Soft coating on top of soap

[Syllvviiaa]

I have made a few batches now and I noticed when I use TD I get a white soft coating on top of my soap. If it is soda ash it wouldn't be soft correct? I'm wondering if the TD is separating and rising to the top. I do seem to be struggling getting TD to mix in. First time I used TD and cut I had white pieces that smeared through the cut. So next time when I premixed the TD in oil I mixed it longer. Still had a few white spots when I cut not not near as much, but still got the soft white coating on top of the soap.

Sylvia

 

[SoapDaddy70]

i would check with the supplier. i think some TD mixes in water better than oil.

 

[The Park Bench]

I get my TD from Mad Micas, it is water soluble and dissolves easily in hot water.

 

[Syllvviiaa]

Maybe I'll try premixing it with water next time. It say disperses in oil on the suppliers website.... can it be done either way?

 

[lenarenee]

Soda ash can be soft, powdery, gooey, and crystal-like. Fun times!

Who's td do you have, and how did you add it?

 

[dibbles]

It could be ash. If you post a picture it would probably give you more helpful answers. TD can be oil dispersible, water dispersible or some can be dispersed in either. Follow your supplier’s directions.

 

[Syllvviiaa]

I've attached the before and after photos. Maybe it is soda ash if soda ash can be soft. I didnt cover then.

I also get these hair line cracks when I try to do a pattern on top.

 

[Syllvviiaa]

Soda ash can be soft, powdery, gooey, and crystal-like. Fun times!

Who's td do you have, and how did you add it?

Candora Soap Supplies in Canada.

 

[CatahoulaBubble]

I've attached the before and after photos. Maybe it is soda ash if soda ash can be soft. I didnt cover then.

I also get these hair line cracks when I try to do a pattern on top.

That's ash and the cracks are from the soap overheating.

 

[lenarenee]

I have had some thick ash in my day, but it's never looked like that.

The cracks do suggest overheating - which means the soap gelled and I would expect very little ash after that.

Can you post pictures of the other soaps with "ash"? Were the rest as frosted looking as that?

What happens when you run a wet finger over it - or gently rub with a wet paper towel?

 

[Syllvviiaa]

Here is a photo of the first bar of soap using TD, with this white layer on top. This one I'm sure I didn't mix the TD well enough. See the TD spots. You can see on the top right where I tried scrapping the white off.

The second photo is the cut of the bar above. This one I thought I mixed the TD well but still not good enough as I still have white flecks. The white layer is not as thick.

 

[kevenaeakin]

I have made a few batches now and I noticed when I use TD I get a white soft coating on top of my soap. If it is soda ash it wouldn't be soft correct? I'm wondering if the TD is separating and rising to the top. I do seem to be struggling getting TD to mix in. First time I used TD and cut I had white pieces that smeared through the cut. So next time when I premixed the TD in oil I mixed it longer. Still had a few white spots when I cut not not near as much, but still got the soft white coating on top of the soap.

Sylvia

Hi Sylvia I premixed my TD and put half a dozen stainless steel nuts in the bottle,(plastic) and shake it and it's ready all the time

 

[dibbles]

I can't say for certain it's ash, but it seems unlikely that only TD would separate out. I have had very thick ash, and it happens when I misjudge having my batter at a stable emulsion. Could that have happened here, or did you have a definite trace. I also have at least one problem child FO that always gets thick ash if I don't soap warmer, pour at *almost* medium trace and force gel. When I do that, if I get ash it is light.

 

[DeeAnna]

While you certainly are having trouble getting your titanium dioxide to mix properly, I honestly doubt this is the reason for the white layer on top of the soap.

I agree with the others that the coating on top of the bar is probably "ash". There is no incentive for TD particles to migrate through rapidly thickening (or solid) soap to accumulate on the top of the soap. To expect this to happen is like plopping someone down in the middle of a big, very muddy field and expecting them to run a 6 minute mile.

What is more likely is that dissolved chemicals -- sodium hydroxide in particular -- are migrating along with water to the surface of the loaf. There is incentive for water to travel to the surface due to the process of evaporation. The water carries any dissolved chemicals along with it. The sodium hydroxide will then react with carbon dioxide gas in the air to form sodium carbonate (aka soda ash).

Don't get stuck on the idea that ash has to look a certain way, because it doesn't feel the need to cooperate with our preconceived notions. I've seen it look like shaggy fur, shiny spear-like crystals, a thin coat of flat white paint, etc. The ash layer can be thick or thin.

You don't give details about your recipe, so I'm just guessing here, but I suspect your recipe is using a high water content and you may be soaping a bit too warm.

 

[TheGecko]

It's soda ash. Yes it can be thick coating as opposed to a light dusting. And no, it has nothing to do with the use of TD because I've had orange soda ash, purple soda ash and brown soda ash. I haven't figured out a rhyme or reason myself...too hot/too cold, in the house/in the garage, alcohol/no alcohol, too thick/too thin, covered/not covered, EO/FO, during saponification/during curing.

My orange soap was an EO/Mica. 10" loaf along with 30 'samples' in small, round cavity molds. Room temp, poured at a medium trace, left it uncovered in the kitchen. The ash on the sample soaps was hugely thick...after rubbing off what I could I tried to plane them, but ended up tossing them in the garbage. I easily lost a third of the loaf.

The purple soap was FO/Mica. 10" loaf, poured at a very thin trace, put in the garage. I had the lightest dusting of ash on top when I went to cut it, but it was the thick ash that developed on one SIDE of the bar during curing that left me puzzled; it's the only soap that that has happened to.

The brown soap was FO/TD. 10" loaf, poured at a thin-medium trace. The FO discolored to brown, so poured off a small amount for a swirl, added just a bit of TD for contrast.

It should be noted that the thick ash reminded me of marshmallow.