Is this Soda Ash?

[AnitaB]

Ok we made our 1st cp two weeks ago. Not knowing much then....But reading lots of post's from you more experience soapers I do think this has Soda Ash.

The outside of soap is very crumbly (cheesecake appearance) and middle of soap is a little darker but very firm as you can see from the picture

Is it possible to rebatch it? And how? Thanks for any help.

 

[Hazel]

That's more than just ash. Ash looks like a powdery substance which is just on the surface. This looks like it goes a little way into the soap. Did you zap test it?

You may be able to rebatch it. I'd suggest shredding it really fine and adding more oil. However, I'm not sure of how much oil to recommend. What was your recipe?

 

[Linedog]

WOW that's a lot of something, thats for sure. When I get ash it's like a light dusting of powdered sugar on top.

 

[newbie]

That's more than soda ash. Ash is just a surface issue. Can you post your recipe, as Hazel suggested?

 

[AnitaB]

I had a recipe and cut in 1/2, hubby ran in through the soap calculator. But I left it out on the back patio overnight (it was kind of cool that night) without insulating or covering it. So maybe that had a lot to do with it?

Recipe:
9 oz water
3.97 lye
7.92 coconut oil
12.54 shortening
7.92 olive oil
.76 fo

 

[AnitaB]

That's more than just ash. Ash looks like a powdery substance which is just on the surface. This looks like it goes a little way into the soap. Did you zap test it?

You may be able to rebatch it. I'd suggest shredding it really fine and adding more oil. However, I'm not sure of how much oil to recommend. What was your recipe?

Thanks, now I have a better idea what to look for, if I ever have soda ash.

Sure hope I can re-batch it.

 

[AnitaB]

Ok I posted the recpe and what I may have done wrong. Any suggestions?

 

[Ruthie]

I put your recipe thru SoapCalc and though I do not know what kind of shortening you were using, assuming it is something like WalMart's Great Value shortening (which is mostly beef tallow and some palm), nothing looks too far awry. And leaving it in a cool place should not do anything bad, as I almost always leave mine in the fridge for 1 to 2 days. So I do not know what happened, but I do not think it is your recipe or the cool. Is there any possibility of a mismeasure of some ingredient?

 

[Rachelmf]

Doesn't look like you had too much lye. Looks like at least part of the problem could be partial gel, though the experience I've had with partial gel and the pictures I've seen aren't crumbly like that.

As long as you measured everything correctly, you should be able to rebatch without adding anything except maybe a bit of water.

 

[mel z]

Honestly, the top looks lye heavy. Your recipe says it is not.

Wonder if dew got on it and caused a weird temperature and water reaction?

Have you zap tested it yet? Get a finger wet, rub it on the soap and stick it to your tongue. Or you could just stick your tongue to the soap, but I don't know if I would do that first. I would do the finger first. If it just tastes like soap and you feel nothing, it is not lye heavy. If it feels like you just got a little electric shock, like sticking your tongue on a 9v battery, it is lye heavy.

Here's a thread with explaining zap testing:

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/f11/zap-test-visual-guide-30690/

 

[Candybee]

That's an unusual recipe calculation. How many oz did you put in soapcalc? Your oils = 28.38oz. Not a full rounded amount like 28, 30, or even 32 oz. Unless you are doing a lye discount soapcalc shows your lye should be 4.07oz.

The first time I made an olive oil soap with shortening (the new Crisco) I got a soap with a horrendous amount of ash. It was close to 1/4 in places and I could slice off whole sections with a knife.

I have since learned to cover my soap as it saponifies for the first 12-24 hours if I want to minimize ash. Also, some FOs are more prone to ash as are some oils; e.g.; crisco/shortening, in my experience.

 

[AnitaB]

Candybee, hubby put the figures together in the calculator. He's usually very good about that because he cans olives from our trees just about every year. I don't know what you mean by lye discount. I've since then made another batch and it's very well insulated with some foam packing material from large tv panels, (hubby's a tv tech).


melz -yep done the zap test and it just tastes lke soap. Didn't see or notce any dew but it's possible of a re-action.

Rachelmf I'm thinkng seriously re-catching and adding a little water.

Ruthie - yep you guessed it right, from Wal Mart and I don't think I want to use that again especially if it's beef tallow. All the other oils are vegetable, and the tallow could very well be the problem. Haven't used palm and probably never will.

