Whaaaaat just happpppenneeed???

[penelopejane]

Adding weird ingredients like cornstarch can lead to crumbly soap. I haven’t found that clay makes EOs stick. The only thing you can do is up the percentage to 6% but EOs fade a lot quicker than FOs.

If your ash is the thick crystal type it might not go away even if incorporated into a new soap batch. I think I’d use or chuck this one.

 

[MGM]

Adding weird ingredients like cornstarch can lead to crumbly soap. I haven’t found that clay makes EOs stick. The only thing you can do is up the percentage to 6% but EOs fade a lot quicker than FOs.

If your ash is the thick crystal type it might not go away even if incorporated into a new soap batch. I think I’d use or chuck this one.

I found the cornstarch tip in a few places (WSP and SMF, among them) but this may be one of those things that differs for people.
The ash is only on the outside, not crystals on the inside, so I could likely wash it off and chop it up. Probably will; I've been making some small 9oz batches, so I won't waste much if I have to throw out the new batch.

 

[penelopejane]

I found the cornstarch tip in a few places (WSP and SMF, among them) but this may be one of those things that differs for people.
The ash is only on the outside, not crystals on the inside, so I could likely wash it off and chop it up. Probably will; I've been making some small 9oz batches, so I won't waste much if I have to throw out the new batch.

Yes you might be right!
Is your ash just the normal white ash or the crystal ash? I though it might have been the crystal ash from your description. I’ve found that stuff just keeps regrowing! My only solution was to throw it out. Otherwise I’m all for confetti soap! Good luck.

 

[glendam]

I agree with the above about the clays not anchoring the EO. I was recently reading on how to add French green clay as a colorant to Soap, and it did mention that clays tend to absorb odors, so while they would be helpful in a deodorant recipe, it would absorb the fragrance/EO. I have used orange 10x and litsea (separately), at the usage rate from BB fragrance calculator and it stayed strong in the soap

 

[MGM]

Yes you might be right!
Is your ash just the normal white ash or the crystal ash? I though it might have been the crystal ash from your description. I’ve found that stuff just keeps regrowing! My only solution was to throw it out. Otherwise I’m all for confetti soap! Good luck.

It's definitely crystal: it's growing stalactites! That orange piece on the back is not part of the table; it's the soap! And it's a little bit zappy, if I'm honest. That being said, I've been using a bar of it since I first made it (I let it cure enough for other people, but often can't wait myself) and a) it's not harsh on hands and b) it's lasting forever, so I want to say that despite the lack of fragrance, lye crystals, some crumbling, and terrible alien-brain look, it's actually a good soap!

 

[linne1gi]

I definitely find that clay helps to anchor the scent. I have a few bars of soap that are 3 years old. The essential oils I added were basil and spearmint. I added 1 tablespoon to the essential oil mix and let it sit for about an hour then added it to my soap batter. I still use this method and all my fragrances stick. I have heard of using other ingredients like arrowroot powder or cornstarch but have not tried this.

 

[penelopejane]

It's definitely crystal: it's growing stalactites! That orange piece on the back is not part of the table; it's the soap! And it's a little bit zappy, if I'm honest. That being said, I've been using a bar of it since I first made it (I let it cure enough for other people, but often can't wait myself) and a) it's not harsh on hands and b) it's lasting forever, so I want to say that despite the lack of fragrance, lye crystals, some crumbling, and terrible alien-brain look, it's actually a good soap!

That happened to me once. I put it down to too much lye. I tried to wash it off very thoroughly and it kept regrowing. I didn’t test for zap (that is not my thing ). Eventually I threw it away because it just wouldn’t stop growing the crystals.

Looking at your method and mine at the time this could have been the problem for us both. I made mine as a divided batch to test FOs. I thought my lye might have been a bit heavy in this one soap but it also might have been not enough mixing. I think that was your problem too. Or maybe a combination of both?

But you haven’t given us your recipe so that might need tweaking too.

 

[MGM]

It was 100% lard at 27% lye concentration. I just shaved off all crystals from all bars last night, so will see if they regrow. TBH, they don't seem to have grown much more in the past 2 months...most growth was in the first couple of weeks. The bar in the bathroom gets used daily and doesn't have any crystals or ask or anything.
I chopped up one bar and used it in two soaps yesterday so we'll see what happens...