My soap separated and blending it didn't help!

[helebo]

Hello, I'm new here! I've been making basic soaps for a few months, but recently have had a load of problems!

Yesterday I made this coconut oil/olive oil soap (20/80), with a green mica to colour it, and all was going well till I added the fragrance oil. The mix, which had reached a light trace, immediately went completely liquid, as though trace had never happened, and then completely separated. I tried blending it back into submission, as suggested on the sticky thread here.

Nothing worked. I decided just to set it aside till I could figure out what I could do. Any suggestions? I attach a picture so you can see the full horror of my monster soap

 

[kchaystack]

Where did you get the FO?

You can try to put in a crock pot and HP it.

 

[cmzaha]

At this point you need to dump it all in a crock pot and cook it. The fo caused it to rice and seperate. If I have a batch rice and seperate I sb it to try to get it straightened out, if that does not work I put a lid on the bucket and walk away. In 15 min I start checking and sb again and see if it comes together, if not the lid goes back on. Your soap will go into saponification in the bucket, temp is a good indicator that saponification has started. Once I can get it to go together it is a really hurry up and get into the mold. It will start to harden as soon as the air hits it.

 

[galaxyMLP]

I second dumping it into the crock pot. That usually helps reclaim a separated soap.

I'm also curious where the FO came from.

 

[helebo]

FO was from a local supplier - supposed to be suitable for CP. I read a bit more and realised that you aren't supposed to blend in fragrance oils - do you think this could be the problem? I used a stick blender.

I've never done a HP before - I guess now is a good time to start! Thanks for such a quick reply.

 

[kchaystack]

FO was from a local supplier - supposed to be suitable for CP. I read a bit more and realised that you aren't supposed to blend in fragrance oils - do you think this could be the problem? I used a stick blender.

I've never done a HP before - I guess now is a good time to start! Thanks for such a quick reply.

I don't know why they said not to blend in an FO - I do it all the time. Heck if it is a FO I know really well I add it to my oils before my lye.

But yeah, it sounds like this FO is not really for CP. or at least not for your recipe.

 

[helebo]

The FO is from here: https://www.bigtreesupplies.com.au/

Really lovely scent, but I guess I will use it for other things now. Thanks again for all the advice. I will get out my crock pot and see what happens!

(this forum is great! I never expected to get such quick replies! thankyou thankyou!)

 

[dixiedragon]

That's quite a dramatic separation! Another weird ingredients?

 

[IrishLass]

Even if an FO is safe to use in soap, I've found that there are just some that are so ornery that they are much more suited to the HP method instead of CP (I've got a few of those types myself). I hate doing HP, but the few ornery FOs that I have on hand smell so good that they are HP-worthy to me.

RE; stick-blending the FOs. I'm able to stick-blend the majority of my FOs into my batter just fine, but there are a few I use that behave much better if they are hand-stirred instead.


IrishLass

 

[helebo]

That's quite a dramatic separation! Another weird ingredients?

I added a bit of apricot kernel oil, but really low, like 5%. The mica seemed to blend in nicely... actually that was weird, the mica was all shimmery in the oil, and then when I added the lye it clouded up and went all pastel like, which I expected because the supplier said this would happen, but then when I added the FO it went all dark and shimmery again. So weird. I wish I had taken pics of the process - such a big change in colour and consistency.

 

[Seawolfe]

Always approach a new FO (and some EO's) with suspicion.

 

[penelopejane]

The FO is from here: https://www.bigtreesupplies.com.au/

Really lovely scent, but I guess I will use it for other things now. Thanks again for all the advice. I will get out my crock pot and see what happens!

(this forum is great! I never expected to get such quick replies! thankyou thankyou!)

Big Tree is a reputable Australian Supplier who sells a lot of Natures Garden FOs. What was the FO?

You have to read the instructions and lots and lots of reviews before you but any FO if you want to get one that doesn't misbehave or discolour soap.

 

[helebo]

Big Tree is a reputable Australian Supplier who sells a lot of Natures Garden FOs. What was the FO?

You have to read the instructions and lots and lots of reviews before you but any FO if you want to get one that doesn't misbehave or discolour soap.

It was this one http://www.bigtreesupplies.com.au/fragrance-oil-jungle-crazy-type-p-700.html

As I am a beginner, I assumed it was a mistake I made, but I did do my best to follow instructions.

 

[penelopejane]

It was this one http://www.bigtreesupplies.com.au/fragrance-oil-jungle-crazy-type-p-700.html

As I am a beginner, I assumed it was a mistake I made, but I did do my best to follow instructions.

I don't think you did anything wrong. Especially if it was the FO.

There is this note on Big Tree about "Jungle Crazy" FO:

"As of June 2014 this fragrance is coming from a new source but smells identical to the previous version out of the bottle."

This makes me wonder if it has been tested in CP soap? They do say it accelerates but not sure if that was the old FO or this new one.

I can't find any reviews for Jungle Crazy on this soap making forum.

To choose a safe FO you have to act like a detective especially in Oz where the suppliers often don't say Nature's Garden - Jungle Love but they usually call it the same name and use the same description and the same photo. You then have to go to the original website and look for reviews. Then go to the spreadsheet on this forum to see if it has been reviewed:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...c7sNswuh-yaTdRf1M/edit?authkey=CMTEtswL#gid=4

It takes ages but it is worth it unless you are prepared to waste heaps of FOs and soap mixtures. I don't use anything that accelerates, rices or causes other problems but there are ways around some of these problems, sometimes.