Soap fail - what went wrong??

[rdc1978]

My soap has these weird cracks and kinda crumbles in it. I'm not sure why because I think there are a few possible culprits.

1. Heat to force gel phase - Since I soap at a fairly low temperature, I normally put my mold on a cookie sheet, put a cardboard box over the mold and wrap it in an electric blanket with a second on top to force gel phase.

I recently bought a heating pad, and with this batch, I placed the loaf mold on the cookie sheet, put the heating pad under the cookie sheet and wrapped it in an electric blanket I put it up to high and turned it back on a few times after the 2 hour auto shutoff. Overkill?

So, is it possible this is the result of the soap overheating? I hadn't thought so because there isn't any cracking on top of the soap.

2. Sodium lactate - I try to stick to 1 teaspoon PPO, but is it possible that these problems are the result of too much sodium lactate?

3. Unmolding too early - I unmolded the loaf about a day after I had removed it from the heat. I cut it about a day after that. I used a regular knife and there are ugly marks that make me think I cut it too soon. This is confirmed by the fact that I recut some of the bars tonight and the soap is much smoother.

Could unmolding or cutting the soap too early cause the cracking?

Sorry, I know you all are used to looking at far prettier soap on this site. TYIA for any help.

 

[TheGecko]

Yes, overheating your soap can result in cracking, so can your recipe. Next time, just let the heating pad do it’s 2-hour thing and leave it. Your Sodium Lactate usage is standard usage.

Soap should feel like a good loaf of medium cheddar cheese. If your soap was too soft when you cut it and struggle to get the soap off the blade, you could have pulled too hard on it. If you have a greater percentage of soft oils, you may have to leave your soap in the mold a little longer or wait a little longer to cut it. I live in the Pacific Northwest and it is damp and chilly during the winter. I soap in my kitchen and CPOP my regular soap, but then it all goes out to the garage. I generally give my soap three days in the mold and another three days before cutting.

 

[rdc1978]

Yes, overheating your soap can result in cracking, so can your recipe. Next time, just let the heating pad do it’s 2-hour thing and leave it. Your Sodium Lactate usage is standard usage.

Soap should feel like a good loaf of medium cheddar cheese. If your soap was too soft when you cut it and struggle to get the soap off the blade, you could have pulled too hard on it. If you have a greater percentage of soft oils, you may have to leave your soap in the mold a little longer or wait a little longer to cut it. I live in the Pacific Northwest and it is damp and chilly during the winter. I soap in my kitchen and CPOP my regular soap, but then it all goes out to the garage. I generally give my soap three days in the mold and another three days before cutting.

Thank you! I'll try taking it easy with the heating pad and waiting a bit longer. My soaps tend to have a high percentage of soft oils though I cannot remember how much olive oil this one had. Thanks again for the feedback!,

 

[Obsidian]

Another thing that can cause cracking is using a knife with a thick spine. It acts as a wedge and can cause cracks/spliting.
Make sure to use a knife with a very thin blade or a wire cutter.

 

[rdc1978]

Another thing that can cause cracking is using a knife with a thick spine. It acts as a wedge and can cause cracks/spliting.
Make sure to use a knife with a very thin blade or a wire cutter.

Oh, I hadn't thought of that, I'd been using a normal knife. Thank you!