Instant Seize

[ariella42]

As a reward to myself for studying really hard for the bar all morning (in theory, at least), I decided to try another batch of CP soap this afternoon. My first batch behaved very well, though it was a salt bar and I didn't cut it soon enough. I made a regular bar this time with different oils. As I poured my lye/milk solution into the oils, though, it instantly seized. As soon as the solution hit the oils, the oil it first came in contact with became globs. I was able to stick blend it and get everything smooth and integrated, but my dreams of swirling were gone.

I think the soap itself will be fine, but I want to know what went wrong. I've made several batches of HP soap, and I haven't had the same reaction before. I hadn't even added the fragrance oil or colorant yet, so I know those were the culprits. Could having too large of a difference between the temperatures of the lye/milk solution and the oils cause such a reaction? The milk had been sitting in an ice bath longer than usual, though I did wait for the oils to cool down a good bit. Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[Susie]

Although I will need to see your recipe and know the temperatures to be sure, I would initially guess that your lye mixture was too cool and set your solid oils back up. Especially in light of the fact that you were able to stick blend it. When someone says "seize", they usually mean "soap-on-a-stick". Meaning that the soap is bar hard and the stickblender needs to have the soap broken off of it because there is no way to turn it on and fling the soap off.

Next time, try to be sure your lye mixture is closer to your oil temperature. I am having more trouble with temperatures now that it is winter, also, so don't feel bad.

 

[ariella42]

That makes sense. I'll take the lye solution out of the ice bath sooner next time and let the oils cool more to see if that helps. And thank you for clarifying the actual definition of seize for me.