Well This Hasn't Gone To Plan

[user 58545]

Ok, well after the success of my first batch of soap I was prepared to add something extra, titanium dioxide!

Oh dear God where did it all go wrong.

So from my other thread I am using :

Olive Oil - 405g
Coconut Oil - 270g
Shea Butter - 90g
Cocoa Butter - 135g
Coconut Fragrance Oil - 30g

Using the soapmakingfriend calculator ended up with lye at 33.33%, I wasn't sure but went with it.

Poured the lye water into the oils which already had the titanium dioxide in which I had premixed with some oil and turned on the blender.

Took 5 seconds to turn it into extremely thick batter. Like really thick cream you would put on a cake. I blender a bit more just so I couldn't see any oil but I have no idea where I went wrong or what has happened. I spooned it into the mould, there was no chance of pouring and the mould is currently getting hot so something is happening but why it did that I don't know. Pic attached

Should I leave it in the mould or just throw it away?

 

[AliOop]

Your coconut fragrance oil is almost certainly what caused the acceleration. What brand are you using, and is it made specifically for CP soap? Most FOs made for soap have reviews which will warn you about acceleration, color changes (often turning brown), and more. It is often best to stir in the FO by hand after you have combined the lye and oils.

The temperature of your oils and lye could be an issue; warmer = faster trace. TD also speeds up trace.

Try doing 1-second bursts with the stickblender, and then stirring by hand before deciding whether to stickblend more, or just hand stir. Five seconds straight can be enough to get to thick trace in many cases.

The mold is getting hot because that's what happens when you combine oils and lye. Coconut FO also contributes to heating, as well. If it gets too hot, you can get a cracks, or worse, it can expand out of the mold. If it seems to be going that directly, then uncover it if it is covered. Then elevate your mold on some soup cans and turn a fan on it to cool it off.

 

[user 58545]

Many thanks, temps were exactly 110f for oil and lye.

The coconut fragrance oil was this : Coconut Fragrance Oil - Freshskin Beauty

I took the lid off and it must be rising as it was stuck to the lid a little bit. Not a lot I must admit

 

[AliOop]

Thanks for the info! So, looks like there aren't a whole lot of CP reviews on that one, as opposed to candles and M&P. Coconut FOs in general can be fast movers.

Honestly, I think you had a combination of things that caused fast trace:

1. Temps at 110F. That's pretty warm in my book, especially given #2, below.

2. Your recipe is more than 50% fast-moving oils: coconut, shea butter, cocoa butter. You probably want to soap cooler with these. Try 100F next time, or even 90F.

3. TD was blended into all of the oils. TD is a known accelerator. Next time, separate out a bit of soap batter, mix the TD into that, and then stir the separated batter back into the whole batch.

4. You added the FO to the hot oils. This isn't necessarily a bad thing if you know your FO. But if you haven't worked with it before, it's best to hand-stir it in after you have combined the lye and oils.

5. You stick-blended for 5 seconds straight in a recipe with fast-moving oils, high temps, TD, and probably an accelerating FO. Try 1-second bursts with the SB, following by stirring with a spatula or whisk.

Your soap will be just fine, but next time, try making a 500g batch without TD and without an FO. That will give you a chance to learn the basics of soaping without all the pressures.

 

[Millie13]

I know I am a bit new... but could it also be he used a fragrance oil that said up to 1% (on the website) for soap, but put in 3.3% in? (I typically use the percentage as ppo - It was what I was taught/learned)

I have also been thwarted by too much stick blending early on... I have started just using a whisk at the beginning for mine... It has been helping me not over stick blend... but I also think that my stick blender is way too powerful for soaping...

 

[user 58545]

Many thanks for the advice, will definitely bear it in mind.

As for the fragrance oil, I have another thread on here about that one actually, it does say 1% but thats what they recommend as its a "strong" fragrance according to them. Though I could barely smell it. The IFRA document says can be used up to 10.83%.

The actual recipe I was following(until I modified it) actually called for 45g so was well under that.

But its all a learning curve so glad it happened

 

[cmzaha]

Coconut fragrances are infamous for acceleration and overheating.

 

[user 58545]

Ah, didn't know that! Was hoping to make a nice white bar of coconut smelling soap. Now looks like a bad cake mix squashed into a mould lol

 

[AliOop]

But it probably smells great and will be quite bubbly. So there is that.

 

[user 58545]

Well it certainly smells of coconut!

 

[Zing]

Like a lot of newbies, when I started, I over-used my stick blender. Like I would turn it on and leave it on! Now I mostly stir with a new burst of the blender for 3 seconds each.
Also, where are photos of the final soaps?

 

[user 58545]

Honestly it was on like 3 seconds and went like that.

As for the other soaps, well only made one, they are in my other thread - My First Attempt

This one won't be ready to turn out the mould until at least tomorrow, assuming it comes out the mould lol.

We have a different spelling I think in the UK, I think the US is mold isn't it?

