I'm being plagued by white blobs - again!

[itunu]

I apologise for ranting about white blobs yet again.

Recently I've been trying out room temperature CP - mainly because I'm too lazy to take temperatures and I figured that some people RT so I should give it a go. I've had problems with white stearic blobs in the past (not RT) but this seemed to go away once I decided never to use palm oil again.

My method for RTCP is to use the hot lye water to melt the lard/coconut, stir until its all melted and then add the liquid oils, stir slightly and then SB til emulsion. White blobs (i think stearic acid) appeared in my latest soap whilst I was stick blending to emulsion (this was BEFORE i added the fragrance oil). I've been trying to work out which ingredient caused the white blobs - my soap with lard (no coconut) was fine, and my soap with coconut (no lard) was fine so why when I add both coconut and lard do I get the blobs or is my method of soaping the cause but I used the same method for all three? or maybe I need to soap hotter (but I really want to do RTCP though). I'm puzzled.

My last 3 RT recipes are listed below and all have 7% castor oil and between 63-43% olive oil and vary as follows-

30% coconut, rest olive and castor - result: no white blobs
38% lard, rest olive and castor - result: no white blobs
my latest soap - 35% lard, 15% coconut oil, rest olive and castor - result: white blobs.

 

[Genny]

I'm not sure what's causing your blobs but just wanted to say that I use olive oil, coconut oil & castor oil in all my recipes and RTCP and never have white blobs.

Are you melting your coconut oil first?

 

[Kansas Farm Girl]

I almost always RTCP with rarely any white blobs. I SB my soft and hard oils together to try to soften the hard oils up a much a possible. I use lard or beef tallow and CO in most of my soaps. This is so much easier than melting the oils then letting them cool down to the right temp. I mix the oils together then stir up the lye water, as soon as it is clear pour it in the oil mix and SB to melt the oils and bring it to trace. The only time I had white spots was when I divided my batch up and put different colors/scents in each. The last one I got to was not mixed as well as the others and there were white patches where the color didn't get mixed in. At first I was upset, but the more I looked at it the more I liked them and didn't mind them at all. If I don't blend the oils together I worry that the lye water will cool off before it melts all the hard oils.

 

[itunu]

Thanks Genny and Kansas Farm Girl. The hot lye water completely melts the hard oils and then I add the liquid oils (Kansas Farm Girl - I don't wait for anything to cool - I'm unsure how to SB hard and liquid oils together before adding the hot lye water (as you have suggested) because the lard is solid and so won't mix with my SB).

Its confusing because the hot lye water completely melts the hard oils (coconut and lard) so the whole mixture (hard oils, lye and water) is liquid. Its only when I add the liquid cold oils to that mixture that the white blobs start to appear.

 

[Genny]

Are the white blobs still actually there when the soap is curing or is it just during the making of the soap?
Next time you make soap and "the blobs" show up, can you take a pic of it? I'd love to see if it's something I recognize.

 

[Seventeen Soaps]

Although I don't soap by this method I just thought I would mention something I noticed when using coconut cream in case it is similar to what is happening when you add the lye to the coconut oil. When I made a 100% coconut cream soap (never did it again for the reason I will mention), the fat in the water separated and saponified in the jug into blobs, I had to stick blend the lye solution after it cooled to be able to blend it into the melted oils... believe it or not the soap turned out fine but I think that was pure luck and lots of blankets making sure it gelled really well. Is it possible that when you are pouring the hot lye on the oils that it is causing the oil to do something similar to what the coconut cream did??

 

[Guest]

if this is happening when you add the cold oils, sounds to me like you have some of the room temp hard oils trying to solidify again before all the oils are fully incorporated. maybe add the cool oils much slower and sitck blend them in.

 

[kellistarr]

if this is happening when you add the cold oils, sounds to me like you have some of the room temp hard oils trying to solidify again before all the oils are fully incorporated. maybe add the cool oils much slower and sitck blend them in.

I agree with this. Try mixing the cool liquid oils with the hard oils and stick blending or mashing with a potato masher to break up the solids as much as possible, then add your lye water. I do this and have no problems.

 

[itunu]

Thanks everyone for your replies - really helpful. kellistarr/kansas farm girl - I will try your suggestion.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

I melt the hard oils first (in the microwave) and then add the soft oils to them and then add the lye to the oils and stick blend. Works beautifully every time. :wink:

 

[judymoody]

I melt the hard oils first (in the microwave) and then add the soft oils to them and then add the lye to the oils and stick blend. Works beautifully every time. :wink:

Me too.

 

[Lindy]

I always melt my hard oils and then just let them sit for a bit, then add my soft oils and lye..... I don't take temps

 

[itunu]

Thanks for your replies. It's useful to know the different methods we all have which work for us with room temperature soping.

Think I have to find one which works with the lard (which is probably the culprit of the white blobs due to its high stearic content). Due to your suggestions, I'm thinking when I added the cool liquid oils it cooled down the mixture rapidly so much that the lard started resolidying.

Think I'll try all of the RT methods you suggest - putting all oils together first then adding hot lye water and also melting hard oils only in the microwave and then adding the rest.