Cracking?

[MuddleDesigns]

My most recent soap has a crack in it! It was soaps at room temperature, went through a mild gel, the top was sprayed with alcohol after the dividers were put in. This crack appeared after about an hour after I made the soap. I've never had my soap crack before with this recipe! What happened, any ideas?

 

[cmzaha]

Overheating during gel. It is actually the beginning of a volcano, most likely cause from your fragrance if you soaped cool.

 

[Lin19687]

yup, you could rub that back in if it isn't too deep.
I got that one a batch that I left about 5 min too long wrapped. But mine was small and I could rub it back together a little

 

[soapmaker]

Yes, overheating. Use a gloved finger to rub it back together. Also, I don't know your recipe but less water might help.

 

[Lin19687]

Ohh sorry forgot to tell you to glove up !
Thanks @soapmaker

 

[penelopejane]

Not enough info to help, sorry.

 

[Lee242]

I always put my soap in the freezer for about an hr or more.

 

[cmzaha]

My most recent soap has a crack in it! It was soaps at room temperature, went through a mild gel, the top was sprayed with alcohol after the dividers were put in. This crack appeared after about an hour after I made the soap. I've never had my soap crack before with this recipe! What happened, any ideas? View attachment 30646

How much water did you use? Using the default in soap calc of 38% of water as percent of oil is a lye concentration of approx 25% or a water ratio of 3:1, many of us here use a lye concentration of 33% which is a water ratio of 2:1 or water as percent of oil approx 25%.

Higher water will create a faster hotter gel. Using a 33% lye concentration and my recipes I have to force most of my soaps to gel. Putting soap in the freezer will usually prevent gel but will leave you with a soap that is, many times, softer and has to stay in the mold longer before removing it from the mold.

 

[earlene]

Is that the same mold you usually use for that same recipe? If yes, then what else is different? Was it a different fragrance or other ingredient, like sugar-containing milk, honey, aloe, etc? Or was the environment where the soap sat warmer than previously? Did you soap warmer than usual? Did you insulate the mold (cover the top, for example)? These kinds of factors will affect how hot the soap batter becomes during the gel phase.

The potential volcano (the crack) appears to be, more or less, in the center of the mold, which indicates higher heat than around the outer edges. So it's fairly obvious that the batter over heated a bit. I find mushing it together as suggested works just fine for cosmetic surface repair.