Graininess with Shea Butter in soap?

[shonnyisley]

The soap I made last night only had about 3% shea butter in it but there are these white specks all over the top of the soap. I havent cut it yet but it seems like it is through the soap. The only thing it remids me of is the graininess in shea. IDK what else it could be?

 

[Best Natural Soap]

Did you melt all the oils together before blending? Or, did you add the shea afterwards?
It sounds like it may have "crystallized" on you. It's similar to how chocolate acts when it's not tempered...

Can you post a pic?

The spots may not be shea...

 

[shonnyisley]

Here it goes...I also used Cocoa Butter. Melted my hard oils with a bit of castor and left my EVOO at RT then I poured the hot with the RT (which was about 85deg) just before adding the lye and beer to the batch. Then I CPOPd it.

 

[Best Natural Soap]

I've gotten those very same spots using hard oils like cocoa butter, mango butter and shea. I would suggest melting all the oils together, even though the OO is already liquid. This may help them to blend better.

I bet that when the hard melted ones were added to the RT ones, they recrystallized because of the difference in temperature.
I soap at RT with "regular" oils (CO, PO, OO, castor) but work around 109 F. when I work with the luxury butters.

 

[shonnyisley]

I've gotten those very same spots using hard oils like cocoa butter, mango butter and shea. I would suggest melting all the oils together, even though the OO is already liquid. This may help them to blend better.

I bet that when the hard melted ones were added to the RT ones, they recrystallized because of the difference in temperature.
I soap at RT with "regular" oils (CO, PO, OO, castor) but work around 109 F. when I work with the luxury butters.

Darnit! Does it affect the final soap? I dont have the capicity to heat ALL o of my oils when I work in large batch sizes....nor do I have time to work in small batch sizes with a 6 week old, and 2 other homeschooled kids at home! I dont mind the way it looks I just dont want the soap to be crappy!

 

[Best Natural Soap]

It won't be crappy. It'll be wonderful!! It just has spots.


did you zap (just in case)?
if that comes out ok, you're fine.

 

[shonnyisley]

It is lathering well already...if I can just get it out of the mold now!

 

[hieroglyph]

the texture on top is the shizzle
i bet it'll be great soap

 

[LadyM]

I've had this recently as well!!
I thought it was from bubbles from using the stick blender ..
since I just started using it.
Could it be bubbles?

 

[Deda]

It looks like stearic spots. Tiny unmelted spots of stearic acid, it happens mostly with palm and Shea, both high in stearic acid.

 

[shonnyisley]

Its not bubbles for sure...must be the stearic!

 

[honor435]

looks ok to me, can you warm your oils in a crock, thats what I do, for cp and hp, or nuke the oils and add together?

 

[shonnyisley]

looks ok to me, can you warm your oils in a crock, thats what I do, for cp and hp, or nuke the oils and add together?

not when I am working in 20lb batches...which is what I did herre.

 

[Best Natural Soap]

I got spots last night too... but they turned out to be bubbles, afterall!

Funny- they look identical until you slice the bars and can see the little hollow centers!!!

Thanks Deda, for the stearic explanation- I've gotten THOSE spots as well, and always wondered which oil was responsible. I use shea quite a bit, and without making single oil batches, it's hard to know which is causing the grief!!

Oh- the depth of experience and knowledge on this forum is SOOOOOOOOOOO helpful!!

Although making soap for years, I don't think mine have ever been as good as they've been since joining the forum! I'm trying new techniques and new ingredients- I have a new spirit of adventure and don't mind the boggled batches, because I'm getting to branch out into new directions.

 

[ChrissyB]

That's why everyone needs to post all their good bad and ugly batches, so we can all learn.

 

[BakingNana]

I wish I could learn to handle 20 lb. batches. What's your secret? On a batch that big, even if I start to pour at really light (just emulsified) trace, by the time I finish, it's gloppy. Amt of water doesn't matter; it's still gloppy at the end on any more than 6#. I suppose it's FO that does that for me.

I think your soap is cool, even with spots!

 

[shonnyisley]

I wish I could learn to handle 20 lb. batches. What's your secret? On a batch that big, even if I start to pour at really light (just emulsified) trace, by the time I finish, it's gloppy. Amt of water doesn't matter; it's still gloppy at the end on any more than 6#. I suppose it's FO that does that for me.

I think your soap is cool, even with spots!

When I am working in 20lb batches I pour into the molds 1/2 way up, then I fragrance and stir, then pour the rest of the batter on top and stir more. I usually do 6 fragrances at a time and some fragrances do accellerate trace or even make the batter lumpy!

 

[Deda]

I wish I could learn to handle 20 lb. batches. What's your secret? On a batch that big, even if I start to pour at really light (just emulsified) trace, by the time I finish, it's gloppy. Amt of water doesn't matter; it's still gloppy at the end on any more than 6#. I suppose it's FO that does that for me.

I think your soap is cool, even with spots!

When I am working in 20lb batches I pour into the molds 1/2 way up, then I fragrance and stir, then pour the rest of the batter on top and stir more. I usually do 6 fragrances at a time and some fragrances do accellerate trace or even make the batter lumpy!

Do you do 20# of the same fragrance? Or are you splitting the batch into multiple fragrances?

 

[shonnyisley]

I wish I could learn to handle 20 lb. batches. What's your secret? On a batch that big, even if I start to pour at really light (just emulsified) trace, by the time I finish, it's gloppy. Amt of water doesn't matter; it's still gloppy at the end on any more than 6#. I suppose it's FO that does that for me.

I think your soap is cool, even with spots!

When I am working in 20lb batches I pour into the molds 1/2 way up, then I fragrance and stir, then pour the rest of the batter on top and stir more. I usually do 6 fragrances at a time and some fragrances do accellerate trace or even make the batter lumpy!

Do you do 20# of the same fragrance? Or are you splitting the batch into multiple fragrances?

I split a 20# batch into 6 loafs with 6 different fragrances!

 

[carebear]

I got spots last night too... but they turned out to be bubbles, afterall!

It looked like bubbles to me.

So Natural, have you never had bubbles before in that many years of soaping? You seemed to have lived a charmed life - never had a batch that with bubbles, never had one that didn't gel, never had to deal with static & lye. You are one lucky soaper.