Trace

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When I make cp soap I get it to a thin trace but by the time I have got the 2nd colour to a thin trace (only takes about 30 secs) and pouring it both colours are really thickening and difficult to pour by the 2nd or 3rd bar. Is it just because I am only making test soaps so small batches (4 bars worth) or am I doing something wrong for it to thicken that quick?
 
Are you using a stickblender? If you are only making batches for 4 bars I would not even use a stickblender. Once you start mixing with a stickblender the reaction keeps going even after you stop blending so even though you only mixed to thin trace, with a stickblender that thin trace can turn to something different while it sits there and you are doing other things.
 
For small test batches would you suggest using a whisk or just stir it with a spoon/spatula?
I just use a nice thick sturdy spatula. Never used a whisk, I would be worried about introducing too much air using a whisk. I dont even use my stickblender for batches going into my 8 bar mold (800g oils). So much more relaxing than stressing about overmixing. Something oddly soothing about slowly mixing soap batter with a spatula. It puts me in a soaping trance sometimes. 😍
 
It’s possible that you are experiencing false trace or the effects of an accelerating fragrance oil. What temperature are your melted fats and lye just before you mix them? In false trace the batter starts to thicken as the hard fats start to solidify. As you might imagine, it‘s recipe-dependent. If the batter is fully emulsified before it goes into false trace, it will still make soap, but the chances of stearic spots will go up. Small batches can be tricky because they tend to cool off quickly, especially if the ambient temperature in the room is cool. With bigger batches the batter will often start to heat up on it’s own and may become more workable. In my experiences, small portions of batter don’t do that. Accelerating FOs can be problematic under the best of conditions.

If you want to share your recipe, working temperature, and details on any FOs used, we can do more troubleshooting for you.
 
Hi.
I only use essential oils but have been adding them to the oils before mixing which after reading a bit more on here I think might be wrong.
The lye and oils are both in the 30-40 deg c range when mixed. I use frozen raw cows milk as the full liquid amount when making the lye.
I am using olive oil, coconut oil, shea butter, mango butter, apricot kernal oil and caster oil.
 
The percentages of the hard fats will affect how the recipe behaves, but I wouldn’t expect false trace at 40C for my recipes that have shea in them. I rarely use mango. Some EOs will accelerate trace and others will slow it down. I’ve had issues with Ylang Ylang, palmarosa and petitgrain accelerating, while citrus and mint EOS seem to slow things down. Patchouli is middle of the road with my recipes. I sometimes add EOs to my oils, but I mostly add them as the batter is reaching a nice stable emulsion, or as late as a can if I expect them to accelerate.
 
"...I only use essential oils but have been adding them to the oils before mixing which after reading a bit more on here I think might be wrong...."

There's nothing wrong with this for most scents. That's what I do, whether they be essential oils or fragrance oils.

Your strategy might change if you're working with an essential oil or fragrance oil that accelerates saponification -- clove, thyme, and cinnamon are several examples. In that case, adding the scent as late as possible in the soap making process can be useful. The downside is it's harder to get the scent well mixed into the soap batter.

Castor oil can reduce the working time based on the experience of some soap makers. You haven't shared your actual recipe with weights or percentages, so you'll have to figure out if that's an issue for you.
 

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