Insty-Trace Bastile...

[Todd_in_Minnesota]

Well.
THAT was a surprise.
I just made a bastile batch, and it traced in seconds... liquid to frozen-ice-cream in under a minute.

Here's what I made - maybe y'all can explain what happened?
as per SoapCalc:
10% castor oil (3 oz)
90% olive oil pomace (27 oz)
45% lye concentration (4.6 oz water, 3.8 oz lye).

mix at room temp, stick blend for about 10 seconds.
realize instant-trace is happening, quickly add my .5 oz of scent (Muguet essential oil).
desperately try to mix, watch it turn to a solid in the bowl.
carve out spoonfuls and try to hammer them down into the 3" PVC mold.

I could have just formed them into patties by hand. I'm pretty sure they're hard by now (10 minutes later).

Was it the 45% lye concentration?

Not-entirely-happy-with-the-day
Todd

 

[newbie]

I have never used pomace OO but people say it traces much faster than regular OO. The 10% castor doesn't seem the likely culprit although it can speed trace. It sounds like you had thickening before the fragrance so you can't blame that. My guess would be the pomace with low water (high lye conc) with an extra kick from the castor. My sympathies, truly!

 

[topofmurrayhill]

There's nothing about this batch that does NOT speed up trace, except maybe for the low temp.

 

[galaxyMLP]

It's all of the above. But I would blame mostly the pomace. Pomace OO traces very quickly compared to virgin or extra virgin. I've soaped with all 3 and my favorite is virgin olive as it is light in color, and slow with trace. The castor probably didn't help and with an already accelerating batch, neither did the water discount.

I would try that recipe again with virgin or extra virgin OO though. I soap my Castile soaps with 45% lye concentration.

 

[cmzaha]

^^^all of the above. Castor, pomace and high lye concentration all contribute to trace.

 

[Todd_in_Minnesota]

Thanks all for the analysis.
I guess my previous Bastile batches have just been lucky... this never happened before today.
I'll switch olive oils, and drop my lye concentration back down a bit.
Much appreciate the help!
Todd

 

[ngian]

I'll switch olive oils, and drop my lye concentration back down a bit.

Or you can use 28-30% lye concentration and use only a whisk.