A crumbly mess--HELP!!!

[Guest]

You're right -- that was going to be a master piece -- very good funnel swirl.

I used the close-up magnifying glass and can see separation in the corners
of your mold. Wondering how much "stuff" separated out in the mold? In the mixing bowl?

The only other reason I can think is lack of water in the recipe.
You have a lot of coconut/pko/palm/shortening....that makes a recipe that needs plenty of water. Any soap that "fails" with a lot of those oils is crumbly.

You could re-batch and add extra water and see what happens. You'll lose
your beautiful funnel, but you could come up with some pretty aqua soap.

 

[Bnky]

The soap turned out just beautiful... it is such a shame it didn't work out, but maybe after it sits longer it will be usable. You mentioned guessing on the coconut oil, what did you mean by that (weight, ounces, type of oil)? I haven't used fragrance oils, but I know they can cause problems. What type of colorant is this? Is it for soap or candles? I know some of the stores sell both, so that may be something to look at also. It looks just great though, so definitely do it again!

 

[amanda131]

Thanks guys....

The coconut oil on the Soapcalc has two choices. 76 degree solid and maybe 96 degree?? Which ever, i don't know which mine is so I guessed. I will make a call today to the soap store I was at and find out. I live three hours away from Spokane Washington so when I found a soap store there I was pretty excited. I go there quite a bit. But here stuff is kinda "her" brand. Along with the coloring. I'm sure it's for soap, it's what she uses, but I don't know where she gets it from. I also got my FO from her. She offers classes and I'm thinking of going to the one next week. She clearly knows what she's doing. Here's her site so you can see why I thought I was getting good stuff!!!
I was like a kid in a candy store!! She doesn't sell her supplies online but you can see her soaps and what her "shop" looks like, it's basically one HUGE soaping room. It look like so much fun!!

www.greencastlesoap.com

 

[Milla]

Is there a chance you coud've weighed an oil or the lye incorrectly? Do you have an accurate digital scale?

 

[amanda131]

it's brand new. just bought it so use for soaping. Haven't had any trouble with it befor. (NOt to say I didn't do something dumb and just do it wrong. That I'll never know :cry: )

 

[gardengoat]

naaa the coconut oil would soap the same regardless of the degree. Would tend to think it may be lye heavy. The smaller the batch, the smaller margin of error you have...if you read a .3 as .8 it is going to make a much larger difference in the outcome in a smaller batch.

Most all of my 'what the heck happen' get chaulked up in one of two catagories....new fo or my dyslexia :wink:

It was beautiful in the mold

 

[Dixie]

I've had crumbly soap before. The first one I thought I would just rebatch it. It was crumbly after rebatch so I just let it sit because I hated to throw it away. I'm glad I did because it has been the hardes longest lasting bar I have ever had. IT is a great bar! Just took it a lot longer to cure.
I had another crumbly one a few weeks ago. I checked it yesterday and it is not as crumbly....so just let it set for 8 weeks (maybe more) but I think it will harden up for you.

 

[Bnky]

Gardengate is right, the type of coconut oil does not matter. When you put a question mark there I wondered if you weren't sure of the amount or if it could have been a different oil entirely. Based on the website of the shop you purchased your items at, it looks like they are making cold process soaps, so I would think the products would be fine. Maybe the soap was just not blended thoroughly (false trace) and poured too soon.

 

[amanda131]

Dixie---will it be ok to cut after that long??

Hey everyone I just thought of something....I tried putting the lye in an ice bath for the first time. It worked. Cooled it down, but it kind of got a film on the top. I stired it but do you think this could have caused part of the problem??

 

[amanda131]

Pouring too soon is a VERY good possibility. I was scared of it getting too think for the funnel. Maybe that's where I went wrong. It was BARLEY at trace but that's what the TUT at soapbar.com said. Maybe I was to literal.....this could be it.......So do you think If I just leave it be it will be ok??

 

[Dixie]

amanda I don't know. I very gently and very carefully cut all of mine up when I unmolded the soap. Use a guitar string or a cake leveler that has the wire. And do it very slowly.

 

[gardengoat]

It certainly won't hurt a thing to let it sit & see if the zap leaves. There is always rebatch if it stay lye heavy. And if it mellows can always sprinkle it into a different batch...or use as laundry soap.

I have a salt bar batch that I pushed the limit with the salt & it crumbled quite a bit when I cut. Am going to put the cumbles in a mud bar someday-lol.

 

[Guest]

it's brand new. just bought it so use for soaping. Haven't had any trouble with it befor. (NOt to say I didn't do something dumb and just do it wrong. That I'll never know :cry: )

Just a thought , did you check the scale to see if it was calibrated properly ? They do go out of calibration for a number of reasons , from bouncing around during shipping and handling etc ? I just weigh something I know the exact weight of to check it out . The calibration can get messed up and should be checked about every 6 months or so .

Kitn

 

[amanda131]

Ktin---I will look into this......Thanks..=)

 

[bbkimberly]

One thing is for sure, it's a beautifully poured soap! We all have these things happen and it must be the soap Gods playing games. :?

 

[Paula58]

If you show your recipe in weights including weight of the lye, it might help someone figure out what happened.

Since it is crumbly and does zap I think you probably can count this as a #$*&* batch.

 

[Saltysteele]

amanda, i've cooled mine in an ice bath in all 4 batches i've done, and no problems, so i don't think that's it.

although, i never had a film on the top of my lye mixture. that could just be from "extras" in your lye or water or both.

 

[rubato456]

is there a chance you mismeasured your water or left out an ingredient? i had that happen once, where when i was pouring the soap it didn't go up as high in the mold as it usually did, and i realized i either mismeausred or left something out, which would make it lye heavy. it crumbled worse than your soap did....i pitched it. and it was a lovely shade of pink too :cry:

 

[Saltysteele]

this may be a totally stupid question, but i've never used or seen them. are palm oil flakes dried? the reason i ask, is that if it is a dehydrated product, it is going to absorb some of the water in your lye solution, making your soap lye heavy.

again, just trying to brainstorm here, and I know NOTHING about palm oil flakes.

 

[amanda131]

good question. But I"ve been using them and havn't had a problem. I'm trying again! I've tweeked the recipe a bit, little less coconut a bit more PKF. The lye is cooling as we speak! Cross your fingers folks! The morning will be interesting!!!!!!