Small issues with my soap

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"...as you wrote the lye concentration is still too low and a problem..."

Yes, you and I are thinking the same about that point. Here are two threads that explain why lye concentration or water:lye ratio will give more consistent and understandable results compared with "water as % of oils" --

For an introduction to using lye concentration rather than "water as % of oils", please see this thread:
http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=54095

...and read the full explanation of why you want to do this here:
http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=53642
 
Thank you all for your answers. Your posts are so valuable for me.

Here i am again!

I decided to make my first attempt using the "lye concentration" insead of the "water of oil %" and see how its going.

This is the recipe i made.

Total oil weight 470 g
Water as percent of oil weight 28.65 %
Super Fat/Discount 5 %
Lye Concentration 31.0000 %
Water : Lye Ratio2.2258:1
Water 0.297pounds 4.75 ounces 134.64g
Lye - NaOH 0.133 2. 13 60.49
Oils 1.036 16.58 470.00
Fragrance 0.038 0.61 17.39
Soap weight 1.505 24.07 682.51

The mixing oil and lye was made at 107 deg Fahrenheit.

The trace came easily in 1 minute and when i added the fragrance oil (cranberry 3in 1) the trace was accelerated too much... The mixture got too thick consistency to get on the silicone molds but i made it with some try...

Now its been 3 hours after the pour and underneath the plastic wrap there are some orange spots as you can see in the image... Any ideas???

DSC03079.jpg
 
I don't see a picture, but I'm guessing from hearing about similar situations that the orange parts are where your FO didn't get mixed in well enough.

Is the "cranberry 3 in 1" a fragrance oil specifically made for use in soap? Just wondering -- all I am seeing on Google is Avon products.

Some suggestions --
Start mixing your scent into the soap earlier (at emulsion or very light trace) if you want to add scent to the batter.
Stick blend a lot less and hand stir more, especially after the scent is in the soap batter.
Rather than adding scent at trace, you may want to mix the scent into your oils before you add the lye.
 
I'm not able to see your pic, but I'm on my phone so that could just be on my end.
Your fragrance oil- where did you get it? It sounds like your FO caused your soap to accelerate (get thick really quick).

Edit: DeeAnna beat me. I type slow.
 
After looking at your photo, it's still hard to say for sure, but I really do think the spots are where the fragrance is not mixed in well.

The soap might not be something you would want to give or sell to someone, but it will probably be fine for using after it cures.
 
After looking at your photo, it's still hard to say for sure, but I really do think the spots are where the fragrance is not mixed in well.

The soap might not be something you would want to give or sell to someone, but it will probably be fine for using after it cures.


Thanks for your answer! Today i unlmold the soaps. Their shape is fine but there are some orange areas and i am almost sure too that caused from the fragrance oil...

The soap has a wonderful cranberry smell...
Is there any guide on the forum with instructions on making soap with CP method avoiding any issues at the procedure?
 
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Thanks for your answer! Today i unlmold the soaps. Their shape is fine but there are some orange areas and i am almost sure too that caused from the fragrance oil...

The soap has a wonderful cranberry smell...
Is there any guide on the forum with instructions on making soap with CP method avoiding any issues at the procedure?

You might want to try adding your fragrance to the oils and blend them in prior to adding your lye mixture.

The only time I don't do this is when it's a really fast mover then I will add it just before pouring but mixing it well with a whisk only, no stick blender.

It has served me well doing it this way for years now.
 
As i said i prefer to mix lye and oils at 106-112 deg fahrenheit. I read somewhere on the forum that the mixing can be done on lower temperature such as 88 deg (for both oils and lye)...

But could this make the trace much faster to come than higher deg of temperature???

or will it give the opposite results?
 
"... Is there any guide on the forum with instructions on making soap with CP method avoiding any issues at the procedure? ..."

A part of learning how to make soap is learning what works best for you. Solutions that work best for one person do not work well for the next person. No book or guide can really help you make those decisions now that you have gotten past making your first few batches of soap.

Too much explanation too soon in a person's learning experience is usually confusing, frustrating, and discouraging. Once a person gets past the absolute beginner stage, sometimes the best way is to learn by doing -- try something, run into a problem, learn how to solve it, then go back to practicing.

For example, your issue of not getting the scent mixed in well enough is one of these "learn by doing" issues. Some people prefer to add their scent to the soap batter at a light trace, others prefer to add their scent to the oils before they add the lye. Which is the best? The best method is the one that works for that particular person. You are learning that if you add scent at trace, you need to add it sooner -- at a light trace or even earlier at emulsification. Or you can try to adding scent to the oils and see if that works better for you than adding at trace.

"...As i said i prefer to mix lye and oils at 106-112 deg fahrenheit. I read somewhere on the forum that the mixing can be done on lower temperature such as 88 deg (for both oils and lye)... But could this make the trace much faster to come than higher deg of temperature??? or will it give the opposite results?..."

The answer is "it depends." There are many variables that can affect how fast the trace happens, and this seems to be another lesson your are learning with these last two batches of soap. Lye concentration, oil and lye temperatures, the amount of stick blending, and the type of fragrance ... all these variables affect the time it takes for a recipe to come to trace.

In general, lower temperature = more time to trace. This usually works EXCEPT if you are using fats that are solid at room temperature such as palm oil, lard, tallow, shea, cocoa butter, etc. Then lower temperatures can cause these fats to solidify giving your soap batter the appearance of being at trace when it really is not (false trace.) So for THESE types of fats, it is better to soap at the temperatures you are using. Also the soap can get "stearic spots" if the batter is too cool to completely melt the fats. Again, this is more true to the solid fats and not so true for the liquid oils or coconut oil.

In general, lower lye concentration = more time to trace. This is good for fats that saponify quickly (coconut oil), but not so good for fats that saponify slowly (olive oil). So you have to know your recipe first to be able to make a good choice.

In general, a low to moderate amount of stick blending works best. What is "low to moderate"? It depends on your recipe and your ability to judge what your soap batter is doing. Beginners tend to use the stick blender too much, get to trace too fast, and wonder why their soap is hard to handle. But if they soap too cool, they can get a false trace, and pour the soap too soon into the mold rather than just waiting and gently mixing until saponification really gets going.
 
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