Vitormgib

Thank you all for the thoughtful replies and sharings!

Same! Besides what has been previously mentioned, what has almost eliminated ash for me has been the following: 1. Cut the soap as...

They're still pretty! I got ash one time. Now I pour, spray with alcohol, cover with plastic wrap, then cardboard. I gel with a pile...

I agree with AliOop. Gelling usually helps. Soaping a little warmer, and blending to a thicker trace can help too, but none of these are...

Possibly. The other thing that helps is gelling the soap. Some people use the oven for the CPOP method. I create an "oven" in my soap...

Thank you! It isn't zappy. The emulsion was thinner and cooler than usual. Besides having the emulsion thicker, if I leave the batter...

Yes, that's ash. I see that pattern often on many of my soaps; usually ones that were very fluid when I poured or are high in lard.

Did you zap-test the chalky areas? If they aren't zappy, then it probably is just soda ash. The fact that it showed up a few days after...

I've done the same recipe I've been doing for two years, but two different batches came out with a white layer on it's upper corners...

For me and my recipes (usually high in lard), lye concentrations around 39-40% actually slow down trace; 38% is a wobbler, and 34-37%...