Squiggles? Need Help.

[Larissa]

My husband and I made our second batch of hot process soap last night. It a tried & true recipe for oatmeal honey soap, according to a lot of sources that he found online. It smells great, and looked great, but it's drying/curing... oddly.

Here's how it looked last night when we were done, just before we smoothed it out, pushed it into the corners, and were about to put it under a blanket to cool slowly...

And here's how it looks today when I took a peek:

What's with all the squiggles? Isn't that really weird? Is it ok? What does it mean? It's also lighter in the middle & darker around the edges, which doesn't make sense to me.

Help?

 

[Sunkawakan]

worms?

 

[Larissa]

LOL, that would be one explanation, I guess, but I doubt it in this case. If that's it, the soap and my brand new, never-before-used loaf pan are going right out the dining room window!

Seriously, though, has anyone had this happen?

 

[krissy]

it looks like it overheated there is another pick with a tiny amount of "worms" or "brains"
try not covering it up so much or soaping cooler

 

[Larissa]

Thanks! Not to be a pain, but you mean overheated while we were making it? Or because we left it covered? I thought it needed to be covered to cool slowly.

Sorry, I'm really pretty bright, just VERY new to this.

 

[krissy]

while it was cooling down is what i meant. you can try covering it less and aiming a fan at it. my first CP batch i did overheated so much it actually broke the mold in the center. that was a PIA to get out of the mold,lol

 

[SilverMaple]

How did you cook it? Crock pot?

It looks like it overheated at some point. I do CPHP on 'warm' or 'low' on the crockpot, and don't insulate at all when it's molded. I let it cool at its own pace.

 

[Larissa]

Yup, crock pot, and only put it on high when the recipe called for it. Hmph. Have to try it again tonight without putting it on high.

OK, no covering from now on, I guess.

This is tricky stuff. I like it! LOL, I'm stubborn that way.

 

[Larissa]

And thanks for the help!

 

[krissy]

i do CPHP and when i mold it i stick it directly in the fridge. i am not worried about gelling since it is HP, so i just let it cool as quick as i can.

 

[Larissa]

Really! Now THAT is cool. More soap faster, I like it!

 

[Deda]

worms?

I was going to say Maggots.

I had a batch come out with alligator skin once. It was way overheated.

 

[MagiaDellaLuna]

Well, call me strange, but I like that textured top. Probably no way you could repeat that if you tried

There is no need to cover HP soap at all, the gelling is done when the cook is through and that definitely looks like it overheated in the mold.

If you want a smoother top you can place some wax wrap (cut to fit, folded double with the waxy side outwards) just on the surface immediately after glopping into the mold and then gently (but quickly) even the surface out .I had a nifty little rubber roller that I also used for decoupage. Remove the wax wrap once the soap has set.............

or go with the textured tops. It's all good.

 

[Larissa]

Yeah, I expected a natural-looking lumpy sort of top, like cake frosting almost. But not like this. I do think it's kinda cool myself, as long as it's still viable soap.

Either way, I like to have the one edge all rough and "homemade." Let's see what happens when we cut it.

 

[dagmar88]

8) wow, I'd wanna copy that with 'dirt' FO

 

[Larissa]

Happy to inspire! LOL

 

[Layne]

i do CPHP
that is odd looking
have you done zap test yet?
it may be fine
just odd looking
i use molds made from 2x4s and 1" plywood lined with heavy plastic sheet
plenty of insulation and strength
if it checks out ok you maybe able to save by scim cutting that top layer off, and you could add that to a latter rebatch.
my question is
did you smooth a cover sheet of plastic over the top, no air bubbles, then place a smooth hard lid on top of that?
should fit snug and smooth on all sides of soap.
one batch i forgot to lid properly ended up with mountan looking textured top, but the soap was fine.
I turn my crock off after the last of butters and oils melt
but once traced it goes on high for 30-40 mins to reach gel state
then all the extras are added and it goes in the heavy wood log mould
let cool over night, pull the plastic to get soap out of mould, pull plastic off soap, nice smooth log of soap

 

[Larissa]

I wanted to say thanks again. This is what the squiggly soap turned out like - completely usable, but weird looking on top:

But last night, we modified the recipe to make a honey chocolate soap:

And this time didn't cover it or insulate it while it cooled, and this morning it looks perfect!! Tonight we'll take it out and cut it, and I'll take photos.

 

[krissy]

that looks like a loaf of choc chip bread! looks good enough to eat,lol

 

[Larissa]

I know! It was making me hungry last night. Smells like the honey, and looks like food. No chocolate smell, though; we'll have to buy some chocolate essential oil.