Can someone tell me what is going on here?

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Hi! I have a couple identification questions for the experienced soapers here. I am a newbie so I am trying out various recipes to see how different oils, colors, etc work together. I made a 1lb loaf of a Bastille and a few things happened I was just wondering about. My recipe was (ran through Soap Calc) was:

Water - 4.9oz
Lye - 1.7oz
Castor Oil - .6oz
Olive Oil - 6.5oz (50%)
Shea Butter - .6oz
Coconut Oil (76 degrees) - 2.6oz
Palm Oil - 2.6 Oz
Tuberose FO - .5 oz
1 tsp Aqua Pearl Mica
1 tsp ground loofah
1 tsp sodium lactate
7% superfat

Technique applied - Celine Swirl (first time)

I was expecting a little trace acceleration as I had been told floral FO can accelerate. This did not happen. However, once I separated the batter so that I could color half of it, the non-colored half began to rice (the half with the mica mixed in never did). I stick blended till smooth and was able to do the swirl.

I did not insulate but it gelled anyway (I will be using the fridge or freezer after this as I prefer an ungelled look). And I noticed the top turned all wrinkly. See top photo. Was this because it got so hot, is this normal for Bastille soap? I also noticed that, after curing (see close up photo) there are white specks or streaks or something. Is that also from the temperature? I have noticed it in a couple other loaves I have made and was wondering if there is anything to do to stop that. Or perhaps it is just the ground loofah. I am more concerned with the wrinkles in the top. I have zap tested and I am not lye heavy.

Thanks in advance!

*Edit for spelling*

Bastile Wrinkled Top.jpg


Bastile Close Up.jpg


Bastile Cure.jpg
 
Last edited:
The fragrance oil is probably what made it overheat. If it doesn't zap it should be perfectly fine to use.

For what it's worth, that's not really a Bastille recipe. At least by my definition, Bastille is mostly OO, 80% or more. I don't think there is an agreed upon % but 50% is probably not high enough. That said, it looks like a nice recipe. I find Castille/Bastille to be slimy feeling.
 
Thank you both for your replies. I thought it might be overheating but wanted a confirmation. And thanks for threads up re:80% OO being a true Bastille. After this I will mostly likely stay away from high OO content. Thanks again!
 
Thank you both for your replies. I thought it might be overheating but wanted a confirmation. And thanks for threads up re:80% OO being a true Bastille. After this I will mostly likely stay away from high OO content. Thanks again!

I am curious - why would you avoid high OO? It is a very nice soaping oil, doesn't misbehave, and I typically use it at 40-50% of my recipe.
 
I just meant that as a new soaper, it would probably be best for me to stick with lower OO recipes as this was the first one that I had any issues with :) No insult to high OO recipes :)
 
Actually, higher OO recipes are great for beginners. It gives you much more time to work with where lower OO recipes can cause issues with quicker trace and much more over heating issues. As previously stated it was probably your FO that caused the overheating as there are many factors that play into soaping issues.
 

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