Discolouration.....to white???

[MGM]

Been doing some 9oz oils sample batches to test FO and also so I don't have tooooo much of a subpar batch. Been using same recipe, masterbatching oils, then using either milk cartons or rectangular molds. Not wrapping, so who knows if things are gelling. Did 2 batches on Friday and 3 today.

Here's the thing...I've had plenty of experience and reading about FOs discolouring to tan/brown or certain micas going off or whatever.

But...has anyone ever had the discolouration go to WHITE? I've been trying to get a nice white bar, but keep forgetting that most oils are yellow, and the one time I used lard, the FO didn't discolour, but was orange-y enough on its own (what with it being orange EO....mmmmm yeah). In the photos, both soaps looked the same yellow of the big one (maybe a titch lighter) when I poured. Overnight, one got a little more yellow and the other went stark white! FO of the green & white is NDA Woodland Themes; in the other one, it's NDA's Sensual Amber. BTW, the mossy green in the big block one is Titanic Gold mica---very different from the colour it went in (maybe it was underwater on the Titanic for a while?).

Poured 3 more batches today....will update with any anomalies...

 

[shunt2011]

I have had soaps go much lighter/whiter after they gel on occasion. Not often but sometimes. I use a lot of light oils to begin with but add milks so they are usually a pale ivory.

 

[lenarenee]

Did I understand correctly - the white ones should be closer in color with the yellow/orange soap?

I don't know what to say. Once I used bb's kumquat fo with 3 shades of orange poured in layers. It must have partially gelled because the center of the soap reversed it's colors! The darkest orange turned white, the lightest orange turned dark! It stayed that way for a few weeks - then slowly became normal.

Who knows what's in store for your soap?!

 

[MGM]

Did I understand correctly - the white ones should be closer in color with the yellow/orange soap?

Yes exactly...the only difference between the yellow of the block soap and the white of the small soaps is two different FO used. And the batter was creamy vanilla pudding (pale yellow), so one went darker and then other went white. The white bars definitely didn't gel, as they were in individual moulds and unwrapped.

Magical about your kumquat soap! I'll keep an eye on this one to see what happens.....

 

[Obsidian]

Are these the lard recipe? I'm thinking your yellow soap discolored from FO while the white bars are just from the lard base.

I've occasionally had batter go yellow only to go back to the normal white after its set up.

Did you add anything besides oils and lye? I've also seen additives go dark only to lighten once saponified.

 

[MGM]

@Obsidian No, this isn't the lard recipe (see SoapCalc attached). No additives beyond the micas for colour (but of course, not in the white). I have used zinc oxide to whiten, but not in this batch. Photo is of batches 3 & 4....another very white soap (Mango-Papaya FO), but you can see how yellow the uncoloured parts of the brown soap are (that's a Vanilla Cream FO, so I expect some discolouration, but's not yet all that dark)--the brown parts are brown oxide and bronze mica. Batch #5 is still in the mould....will update....

 

[MGM]

BTW, the mossy green in the big block one is Titanic Gold mica---very different from the colour it went in (maybe it was underwater on the Titanic for a while?).

Update on colour: I made a mistake: it's the ORANGE that's Titanic Gold; the mossy sparkly green is TKB's Silver concentrate (which they don't seem to sell anymore. I got it on clearance). Just didn't want TG to get a bad name---appears to go more orange than green....