3rd Batch CP Turmeric and Tea Tree conditioning bar

[Techie Joe]

Made this two days ago, first time making cold process.
Its still tacky and quite dark in the middle, there is a lot of Olive oil in it, smells nice.

I started by warming up the jar of coconut oil in a low oven, and making the caustic soda solution
I put the coconut oil in a 1 liter measuring jug and added about 13 grams of turmeric, then blended
I added the Olive and Castor oils and blended again
I added the soda and blended on and off until medium trace
I added 10 ml of Tea Tree oil and blended until mixed
Then I poured the mixture into two beer can moulds and covered in cling film

Does anyone know why the center of the soap is dark?
Are other people's cold process soaps still tacky after 2 days?
Thanks

Constructive comments welcome.

 

[Techie Joe]

Does this dark pattern get better with time?
Is there anything I can do for this batch?

 

[lsg]

You have a lot of olive oil and a high percentage of Castor oil in your recipe. It may remain tacky for a while, but should be OK in several weeks. IMO, the middle is darker because your soap started to gel in the middle.

 

[Techie Joe]

Thanks for that
It expanded somewhat within the first 24 hours but didn't volcano out of the mould
I thought it was because my starting temperatures were too high? or too different?

 

[lsg]

Did you use aluminum beer cans for molds? If so, aluminum is a no, no, unless it is completely lined with freezer paper.

 

[Techie Joe]

Good point.
I did use aluminium cans, and they were completely lined with grease-proof paper.

There is a slight red colouration at the bottom circle of each can where I cut them, and obviously the paper was not covering the bottom round edge.
I cannot picture this having the effect of gelling the whole batch tho

I know about aluminium cans and caustic solution from my HHO research aswel, they must not be used as electrode plates because they dissolve over time.
Drinks cans have a very thin plastic lining on the inside, but I don't think its any match for lye.

 

[SaltedFig]

The reaction between your soap and the beer can would have generated heat, and produced gases that travelled upwards through your soap.

Your soap will contain byproducts that are not suitable for use on skin.

I would not use the soap.

*edited for clarity

 

[Techie Joe]

So there's nothing I can do, I just wait and give another picture in 6 weeks., but I feel that this batch is below "good enough".
Thanks for the info and feedback. I'll stick with the crisps tube until the loaf mould arrives from China.

Thanks for the edit Fig, thats quite critical information.
Do you reckon I should dump the batch if it doesn't clear up?

 

[CaraBou]

Are you saying that the whole bottom of your cans was uncovered, or just the junction of where the sides meet bottom? Can you show pictures of the contact areas of both the soap and the can?

Tumeric causes speckled soap when added directly to the batter. Your soap looks fully gelled or nearly so. To me it looks like the tumeric moved away from the sides of the can and left the outer area unspeckled. It's a pretty effect I think.

 

[Techie Joe]

Are you saying that the whole bottom of your cans was uncovered, or just the junction of where the sides meet bottom?

Can you show pictures of the contact areas of both the soap and the can?

Tumeric causes speckled soap when added directly to the batter. Your soap looks fully gelled or nearly so. To me it looks like the tumeric moved away from the sides of the can and left the outer area unspeckled. It's a pretty effect I think.

Great question. Its only exposed at the junction.
I had cut the tops and bottoms off the cans, and plugged the bottoms with gaffer tape, so there was a ring of exposed aluminium on the bottom edge. It seems to have left a circle of redness on the soap, as you can see in the picture.

The cans were lined with paper, both around the inside and with a paper disk on the bottoms (2 disks actually, one permanently stuck to the tape, and another to protect the soap).
I poked a tiny hole in the bottom of each taped end to allow air to enter as I pulled out the soap logs.

If the soap can be saved I can just trim those bottom edges with a veg peeler.
I don't mind a few speckles, I like character, and if you think its pretty then that's good enough for me.
(pictures as requested)

 

[penelopejane]

I find castor above 5% makes soft soap.

It shouldn’t “expand somewhat” within the first 24hrs.
That might have been a reaction to the aluminium.

 

[earlene]

I have seen that pink in soap when I used shortening that was packaged in an aluminum lined container. I was really quite alarmed by the pink because it had never happened to me before and I had not read about it as something to watch out for with vegetable shortenings. Since then, I only buy veg. shortening packaged in plactic containers, so never had to repeat that experience.

As for how dark your soap is, I wonder if it's the combination of heat, tea tree oil plus the turmeric. I have used turmeric in soap many times and it has always turned out yellow to yellowish-orange for me, depending on how much I used and how dark the oils were in the formula. Perhaps it will lighten up with cure, as some soaps do.

