What is this streaking?

[Zing]

Let me know your guesses on why this streaking happened. I used two new colorants for the first time, Stormy Blue Mica and Cappuccino Mica from Brambleberry. They're called "mica" but also contain titanium dioxide and oxides. Because titanium dioxide has given me glycerin rivers in the past, I made sure to soap at low temperatures but I did not alter my lye/water ratio. I used my successful basic recipe
12% avocado oil
4.5% castor oil
27% coconut oil
23.5% olive oil
33% palm oil
superfat 5%
4.67 oz lye, 10.89 oz water
I still think it looks nice but I expected two solid colors.

 

[CaraBou]

Neat streaks! I'm not sure but I'd guess you did not have the batters blended quite evenly, causing the colorants, fragrance, water, &/or the oils to not be evenly distributed.

What tool and technique did you use to stir the batter? For example, if you used a stick blender, did you hold the bell in one spot or did you move around through batter (along with a spoon or another tool) to make it as homogeneous as possible? And you pulled a hangar through this, right? Does it match the hangar pattern?

I hope you figure it out cuz I'd like to know. I really like that effect!

ETA: Thinking more, I'm wondering: Is your palm oil homogenized? You have a high percentage. I've never personally seen the stearic streaks you can get from non-homogenized palm oil, but I can imagine it looking much like your soap.

 

[penelopejane]

I think the problem might be that you soaped too cool.
CO and palm both need to be quite warm to stay properly mixed.
It looks to me that they have separated while you were mixing it.
Try soaping about 110* F (43*C).
To stop glycerin rivers use a higher lye concentration (32% plus).

 

[Zing]

I soaped at less than 100 degrees F and will go warmer from now on. CaraBou, it's NON hydrogenated palm oil. What does non-hydrogenated mean and how does it affect soap? I thought I had thoroughly stirred with spatula and stick blender and frequently paused to use a spatula on the sides of the bowl.

And is it safe to use? Is this just a cosmetic issue?

 

[DeeAnna]

There was an SMF challenge a few years ago where we used different amounts of in the water in the soap to get color and texture variations. Your soap looks a lot like the results we got.

Your soap will be safe to use as long as it doesn't zap. It's just an esthetic issue.

 

[Zing]

There was an SMF challenge a few years ago where we used different amounts of in the water in the soap to get color and texture variations. Your soap looks a lot like the results we got.

Your soap will be safe to use as long as it doesn't zap. It's just an esthetic issue.

Thanks, I appreciate the reassurance.