Caution: Soap thicken by lavender FO/EO

[Calisoul]

I’ve had the worse luck with my soap lately. First, my most recent bar soaps had a thick sticky ash that wouldn’t go away. I ended up throwing it away because I thought it was unsafe.

Then a friend asked me for lavender soap. I dissolved 8 oz of my favorite glycerin soap paste. It took a little longer than expected. I omitted the SL I normally use to see if it made a difference. Unfortunately, the experiment failed because as soon as I added the lavender fragrance oil and a few drops of lavender essential oil the darn thing seized on me and turned into a thick cloudy chunky mess. I thought if I let it sit for a few days it would fix itself. NOPE! Now it is just a clear chunky mess.
I wish I read DeeAnna post about this issue before I added the lavender FO/EO. It would have saved me from this rant! Tests of LS made with Glycerin-Water vs Water-only lye solutions

Anywho, I think I’m going to warm the soap and another ounce or so of water to see if I can smooth things out. If there is another method, I’m all ears!

 

[AliOop]

Oh no, don't throw away ashy soap - it's perfectly safe to use, and the ash will eventually wash off with use (or you can plane it off).

I seem to remember @Zany_in_CO talking about using PS80 to add fragrance to LS, but I could be wrong. Zany, can you help here?

 

[Calisoul]

Thanks @AliOop. I was so frustrated and dismayed by the soap I wanted gone in case it wasn’t safe. I’m going to try the recipe again to see if was maker error or the recipe itself. Wish me luck!

I’m interested if P80 would solve this issue. Maybe I’ll set some aside and see what happens.

 

[AliOop]

Ash happens to all of us. It's a harmless reaction between the lye and the air. You can limit it somewhat by a combination of some or all of these:

using a lower water percentage
soaping a bit hotter
spraying the soap with RA right after pouring
covering the soap tightly after pouring
gelling, whether via CPOP, heating pads, etc.

But some soaps will ash no matter what you do. Any soap of mine with charcoal gets terrible ash, even when I do HP instead of CP.

You can also wait till the soap is cured, and then steam or wash off the ash. Or embrace it if it looks cool.

ETA: check out this post where there is a good discussion of different ways to add fragrance to LS. Post #11 by Zany mentions a few of them.

 

[cmzaha]

Ash is Sodium Carbonate or Washing Soda which is completely harmless.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I ended up throwing it away because I thought it was unsafe.

It does upset me to read one of our members threw a batch a soap away! Don't do that! LOL Not only is it a waste but it also cheats us more experienced soapers out of an opportunity to critique with a view to fixing the problem! Also, letting a problem soap sit for a few weeks to see what happens is often the best course. Soap has a way of doing its thing.

I seem to remember @Zany_in_CO talking about using PS80 to add fragrance to LS, but I could be wrong. Zany, can you help here?

I do use PS80 & PS20 to make FOs & EOs "water soluble". However, I've never experienced lavender EO thickening a batch. So I'm sorry, I can't help there.

Thanks for posting a link to DeeAnna's experiments with LS and EOs. Very interesting reading!