 

[pamielynn]

That's an unusual recipe calculation. How many oz did you put in soapcalc? Your oils = 28.38oz. Not a full rounded amount like 28, 30, or even 32 oz. Unless you are doing a lye discount soapcalc shows your lye should be 4.07oz.

This. Does your scale measure in increments that small?

If it's not lye heavy, I would venture a guess that the batch cooled down too quickly.

 

[Hazel]

Old Crisco wasn't meat based. Crisco has always been a vegetable shortening. The original Crisco was cottonseed and soybean.

Anita - Check your ingredients on the shortening to make sure you've entered the correct one into SoapCalc. On the other hand, it doesn't matter which one you used because the lye amount would be all right for either one.

I still think that's more than ash because it's really deep into the loaf and because you described it as crumbly. I've been thinking about it and I agree with pamielynn's comment that it cooled too quickly. I may be wrong but this is what I think happened - setting it outside uncovered basically brought the gel phase to a screeching halt. I can see the partial gel in the center of the bars. I think the outside just couldn't heat up enough to gel. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem but because it is crumbly I think it also experienced some separation. Does the outer edge soap feel a little oily when you rub it between your fingers?

This is just a suggestion but I'd shred and rebatch it. I use a double boiler, chop the soap into small pieces and then cover tightly to help keep the moisture so I don't have to add more water. Then I leave it cook for approximately an hour to 2 hours depending on the size of the batch. I check on it periodically until the soap turns "translucent" and then I uncover, stir really well and glob into a mold. If you don't have a double boiler, there are other ways to rebatch like using a crockpot or microwave.

You could also grate up one bar and try Lindy's microwave rebatch method to see how it will turn out.

When I rebatch I shred the soap with a cheese grater. I then put it into the microwave at 80% power and zap it for 90 seconds several times. After each zap I pull it out and stir it, then put it back in for another zap until it becomes liquid again. And believe me it will become liquid. Now if the soap was made at 35% lye concentration then I will mist water onto it, or add a bit of glycerine in order to get it smooth. This is also how I scent my solid shaving soaps. Once it's made I grate it and put it into pails so all I have to do is measure it out, add a titch of water and melt it. It becomes so smooth it's almost like a melt & pour. Once liquid I add my fragrances, zap one more time for 30 seconds and pour.

I don't hate rebatching any more....

 

[AnitaB]

Hazel- I think that's what happened is it just got too cold to quickly and couldn't finish gelling. It doesn't feel oily more on the dry side.

Candybee & Pamie - yes scales can do grams and ounces.

I'm going to attempt to re-batch it later. Anyway I'm getting ready to make a new post on my 2nd batch of cp so watch for them in a few minutes.

 

[AnitaB]

Our 2nd Batch of CP

We are much happier with this batch that hubby and & made on Sunday. The FO was Blackberry, Raspberries & Vanilla and I tried to do a blue swirl but I didn't scoop out enough soap to make it pop with the mica blue color. Anyway I hope you lke it.

One thing I did forget was to spray the top with alcohol. I used a yard sale knife to cut the soap and there are drag lines on it. But I don't know what the little pocks are unless it's from not spraying the top?

I bought a pre-made wooden box from the same yard sale, afterwards when the soap was un-molded the sides and bottom were black resembling a burn. Even though we lined it with freezer paper.

I am sorry but the FO is Black Raspberry & Vanilla, I stand corrected now. No Blackberries whatsoever.

 

[AnitaB]

Hi Hazel or someone who can move this posting "2nd Batch of CP" to a new topic? I am just so proud of this batch that I want to share it. Thank you so much!!! :razz:

 

[Candybee]

Well that looks lovely. I'll bet you are both happy and relieved. Making soap just takes a lot of research and lots and lots of practice.

 

[AnitaB]

Glad you like it, the smell is wonderful!

 

[AnitaB]

Ok we made our 1st cp two weeks ago. Not knowing much then....But reading lots of post's from you more experience soapers I do think this has Soda Ash.

The outside of soap is very crumbly (cheesecake appearance) and middle of soap is a little darker but very firm as you can see from the picture

Is it possible to rebatch it? And how? Thanks for any help.

Ok so if I re-batch and add 1/2 tsp of glycerin and a couple drops of vitamin e it should be ok?