Dark spots, was it cocoa butter or rubbing alcohol?

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lunasol

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Hello all, this is only my 3rd time making cold process soap.
I made this on Sunday afternoon and unmolded 2 days later. After leaving them overnight in a cardboard box, they now look like this. Is there a problem with the receipe?
I also used a little bit of rubbing alcohol to remove my fingerprints. Maybe a stupid move, if anyone has any idea please let me know!

Recipe:

Avocado oil12.5% 2.5 oz
Cocoa butter15% 3 oz
Coconut oil10%10 oz
Olive oil62.5%12.5
Lye5% excess fat 2.66 oz
Water 6 oz
 

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Welcome, lunasol. I am certain it wasn't the rubbing alcohol. I spray it on & polish my bars of soap with it using a microfiber cloth and never get any mottling that I see there.

I also don't really think that mottling is caused by the cocoa butter, if I understand you correctly. You said it appeared later, after leaving them overnight. Which suggests it was not present when you cut the soap. That leads me to suspect ash formation.

If you can wash it off with water, alcohol or steam, then it's ash. Just try that on one bar and see what happens. Soda ash develops as NaOH reacts with carbon dioxide in the air. Complete saponification can sometimes take a few days depending on the soapmaking process, so this can happen with brand new soap. Incidentally, you should wear gloves when handling your soap for at least the first few days, as it can still be pretty harsh to your skin.
 
Thanks for the replies !
Welcome, lunasol. I am certain it wasn't the rubbing alcohol. I spray it on & polish my bars of soap with it using a microfiber cloth and never get any mottling that I see there.

I also don't really think that mottling is caused by the cocoa butter, if I understand you correctly. You said it appeared later, after leaving them overnight. Which suggests it was not present when you cut the soap. That leads me to suspect ash formation.

If you can wash it off with water, alcohol or steam, then it's ash. Just try that on one bar and see what happens. Soda ash develops as NaOH reacts with carbon dioxide in the air. Complete saponification can sometimes take a few days depending on the soapmaking process, so this can happen with brand new soap. Incidentally, you should wear gloves when handling your soap for at least the first few days, as it can still be pretty harsh to your skin.

Oops yes I will start using gloves when unmolding 😳
Can I steam/wash with water now? No need to wait until it cures?

Hi lunasol, did you use fragrance in that recipe?
Hi yes I used a vanilla fragrance 🤔
 
I'd wait until more cured, but you can test one right now if you want to know for sure.
I guess it was soda ash! I steamed it for a little bit and my poor soap started melting a little so I was able to remove a thin outer layer with a cotton+rubbing alcohol and the inside part didn't have the weird spotting. Hoping this small bar will dry soon, and I will steam the rest when they're fully cured. thanks!
 
Thanks for the replies !

Oops yes I will start using gloves when unmolding 😳
Can I steam/wash with water now? No need to wait until it cures?


Hi yes I used a vanilla fragrance 🤔

Interesting. When I looked up close at your picture, I didn't see anything that resembled ash - it looked more like the mottled discoloration you get from a fragrance that contains vanillin. Sometimes the discoloring happens in spots - like the soap I have right now that's slowing turning brown.
 
Interesting. When I looked up close at your picture, I didn't see anything that resembled ash - it looked more like the mottled discoloration you get from a fragrance that contains vanillin. Sometimes the discoloring happens in spots - like the soap I have right now that's slowing turning brown.

ahh I see, well it could've been the vanilla scent too then.. when I steamed it the spots just stood there, it was only when I rubbed off the outer layer that the bar looked smooth. I also read about stearic spots *shrug*
 
In case this helps, here's my soap as it discolors. The mottled brown will eventually become solid.
 

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