Partial Gelled Soap Irritating to skin?

[CountrySoaper]

Hey everyone!

So I have been making soap for years but I am still learning. My recipe that I created is awesome and Ive been using it for a few years. Lye calculator checks out at 5% superfat

My problem is partial gel in my soaps. Those pieces that have a partial gel are without a doubt harsher on the skin. To be honest not all parts of the skin but spicy when washing the bum lol. I am wondering why? I have researched gelled soap vs non gelled soap and it seems like its only an aesthetic issue.

Why are the bars with non gelled parts that are opaque on the outside of the mold harsh but the middle gelled bars are luxurious and perfect?

 

[TheGecko]

How soon are you using your soap?

 

[CountrySoaper]

I cure for 8 weeks and the bar I used that was partial gelled in my scrap pile was made last October so cured for 7 months

How soon are you using your soap?

I cure for 8 weeks and the bar I used that was partial gelled in my scrap pile was made last October so cured for 7 months

 

[TheGecko]

At 8 weeks, it shouldn't make any difference at all so maybe it is psychosomatic or a difference in your FO or process.

 

[DeeAnna]

Gelling is an indication of how warm a cold process soap becomes during saponification. The parts of the soap that do gel have gotten warmer than the parts that didn't gel.

Soap saponifies faster when it's warmer, which is why the typical cold process soap takes a day or three to completely saponify while a typical hot process soap needs only a few hours to fully saponify.

If you encourage a CP soap to gel, it saponifies faster, more like an HP soap. If you keep a CP soap cool so it doesn't gel, as some people do, the soap will take longer to fully saponfiy. The likelihood of a newly-made soap being harsh to the skin is highest for a CP soap that has not gotten warm enough to completely gel.

But after weeks of curing, no soap should have any residual alkali to irritate the skin if the soap has been made properly.

That said, some people have very sensitive skin on the face and "private" areas. If so, true lye-based soap can be irritating to these areas due to the alkaline (high pH) nature of soap. Many people find soap to burn a bit on any skin that's irritated or abraded, for the same reason.

I can't think of a strong reason why non-gelled but cured soap is more irritating to you than the same soap that's gone through gel and is also fully cured. The only thing that comes to my mind is the soap contains a fragrance or other additive that is affected by the temperature of the saponifying soap -- the additive that gets warmer becomes less irritating to your skin. The additive in the cooler parts of the soap remains irritating.

Since you have not shared anything about your soap other than your opinion about gel versus non-gel, I can't offer any more ideas about this issue. That's something you'll have to troubleshoot on your own.

 

[CountrySoaper]

Gelling is an indication of how warm a cold process soap becomes during saponification. The parts of the soap that do gel have gotten warmer than the parts that didn't gel.

Soap saponifies faster when it's warmer, which is why the typical cold process soap takes a day or three to completely saponify while a typical hot process soap needs only a few hours to fully saponify.

If you encourage a CP soap to gel, it saponifies faster, more like an HP soap. If you keep a CP soap cool so it doesn't gel, as some people do, the soap will take longer to fully saponfiy. The likelihood of a newly-made soap being harsh to the skin is highest for a CP soap that has not gotten warm enough to completely gel.

But after weeks of curing, no soap should have any residual alkali to irritate the skin if the soap has been made properly.

That said, some people have very sensitive skin on the face and "private" areas. If so, true lye-based soap can be irritating to these areas due to the alkaline (high pH) nature of soap. Many people find soap to burn a bit on any skin that's irritated or abraded, for the same reason.

I can't think of a strong reason why non-gelled but cured soap is more irritating to you than the same soap that's gone through gel and is also fully cured. The only thing that comes to my mind is the soap contains a fragrance or other additive that is affected by the temperature of the saponifying soap -- the additive that gets warmer becomes less irritating to your skin. The additive in the cooler parts of the soap remains irritating.

Since you have not shared anything about your soap other than your opinion about gel versus non-gel, I can't offer any more ideas about this issue. That's something you'll have to troubleshoot on your own.

I use essential oils in my soaps
Lemongrass Peppermint lavender

For oils I use
Olive oil
Coconut oil
Jojoba oil
Castor oil
Cocoa butter
Shea butter
Palm oil

For colors madder root, Charcoal, Cacao powder or no colors

 

[Zing]

It's the peppermint, Baby! It's known to be spicy as you say in all the parts. I get safe usage rates from eocalc.com. I use the high recommended rate for all essential oils -- except for peppermint which I use at the low or medium rate.

 

[AliOop]

Sounds like @DeeAnna and @Zing have nailed it. Some people enjoy the tingly or refreshing feel of peppermint, but for others, it can be very irritating, especially on more sensitive areas of the body. The gelled areas of your soap got hotter, which probably lessened the strength of the peppermint in that part of the soap.

Consider lowering the amount of peppermint EO, as well as adding supplemental heat to your soap to encourage full gel, and your problem may be solved.

 

[Shelley D]

I use essential oils in my soaps
Lemongrass Peppermint lavender

For oils I use
Olive oil
Coconut oil
Jojoba oil
Castor oil
Cocoa butter
Shea butter
Palm oil

For colors madder root, Charcoal, Cacao powder or no colors

Hello ~ I definitely agree it's the mint giving you the spicy feeling but I am curious, do you use all three of those flavors together (lemongrass, peppermint, lavender)? I ask because, from personal experience, lemongrass can be also be an irritant for someone who has sensitivity in issues and so combined with mint scents, can be an irritating combo. Which, for me, sucks because I LOVE lemongrass, but I have to use it in smaller doses, the same with mints, and especially when used together. *I also don't bother with EOs in soap because I can't seem to make the scents "stick", plus you lose most of the beneficial qualities during saponification so I use them in my body oil blends for use directly on my skin.

 

[DeeAnna]

I agree with the others that it's probably the EOs you used.

It would have been even more helpful to know how much of each EO you used, along with the amounts of the rest of the ingredients, because the concentrations of the EOs in the soap can also provide clues. But peppermint, other mints, and menthol are often irritating to the skin, especially delicate skin of the face and private parts.

In the future if you want the most effective advice, you need to provide the AMOUNTS of all ingredients all in weights -- don't mix percentages with weights. Only then can people do a decent job of troubleshooting rather than mostly guessing.