Im doing something wrong

[JDOM]

My recipe is
Lard 50%
Co 25%
Oo 25%
SF 5%
33% Lye

The last 2 times I've made this recipe it has gone to a medium thick trace very quickly. The FO's I used were Black Raspberry Vanilla and Blood Orange (Natural Candle Supply Aus) which is added just before pouring.

I stop stick blending at emulsification, make colours and then add FO. By this stage it is too thick to do anything with other than dump into the moulds.

I have NOT been checking the temperature.

Is my problem likely to be soaping too cold or too hot? Or maybe too much temp variance in the temp of oils and lye?

TIA

 

[snappyllama]

That recipe should be a slow mover. Are you saying it is thick before you add in your FO or right afterwards?

If it's thick before, the only thing I can figure is that you are soaping scorching hot - causing the reaction to speed up.

If it is thick after, it's probably your FOs. Neither name sounds like a speedy one, but what do the reviews say for CP? It could be your colorants, I've had a certain mica behave fine until it hit one particular FO and then all heck broke loose.

 

[JDOM]

It is going thick after adding the FO. I will try one Ive used before without drama and see if the issue resolves.

 

[cmzaha]

Although lard can be a slow tracer, but soaped to cool it can false trace. Although I normally soap at room temp I do not with high lard. I melt my lard and any hard oils just to the point before it begins to smell piggy, add in anything other room temp soft oils and mix just to emulsion, then whisk in the fo. My BRV does not accelerate but not sure about yours

 

[lenarenee]

That recipe, taken to emulsion, soaping cold, should give you a good hour at least to do swirls.

Would you describe the Temps as comfortable or uncomfortable if you were to touch the oils?

It could be the fragrance. I've used many different black raspberry vanilla and never had an issue with the, but I'm in the US.

 

[mx5inpenn]

I use high lard and still have quick trace sometimes. It is usually from over mixing without realizing it if it isn't a FO for me. I always worry about false trace because I soap cool and take it to a light trace when only intending to go to emulsion.

 

[Susie]

I rather think it is the FOs misbehaving. One choice is to mix the FO in with the oils before your lye water, then don't plan on doing any fancy swirls or anything. The other choice is to use alternate FOs.

 

[lsg]

If you are soaping cool, the lard can cause faster tracing. It could also be your fragrance oil. Not much help, am I.

 

[cmzaha]

That recipe, taken to emulsion, soaping cold, should give you a good hour at least to do swirls.

Would you describe the Temps as comfortable or uncomfortable if you were to touch the oils?

It could be the fragrance. I've used many different black raspberry vanilla and never had an issue with the, but I'm in the US.

Trust me soaping lard cold can cause problems besides false trace. You can actually end up with a layer of un-saponified lard running through the soap of pockets of lard. Ask me how I know. Sometimes I am slow and it took me a couple of years to figure out it was the cool lard causing the problem. At least that is what I determined it to be since it has not happened since soaping lard much warmer.

 

[DeeAnna]

Another thought is the method you are using to mix your fragrance and color into the soap batter. I'm learning to stir with a whisk or spatula at first, and then pulse with the stick blender briefly -- I try to not whir away at it.

 

[dillsandwitch]

I use both of the fos regularly. I havent had any issues with acceleration on either of them. Even at 40% lye concentration.

 

[lenarenee]

Trust me soaping lard cold can cause problems besides false trace. You can actually end up with a layer of un-saponified lard running through the soap of pockets of lard. Ask me how I know. Sometimes I am slow and it took me a couple of years to figure out it was the cool lard causing the problem. At least that is what I determined it to be since it has not happened since soaping lard much warmer.

Well, I'll certainly look out for that but I haven't had any problems so far - thanks for the heads up.

Actually, recently I've been thinking about soaping about 10 degrees warmer because I find myself with too much swirl time on my hands. My last batch was still barely at medium trace even after ignoring it for 45 minutes, and I wanted pudding stage to pile on top of a loaf!