first batch/soda ash?

[davidsoaps]

My first batch. I just took it out of the mold and cut it. There is obviously soda ash but it seems to be deeper than just on the surface. Is there a way to avoid this?

David

 

[Lynnz]

Congrats on your first batch of soap.................the ashing is harmless I have had ashing so bad corners of my soap have just crumbled away. For me personally I get the best results by allowing my soap to Gel after spraying with Isopropyl and covering. Did you fragrance your batch? I am convinced that there are some fragrances out there that somehow encourage ashing no matter what you do.

 

[davidsoaps]

Thanks for the response.. No fragrances. This was the basic soap recipe from soapmakingresource.com. olive, coconut, & palm. Also I used their acrylic soap mold which has a lid but it's not air tight.

 

[Lynnz]

Love those acrylic molds. Because the top of your soap is not textured you could always shave it off or some lightly steam. So cool that you have pics of your first batch sure wish I had taken photos of mine

 

[Cosmo]

Gelling and covering your soap so there is limited exposure to air definitely helps with the ash problem. Do you have a lid you can put on your mold while it's gelling? I always cover mine and haven't seen ash in a long time.

 

[American Valkyrie]

This is going against the general tone of "I Hate Ash," but I kind of like to work with mine. If I sculpt the tops of the soap a bit before setting them to gel, then after it's cooled I lightly rub the tops with a woven cloth like a cheesecloth, I get an antique finish. The high points of the sculpted top stay clear, while the crevices have the ash. But when I just can't have ash, I'll smooth the top down the best I can and press plastic wrap into the top. That gives me a nice flat surface to plane with a vegetable peeler.

 

[SueSoap]

I have started to spray all my soaps with isopropyl in order to avoid ash. It seems to be working.

 

[davidsoaps]

At what point should I spray with isopropyl? where does one get sprayable isopropyl?

 

[new12soap]

just buy alcohol at the drugstore and pour some in a small spray bottle. 70% is okay, 91% is better. walmart carries them. Spray as soon as you are finished getting the soap in the mold. make sure you kind of saturate the top, then cover and gel. the whole process of spraying alcohol on takes maybe an additional 30 seconds but it does help. covering as tightly as you can (while preserving any swirling on top) with plastic wrap to let as little air as possible get to the soap will help some too. kind of like putting plastic over pudding to prevent it getting that "skin" on it, just get good contact with as much of the surface as you can.

 

[Genny]

Someone recently posted on another forum that ash after the fact is easily removed with white vinegar. I haven't tried it yet though, but the other soaper swears by it.

 

[davidsoaps]

******UPDATE******


I just finished my second batch.. No Soda ash. I just covered with Syran Wrap (pressed down against the top of the soap). I did not spray
with alcohol. Hopfully no soda ash will occur during curing. This batch is 40% tallow, 20 castor,20 olive, 20 coconut. With lavender eo.

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[davidsoaps]

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