I made a 100% Castor Oil soap in August of 2015 and my notes say nothing about it being tacky on it's own. In fact, I wrote that it was hard fairly quickly and at 48 hours becoming translucent and more hard. At 8 months almost translucent even now it is still translucent and IMO hard. Early in it's life, it was a slimy bar to wash with, but now not slimy.

Someday, now that I am more experienced, I might repeat the single oil soap tests because I think my methods are more consistent. I might learn more from the experiment if I repeat it now than I did then.

 

[Techie Joe]

I find castor above 5% makes soft soap.

It shouldn’t “expand somewhat” within the first 24hrs.
That might have been a reaction to the aluminium.

I thought the expansion was due to the oils being warm when I started.
It was only a little bump, you can see the result in the two cracked "lids" in the very first picture on the left.
I thought that was the way things went, the hotter the oils at the beginning, the more expansion / volcano before gel ?

 

[dibbles]

I thought the expansion was due to the oils being warm when I started.
It was only a little bump, you can see the result in the two cracked "lids" in the very first picture on the left.
I thought that was the way things went, the hotter the oils at the beginning, the more expansion / volcano before gel ?

A crack would indicate overheating. You didn't say how hot your oils/lye solution were, but for CP I personally don't soap hotter than 120, and usually more like 95-100. I've never had a volcano with CP (knock wood) and only a few times have I had a small crack in 3 years (always due to a bothersome FO).

 

[Techie Joe]

A crack would indicate overheating. You didn't say how hot your oils/lye solution were, but for CP I personally don't soap hotter than 120, and usually more like 95-100. I've never had a volcano with CP (knock wood) and only a few times have I had a small crack in 3 years (always due to a bothersome FO).

I didn't take actual temperatures for some reason, I just wasn't heating things up unnecessarily, but I'm going to say...

The coconut had to be around 80 or 90 to melt (it says 76 but I didn't have all day) (a nice hot 26-32c)
By the time I mixed the Olive oil it was just warm
I made the lye a short while before but it was still quite hot, lets say 120 (~50c)
I know the final mix was hand warm to hot, lets say around 70 to 85 (21-30c)

Should I wait for everything to go cold next time?
I didn't want the coconut to harden.

 

[penelopejane]

Everyone soaps differently and uses different oils. Some don't take temperatures.

I find that with my recipe (OO and hard oils and butters) if I want a perfect soap everytime, without stearic spots or any other anomalies, that gels I have to take temps. I soap at 95-110*F once everything is mixed in. So my lye might be cooler but some of my oils will be warmer and it all mixes in to be 95-110*F. No hotter and no cooler. I get streaks with CO and butters if they are not warm enough.

You might not be as fussy as me with the final outcome of the soap and you might not have so many hard oils so it might not be so crucial to your soap.

A volcano only happens when something goes very badly wrong. I have never had one and don't wish to have one. You are not aiming for a volcano. Normal soap does not expand in the mold.

 

[dibbles]

It doesn’t seem that you were soaping too warm at all, but I don’t think a combined mix of 85 (30c) would feel hand warm to hot as you described. Like penelopejane said, normal CP doesn’t expand in the mold. You don’t want it to.

 

[SunRiseArts]

You can always use things that are better for mold, and are free. Take a wood drawer in your home that is not too big and lined it up. Or perhaps a cardboard shoe box. Many people use milk cartons. Better than aluminum cans.

Hope your silicone ones arrive soon!

 

[Techie Joe]

You can always use things that are better for mold, and are free. Take a wood drawer in your home that is not too big and lined it up. Or perhaps a cardboard shoe box. Many people use milk cartons. Better than aluminum cans.

Hope your silicone ones arrive soon!

Thanks
Milk cartons are just the right width so I will only fill them 2/3 to make nicely sized rectangles, I hate big square soap I've always found it too big and unwieldy.
I might buy a nice light narrow plank and make my own moulds, for convenience they would be as long as the grease-proof paper is wide.

 

[earlene]

Making molds to the size you want your soap to be is a really good idea. I have tried so many different things for molds that I rescued from the re-cycle bin. Some work great, some not so much. And of course, I used pre-made soap molds, which I first bought from other soapers who were de-stashing their supply. Then I started buying new ones. It all helped me learn what size soap I personally prefer, as well as finding out the size my husband prefers.

However, if you already know that, you are ahead of the game and don't have to experiment as much as I did. One of these days I am going to have to start getting rid of the molds I no longer use. But I'm not ready for that yet. We shall see.