solid into a gel (thick liquid). Gelled soap is very soft and this is the reason why your top decorations are flattening out.

If you do not want the soap to gel, start with cooler ingredients and keep the molded soap cool. Some people put their soap into the refrigerator or the freezer. Others just do not cover their soap -- they leave it out at room temperature.

DeeAnna, I don't mind if my soaps gel, it means I can cut them faster, but I do mind them getting so extremely hot that I loose all decoration.

And then I see other soaps with beautiful toppings being cut after 24 hours and I ask myself why I can't do that? But you all gave me some great ideas which I will try this weekend.

 

[judymoody]

If you bring your soap to a heavier trace, any texture you have on top should survive gelling more or less intact.

Your mint probably turned brown not from the heat of gelling but from the reaction with the lye. If you want your herbs to retain their natural color, you could try the hot process method and add them after the lye has been neutralized.

As for the partial gel, I've had that happen to me as well in the refrigerator. Call it a power circle and embrace the partial gel! Also the line will fade as the soap cures.

 

[Sandraruba]

Update

Yesterday I made another soap. I cooled my mold, I let the oils and lye cool down to 35 degrees and I put the soap in an air conditioned room.

After three hours I checked and everything was fine (while normally it would be blazing hot). This morning I checked and I could see it was gelling, but my top decorations were still there. So it did not get extremely hot as it usually does. I increased the temperature of the air conditioning with a few degrees before I left the house.

I am really excited to see how it is when I get home this afternoon.

Thanks for all the good advice.