Is there something wrong with my soap?

[clouser]

I just cut my latest batch into bars. This is my 7th batch of soap, and I haven't run into this yet. It's like the outer part went through gel phase, but the inner part didn't.

Any idea what's going on here? Here's the recipe I used:

45% Lard
25% CO
20% OO pomace
5% Castor Oil
5% Sweet Almond Oil

2% SF

I also used the Fierce FO from Bramble Berry, and I went with the recommended amount for "medium" scent.

This is the first time I've set the silicon mold on a heating pad and insulated it to encourage gel.

 

[artemis]

Looks to me like discoloration due to the FO. The bar will probably eventually turn the Color of the outer edge.

 

[Ashleigh]

I had that happen to me once, the inside never did turn the same colour as the outer edge, though it did darken and wasn't so noticeable. It kind of looked like the soap had a rind. It just gives it character!

 

[DeeAnna]

It's not partial gel. Artemis has the right of it. It's a "rind" due to something in the soap -- often the fragrance or colorant -- reacting with air or the loss of moisture and becoming darker. Usually the lighter portions of the soap darken to the rind color.

Partial gel always forms an oval to round pattern on the soap due to the way heat energy travels through the soap from the center outward. The pattern of partial gel will never be parallel to the sides of a rectangular or square bar.

 

[clouser]

Thanks everyone. I've had a few batches go through partial gel, so that's why this one perplexed me. It didn't LOOK like partial gel, but I'm still new to all of this, so I wasn't sure.

I've noticed that the whiter middle part of the bars have turned just slightly darker in just the three hours since I cut them, so I'm betting all the bars will eventually turn the same color as the rind like y'all have mentioned.