Is This DOS

[wyndham]

I have several batches of soaps that are exhibiting this off color splotches & unplesant smell. I am wondering if this occured because I did not heat and stir my palm oil when i spooned it out of my 7lb container or something else. This was a OO40%,COnut30% Palm20% Castor5% avocado5% with FO of cotton tree or seabreeze or teakwood at .3-.5 oz per lb.
This is showing up in several different batches that are at least 2 months or more old. The bars are hard and lather well but I feel I have made a newbi mistake. All the bars have a stale funky smell, not a pleasant scent hoped for

 

[Obsidian]

Sorry to say but yes, that is going rancid. I don't see anything in your recipe that should be a issue.
Not stirring your palm won't cause this. Check the expiration date on all your oils and smell them, old oils can make your soap go off sooner.

How and where are you curing/storing your soap? Are you using tap or distilled water?
Is the spoon you are using metal? Only stainless should be used for soaping. Otherwise stick to silicone.

 

[wyndham]

The room is an open shop with shelves to cure the soap. I put all my oils hard and soft about 900 grams in plastic bowls and microwave about1 min to liquefy the oils before adding lye, both oil and lye at around 100 deg or less when mixed.
Does the curing area need to be cool and shaded, as mine is not but not in sunlight either but temp is around 85 deg or so
My OO and coconut bought from wally world castor and palm from wholesale soap sites
Could the MW be the issue
Thanks for the reply

 

[shunt2011]

What are you storing your soaps on? 85 & humid may be a problem as well. May want to try putting a fan on them to keep the air circulated.

 

[Obsidian]

No, the microwave isn't the problem. I only use the microwave for melting oils, have for years with no issues.

I think this is more likely a storage issue. I agree with shunt, try circulating the air and make sure you aren't curing on metal racks.

If you have a cooler area to cure, you might try that.

 

[wyndham]

Yep going to work on both these issues right away,thanks

 

[DeeAnna]

You might want to give this a careful read -- Soapsmith' s DOS Experiment

 

[wyndham]

good read,thanks

 

[TheGecko]

Problem with buying your oils from the grocery store is that you don’t know how long it’s been since it was originally processed to when you bought it. And not all wholesale soap sites are reputable and/or you could have gotten a bad batch of oils. Check each of your oils.

I cure in my garage...it’s about 85F right now. I have a small, desk size fan that I run to circulate the air...originally bought for doing laundry, but good for soaping now. Soap sits on cookie sheets lined with freezer paper, there is a finger-width between each bar of soap; cookie sheets are on an open rack and I turn the sheets ever week.

 

[wyndham]

I have a followup question. Do any who have experienced DOS notice it more, the same or less with soaps made with titanium dioxide Or in soaps with a higher super fat or both.
Here's my thought: TO has 2 oxygen molecules(TiO2) and If there s extra oil that the lye does not bond with, could the extra oxygen bond with part of the super fat accelerated by the reaction of saponification to create a state where over time the reaction seeks out more free oil to combine with free oxygen'
This is just a wild unfounded idea that came to me because Titanium is a metal in its reduced state(without oxygen)

 

[shunt2011]

Never noticed a problem with TD specifically to be honest. A higher SF could certainly play into it. I don't SF over 5% except my Salt Soap at 18-20%.

 

[jcandleattic]

Do any who have experienced DOS notice it more, the same or less with soaps made with titanium dioxide

I do not find this to be true.
I have a relatively low sf so can't speak to that, however, the only time I've ever gotten DOS is when I put my soap on a metal rack to cure and that rack had a spot of rust on it.

I use TD quite often, actually in almost all of my soaps, and have not gotten DOS due to that.