Steaming away soda ash- a strange thing happened...

[Thursday_Hext]

Hi folks!

I'm new to soaping and have been working cold process. I got some soda ash on my last batch and had heard that you can steam it off with a hand held steamer. I did that- and it looked great when freshly steamed. But when it dried, a thick layer of uncolored yet yellowish soap formed. The batch was black with dark burgundy and grey swirls. This top layer that formed seems to have no colorant to it. I shaved off some bits and it's a translucent layer with a yellowishness to it. And thick. The whole loaf now looks greyish (black soap + semi-clear/yellowy top layer). It looks pretty gross, but the bits i shaved off feel just like normal soap. There's nothing dry/crumbly about it. Anyone know what's going on?

Thanks!

 

[DeeAnna]

What's on your soap is probably what I'm calling "soap crystal ash", not soda ash (sodium carbonate). But that's just a guess. It would be a good idea to post your recipe (the weights of ALL ingredients), your soap making method, as well as a photo for the best advice and troubleshooting.

If it's soap crystal ash, it forms on the top of the bar in my experience, not on the sides nor the bottom, but it may form on other parts of the bar for other people, since we don't all make soap with the same method or with the same recipe. It looks like a layer of light colored paint -- ivory to white. It feels smooth and slightly waxy, just like soap (which makes sense!)

I see this fairly often on my soap -- far more often than soda ash.

Once it forms, you can only remove it by planing or cutting it off. Or just by using the soap a time or two in the bath. Or just by relaxing -- it's not a problem unless you decide it needs to be a problem.

 

[Thursday_Hext]

Thank you!
Here's my recipe:

Canola oil: 10.2oz
Soybean oil: 8.5oz
Olive oil: 6.8oz
Coconut oil: 3.74oz
Avocado oil: 3.4oz
Castor oil: 1.36oz

Lye: 4.6oz
Water: 10.25oz
Blackberry Vanilla FO: 2.2oz
Activated charcoal: 5tsp
Burgundy pigment: 1tsp
Pewter silver mica: tsp

All colorants were dispersed in FO proportionate to the portion of soap they'd be going in.
Oils and lye/water mixture were about 120f. I covered it and put it in the oven at 170f for an hour to force gel then turned the oven off and left it in for another couple hours as the oven cooled. When I took it out I wrapped it in a towel and left it for 2 days. When I unwrapped it, there was some soda ash, but otherwise the top was nice and black. After I steamed away the ash, it formed this thick yellowy translucent layer.

In the pic you can see where I sliced off a chunk of the top layer and it's black beneath.

And I have decided it needs to be a problem.