Not sure how to fix this hickup

[Piero]

Hello people,
I am wondering what happened exactly to the soap I made.
I am trying to understand what went wrong and what to avoid for next batches.
I tried googling it but not sure what exactly to look for or use as for wording
I found lye pockets, but I am not 100% sure this is the result of them, or is it?

I made this one to give to a few friends as a valentine's gift for their partners, but I do not feel ok with handing them this.
The second one below, if I touch the soap you can feel the bumps.

I am not sure what went wrong and looking for more experienced soap makers to enlighten me on this.
Thanks

 

[ResolvableOwl]

Wow, these are lovely soaps. I like the mini-micro mini drop swirl!

To address your question: I guess you are referring to this goosebump look? It looks like stearic spots and/or air bubbles to me. Neither is bad/dangerous, it's just a cosmetic issue.

Stearic spots form when the hard oils (palm oil, shea butter, tallow, soy wax …) have not been heated up enough, and carry over some of their crystalline structure into the soap batter. To remedy, make sure you heat up the hard oils to at least 60°C and stir well, until the melt is absolutely clear. Then you can add the soft oils, let it cool to your working temps, and go on.

Air bubbles get introduced when the stick-blender isn't burped well enough. Watch Lisa (YouTube: I dream in soap) for an example how to be paranoid about SB burping. Wire cutters are infamous for amplifying the visibility of air bubbles. Planing can help.

 

[Zing]

They are still lovely soaps there despite getting an unexpected result.

 

[Piero]

Wow, these are lovely soaps. I like the mini-micro mini drop swirl!

To address your question: I guess you are referring to this goosebump look? It looks like stearic spots and/or air bubbles to me. Neither is bad/dangerous, it's just a cosmetic issue.

Stearic spots form when the hard oils (palm oil, shea butter, tallow, soy wax …) have not been heated up enough, and carry over some of their crystalline structure into the soap batter. To remedy, make sure you heat up the hard oils to at least 60°C and stir well, until the melt is absolutely clear. Then you can add the soft oils, let it cool to your working temps, and go on.

Air bubbles get introduced when the stick-blender isn't burped well enough. Watch Lisa (YouTube: I dream in soap) for an example how to be paranoid about SB burping. Wire cutters are infamous for amplifying the visibility of air bubbles. Planing can help.

Thanks for the nice words about how the soap look
I think you are right, they are more stearic spots than air bubbles. I will cut my next batch with a knife and see how it comes

This weekend we will make some more soap and will for sure bring it to a higher degree to check out if it was that the issue. Learning by doing I guess
Thanks again for all the suggestions, really appreciate them.

 

[Ford]

Hi. Can't get that tear drop. Any more centered than that. In the second one. Having a hard time choosing a favorite.