Cracked top

[Buckscent]

Whats causes this? Just checked it and the top is cracked. Goats milk, just made it a couple hours ago and put in fridge.

URL=http://s1374.photobucket.com/user/buckscent2003/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_3203_zpsevpsznwo.jpg.html]

[/URL]

 

[Buckscent]

After looking around I see internal heat causes this but it went right into the fridge. I didn't do this goats milk like I did my first one. It seemed to get hotter and had light brown chunks on the bottom when I stirred it. I poured into my 113 degree oil at 90 degrees which I know is to hot for goats milk. Maybe that's why it cracked.

 

[cmzaha]

It overheated. Your oils where much to hot for gm soap. I usually put my oil in the fridge to cool it down a little before making gm soap.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Also, a fridge can't always do it - you can also use the freezer. That said, I've even had some very hot soaps that were almost too hot for the freezer to keep cool

 

[Susie]

Also, a fridge can't always do it - you can also use the freezer. That said, I've even had some very hot soaps that were almost too hot for the freezer to keep cool

Me, too! My solution is to put it into a sink with water and ice that just comes up under the rim of the mold. That seems to be the fastest way to drop the temperature of a soap that is overheating.

With using FOs for the first time this year, I had to learn this to prevent volcanoes.

I now know to keep an eye on the soap very closely for the first 5-6 hours if I am using an unfamiliar scent. I keep one side of my sink with a couple of inches of cold water, then if I see liquid coming to the top of the mold or a "sand-like" texture appearing, I dump ice into it and get that mold in STAT. You will want to keep your gloved fingers ready to rescue the mold until you know how much water and ice to use.

 

[Kamahido]

If you didn't have such a nice swirl I would say you could probably fix that with a heat gun.

 

[lsg]

You might also try spritizing with alcohol and smoothing the top. I spritz and just use my finger to smooth the top.

 

[houseofwool]

Heat is the cause of the crack. But, once the soap is cut into bars it won't be noticeable. Seriously.

 

[doriettefarm]

What EO/FO did you use in this batch? Could have been one that heats up more than previous batches (spices & florals usually culprits). So that combined with warmer lye and oil solution probably pushed it over the edge.

I've had this happen even with non-milk soaps just because of the FO. Hopefully it's just a surface crack that you can either smoosh back together or just slice off the top when you unmold and cut. I had one batch that I swear looked like the Grand Canyon before I unmolded (that crack looked HUGE)! But once I cut the loaf it was only 1/4" deep in the worst spots so don't even think about rebatching just yet.

 

[penelopejane]

Other than the overheating the soap looks nice - lovely swirl.

 

[dixiedragon]

Gorgeous swirl! Hopefully the crack isn't deep. I think you'll be able to get some regular size bars and some mini bars out of it!

If it is still pretty soft, you could try pressing it back together.