My soap turned brown!

[Rigneylane]

Decided to make some shortening soap, and bought some (inexpensive!) shortening, the ingredients: SOYBEAN OIL, FULLY HYDROGENATED PALM OIL, PARTIALLY HYDROGENTATED PALM & SOYBEAN OILS, MONO & DIGLYCERIDES, TBHQ & CITRIC ACID. I have not used this particular shortening before, although I have used shortening in the past (but never had the soap turn brown.):sad: As soon as the lye was stirred in, the soap turned deep brown! Never seen this before!
The recipe included 76-CO, PKO, Shortening, beeswax, and olive oil. The only new ingredient was the shortening-all the rest of the ingredients were from partial stocks used with good results.
Is the palm oil the culprit?? Any ideas or similar experiences?

 

[jblaney]

Did you use any fragrance in your soap? That's what usually turns soap dark brown.

 

[cmzaha]

As Blaney mentioned, any fo with vanilla will turn brown. Anywhere from light brown to dark chestnut brown and vanilla stabilizers (VS) only work for a while and the soap will turn after a few months. So don't waste money on expensive VS.
Another thought, what did you use for liquid?

 

[Seawolfe]

I once used a tea tree oil that wasn't a pure EO and it turned my batch brown too.

Was that shortening on the lye calculator? What calculator did you use?

 

[dixiedragon]

I don't think it's the FO - vanilla FOs don't turn instantly brown. What did you use for a mold?

 

[newbie]

With many oils, and palm is one, when you add the lye water and start to blend, the mixture will turn a golden brown color. It won't be a deep brown like chocolate or coffee, but a medium golden brown, which is completely normal. Uncolored soap made with palm is generally off white once its saponified or it could be lightly beige/tan. It's the nature of the oils.

 

[cmzaha]

I agree Dixiedragon, but I have a couple of fo's that do turn dark as soon as they hit the lye. My DB will darken my batter as soon as I add it, but the bars them self take 2 days to actually darken. Botanicals, teas, and as mentioned some oils can turn brown. My pistachio butter will usually turn to a medium brown when I pour in the lye solution depending of course what else in in the pot

 

[Rigneylane]

Thanks for all the information and suggestions. The brown color happened before the addition of any fragrance oils. So perhaps it is the nature of that particular palm oil, as suggested.

 

[MorpheusPA]

How deep brown is deep brown? Pure palm may go a beige, which will lighten somewhat during cure.

I haven't used beeswax so can't say what that'll do, but honey will turn a deep caramel color as the lye is added. It lightens during cure by a great deal.

 

[Rigneylane]

This was a very deep, muddy brown. The soap went through a normal trace and heating phase, and now after 3 days in the mold, (wood, lined with seran wrap) it is a dark, muddy tan color, but is solid. Come to think of it, the beeswax (used at 1.4%) came off a brick I have been saving for awhile that I haven't used for soap before. I will have to use that wax in another batch with no shortening to see if perhaps it was the wax. Thanks for mentioning that!

 

[Rigneylane]

It was the beeswax!

 

[Obsidian]

My beeswax soaps always turn brown too. If I can prevent gel, they stay a nice creamy tan but stopping gel with beeswax is nearly impossible, at least for me.