It's getting hot in here...

[KudzuGoddess]

So, I am a baby soaper. I learned this past winter when my 100-year-old New Hampshire home was on average a crisp 60 to 65 degrees inside almost all the time. I have been happily mixing up cold process soap at an oil & Lye temp of 130 f, wrapping it up in blankets, and tucking it into bed on a shelf in the laundry room in the boiler/laundry room which is the toastiest room in the house. Now that summer has rolled around, my soap seems to have spring fever. EVERY batch that I have made over the past two months has cracked. Not just cracked, but risen in the middle and cracked down deep through the middle of the soap like it was threatening to make a volcano. I tried to combat this by soaping at a lower temp, both oils and lye are now around 100 to 115 f, but it's still happening, though not quite as bad. Am I on the right track? If I keep decreasing the temp, won't I get soda ash at some point? My recipe is 40% olive oil, 30% babassu oil, 20% shea butter, 10% castor oil, water at 1:1.5. Thanks in advance for the guidance!

 

[AliOop]

Are you still wrapping it and putting it in the boiler room? If so, knock it off.

Seriously, if your soap is still overheating, don’t insulate it, and put it in a cooler spot. You can also elevate it on some soup cans or wood blocks or the like. If it still overheats, then add a fan blowing on it to circulate and cool off the surrounding air

 

[cmzaha]

Soap cooler. If you get ash so what it is better than a volcano. I sold soap for over 10 yrs and never worried about ash.

 

[Relle]

Put it in the frig.

 

[KudzuGoddess]

This is great! Thanks all! I will continue to lower my temp to see if I can find a sweet spot and no more cuddled-up soap! The fridge is a great idea because I actually think my recipe looks better when it doesn't gel. Are there any pitfalls to putting soap in the fridge?

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Not a pitfall as such, but it will slow saponification down so it'll be caustic for longer. It can also impact your unmoulding and cutting times.

 

[Relle]

I put mine in the frig all the time, no pitfalls that I see. I put mine in overnight, I unmould the next day and cut after another. It all depends on how patient or impatient you are.

 

[earlene]

I think the most important thing to watch out for when you mix soap in a food environment, is to be absolutely positive no one in your household may accidentally think it is food and eat it.

The second thing that I have read & (I think I've seen photos) of are soap that volcanoed and spilled out over the mold and made a mess inside the refrigerator/freezer. That would be pretty messy to clean up and you certainly don't want caustic stuff spilling out onto your ice cubes or whatever.

 

[Ford]

I'm in NH also. My sweet spot is mid 90's. Usually 93,94. Oils. Lye solution room temperature/kinda. But not cold.
I would ask why this recipe is running so Hot. And how it could be cooled down. Maybe by adjusting your recipe also.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

water at 1:1.5

1:1.5 - is that a typo? This is just me, but with that combo of hard oils I would increase the water:lye ratio to 2:1 or more.

 

[KudzuGoddess]

That is interesting, would you increase the water to prevent the cracking or is there some other benefit? I was working with a much higher water content but was struggling a bit with it. As soon as I decreased the water it was smooth sailing until the ambient temp increased. It is also possible that I am writing that ratio incorrectly, I am using, I think, don't actually have my notes with me, 83 grams lye as dictated by the calc, and water at 124.

I'm in NH also. My sweet spot is mid 90's. Usually 93,94. Oils. Lye solution room temperature/kinda. But not cold.
I would ask why this recipe is running so Hot. And how it could be cooled down. Maybe by adjusting your recipe also.

This is great info Ford! I am going to try mid 90's and see how it goes! Thanks!

 

[ResolvableOwl]

The only soap I ever had cracking was made from 100% coconut oil (not too strong evidence though, since my batches are usually too small to develop cracks in the first place). Just suggesting the 30% babaçu could be too much of a good thing. 15–20% are enough for generous lather, and would less foster acceleration/overheating.

 

[AliOop]

It is also possible that I am writing that ratio incorrectly, I am using, I think, don't actually have my notes with me, 83 grams lye as dictated by the calc, and water at 124.

Point of clarification, typically this is stated as a water:lye ratio (with water listed first) instead of a lye:water ratio. But I'm with you... I personally like soaping at 1.5:1; for my recipes, it slows trace and reduces ash. When using cavity molds, I do have to force gel, but for loaf molds, insulation is all that is needed for the soap to gel. If you aren't wanting gel, definitely don't insulate.

So personally, I agree with those who said to soap cooler. A range of 90-95 should be more than warm enough. Then don't insulate, just cover with plastic wrap to reduce ash. The suggestion to reduce the babassu is another good one - it does get hot, and can make the soap fairly drying, as well. I'd take out 10% of your babassu and put in 5% castor, and 5% RBO or HO sunflower/safflower.