 

[AliOop]

Honestly it was on like 3 seconds and went like that.

As for the other soaps, well only made one, they are in my other thread - My First Attempt

This one won't be ready to turn out the mould until at least tomorrow, assuming it comes out the mould lol.

We have a different spelling I think in the UK, I think the US is mold isn't it?

That definitely sounds like acceleration from the FO. As noted by cmzaha, that's what coconut FOs tend to do. They also tend to turn your soap anywhere from a tan to a brown. So don't be surprised if you see that happen, too

With over 50% hard oils, and the acceleration/heating you had, I wouldn't assume it's ok to wait till tomorrow to take it out of the mold. Check on it after 12 hours, and then every 4-6 hours after that. When it's firm to the touch with just a bit of give, and pulls away from the silicone liner easily, take it out and cut it. That could be anywhere from 12 to 30 hours, which is why you want to check frequently. Eventually you will know your recipes and get a sense of how long each one takes. Till then, check check check or you will have a brick brick brick. LOL

 

[user 58545]

There is no vanillin in the fragrance oil so hoping I will get away with it turning colour.

Good advice on checking it, I will check it in the morning. Was made at 4.30pm UK time so will see what its like when I get up and keep an eye on it.

The coconut fragrance I wasn't really keen on, I know what the reviews say but it wasn't very coconut smelling to me so might give that one a miss for a bit.

Anyway next one to make is orange essential oil soap

 

[AliOop]

Vanillin is a primary culprit but not the only thing that will turn your soap tan or brown. It may be the lighting, but your batter does look like some discoloration has occurred. How much TD did you use, btw?

You might wait a bit to see what you think about the FO. It will probably smell different after curing a few days - hopefully more coconut-y to your nose.

Good news for the next batch: orange EO usually slows down trace!

 

[user 58545]

I think its the lighting to be honest but I need to look at it again. The thing is the oils were quite yellowy in colour and it does look like a mixture of white and yellow now. I used 1 teapsoon to 1lb but have just realised I have messed up my conversion, I used 6 teaspoons! oops

 

[The_Phoenix]

Are you saying you used 6 teaspoons of titanium dioxide? Yes, that is definitely quite a lot of TD. A little goes a long way and too much can definitely make for very thick batter and speedy to trace.

 

[user 58545]

It was refined

 

[TheGecko]

Since you are new to soap making and wanting to experiments some, get thee a 4" Square Silicone Mold (most soap suppliers and Amazon carries them). It's a 20oz mold so you will get 4-5oz bars. Uses around 14oz oils based on 33% Lye Concentration. I have two of them and I use them every time I try a new scent, colorant, additive or recipe.

Now on to what happened. Agree with others that you are soaping to warm for the amount of hard oils you are using...drop it down to around 100F. My recipe is 65% hard oils and I soap around 90F. 110F is the recommended for new soap makers because it makes sure that all your oils and butters are properly melted and if something happens and you spill your Lye Solution (never use glass or any kind), you won't scald yourself.

Since TD was new to you, you should not have added anything else. From lessons learned, TD should be pre-dispersed in oil or water depending on the kind you have. I prefer oil because I can just stir it in. And another lesson learned is testing each on it's own because it often makes it easier to determine what happened. I know exactly how my regular recipe acts without scent and colorant so when I do try something new, if things go sideways I generally know where the problem is, It's not absolute of course...sometimes colorants and scent don't always play well together, when is why I run a second test batch. And sadly that is not always absolute either...there is a big difference between a 20oz batch and an 80oz batch, but the odds are generally in your favor...at least 85/15.

LESS IS MORE when it comes to stick blending (another lesson learned...ALWAYS opportunities to learn more). Depending on the size of the batch and anticipated design is how I mix my batter. I often start with just stirring the ingredients around with a spatulas or a whisk and then I do a couple of quick bursts with more stirring. Even when making 5lb batches, I don't run my SB for more than 3 to 5 seconds at a time. Now that may not sound like a lot of time, but count it out and watch how much mixing gets done.

ALWAYS check the reviews (yes, another lesson learned; I was highly ed-u-ma-cated by the end of my first year ). Lisa at I Dream In Soap has some excellent technical videos on YouTube. Pretend you're a baby again...learn to roll over, then crawl, then cruise the furniture, then walk. Much easier than running smack into the wall.

 

[user 58545]

Thank you for the comprehensive reply

Yes going to try smaller first batches in future because the cost of ingredients isn't cheap and honestly this one feels like a waste.

The TD I did mix in oil before putting it in the batch but definitely think I used too much.

I checked it this morning and its still soft, hard but soft if you know what I mean so will leave it a bit longer but I can see from the walls already that this is likely going to end in the bin, its not a solid wall, its like a crumbling wall with gaps in it etc.

I will take a picture later on but yeah its not going to look much like soap lol

Probably would have helped if I had compressed it more but I just spooned it in as wasn't sure if I was keeping it or what I was doing