Soap thickening too fast

[ShiraLaValiere]

Hi everyone!
Recently I had a few failed batches of soap and I have no idea what is going wrong. I tested different recipies based on Bramble Berry calculator and this is what happend:

I blended it for maybe 5 seconds. I corporated lye and oils at 46 Celsius degrees.
My recipie:

Thanks!

 

[Carly B]

Did you add any fragrance oil?

 

[AliOop]

Yes, that looks like the effects of a naughty fragrance oil to me. We call that “seizing” or “soap on a stick.”

When that happens, let the batter sit for 5 or so minutes until it starts to gel, or pop it in the microwave for 30 second blasts to heat it up to gel phase. Usually that helps you get it to where you can use a spatula to mix it smooth enough to get it molded.

 

[ShiraLaValiere]

I can't post ingredients of fragnances because website I ordered it from is under weekend maintenance. One was based on lavender, second on frangipani. I microwaved it and molded (looks... well not what I planned but at least usable). Seems I have bad luck lately with fragnances

 

[TheGecko]

You don't have to post the actual ingredients of the FO, you can just tell us the name and where you got it from.

If you are very new to soap making, you need to make sure that you purchase your scent (FO/EO) from a reputable soap supplier because there are a lot of companies that claim that their FO. EO, Mica, etc can be used to make soap, but in reality it can't and can lead to the results you have gotten.

 

[cmzaha]

Frangipani is well known to accelerate as many florals are. With a quick seizing batter, I just cover the container with a lid and wait until it starts to gel stir, and pour in a mold quickly. You will not get a pretty soap but one that looks like hp. Unlike Alison mentioned I would not put it in the micro, you risk a volcano, but that is just my opinion. Your batter will always heat and go into gel around 15 min or so just keep an eye on it.

 

[AliOop]

I can't post ingredients of fragnances because website I ordered it from is under weekend maintenance. One was based on lavender, second on frangipani. I microwaved it and molded (looks... well not what I planned but at least usable). Seems I have bad luck lately with fragnances

Yup, sounds like your fragrance was the problem. As Gecko noted, we don't need ingredients, just the name of the FO and the manufacturer's name. If an FO doesn't have reviews from CP soap makers, I wouldn't use it. But even with reviews, you still have to test. FOs will react differently with different recipes.

Carolyn is correct that florals are famous for accelerating. She is also right to caution that microwaving a seized batch is a bit of an advanced technique; waiting for it to gel on its own is definitely safer. It also preserves more of the fragrance. But... I'm impatient. I only do 30 seconds at a time and watch it like a hawk while it's going. Usually one blast is enough to heat a 1000g batch enough to loosen it up, but sometimes another 15-30 seconds is needed.

 

[ShiraLaValiere]

Store is from Poland so I guess it's not well known. I found only reviews about store as all, not for single FO but I also couldn't find any bigger group for soap makers in Poland to share experience about certain products. Reviews about that store are good.

 

[AliOop]

That's a tough situation. Well, you gave it a try. Looks like that particular FO is not going to work for you, unless you want to hot process the soap.

Oh, I just remembered - there is a thread somewhere here on SMF about how to warm up an accelerating FO with some of your batch oils, and then stir it in after adding the lye solution to the rest of the oils. You may not have time to do complicated swirls, but at least you won't have soap on a stick.

 

[Iluminameluna]

Something I do when my HP soap has decided to play hardball is to add a teaspoon of nonfat yogurt to it at first, then stir. It will loosen things up a bit. If the batter is more than say, 600g or so, try another teaspoon, but no more than a tbs or you'll have to wait a long time for your soap to harden after that.
And the yogurt doesn't have to be room temp, it can come out straight from the fridge.