Whats going on with this soap batch advice please :)

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Chris_S

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ok so i noticed something on the first batch of beer soap that i made earlier this week. My guess and this is purly based on the fact that its the only time its ever done this to me is that its something to do with the essential oils i used in it. this is the first and only time iv ever used eo and alsi had this happen. my other guess is that its soda ash but iv only just noticed this today they are always in plain sight for me so i would think if it was like this before today i would likely have spotted it or can soda ash have a delayed reaction? also its on the inside of the soap so none of it would of been able to get oxygenated until the time i cut the loaf into bars?
its difficult to get it in the right light so tried twice the top bit has td to whiten it but the lower part is also turning white. i did post a photo of just after the cut a few days ago iv included that too show what it was like
 

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Is it white powder on the outside, of the bar that wipes off with a damp cloth? If so, it is probably soda ash. If it will not wipe off, it is probably not soda ash.
 
Is it white powder on the outside, of the bar that wipes off with a damp cloth? If so, it is probably soda ash. If it will not wipe off, it is probably not soda ash.

no its not wiping off although i trimmed a thin layer off the surface of some of the bars and that got rid of it well for now at least.

any idea what it could be if its not soda ash. i can put recipe up if that would help with a more accurate answer but this is a recipe iv not changed and used about 5 times now only difference is beer and eo i used which was first time for both
 
A recipe might help as well as some details about the process (trace? Gelled?temps?).
Is it powdery like ash? I have had some deep soda ash before that travelled to about halfway inside the bars. I think it was because I poured into mold at very, very light trace. It took a week or maybe even two before the ash stopped spreading.
 
A recipe might help as well as some details about the process (trace? Gelled?temps?).
Is it powdery like ash? I have had some deep soda ash before that travelled to about halfway inside the bars. I think it was because I poured into mold at very, very light trace. It took a week or maybe even two before the ash stopped spreading.

definatly not ash or powery. at the moment its only on a thin layer of the surface iv trimmed a thin layer off and its gone.

Took me a while to find the recipe book i used but here it is

sweet almond 15%
coconut oil 20%
olive oil 30%
cocoa butter 8.5%
palm 25%
beeswax 1.5%

5% sf
and 29.9g of fo which iv used before and havnt had this problem with

didnt gel it well not on purpose i left it in my soaping area for an hour then moved it to a warmer room for overnight but it had already got pretty solid by then.

trace i think it was on thick side of medium

because of the beeswax i have been combining the lye mix and oils at a higher temp than without at a guess about 140-150f for both because of this iv not been keeping as close an eye on temps as i do without beeswax.

oh and i used beer for the entire liquid.
 
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Hmm, so in the pictures, the last pic is the oldest and first pic is the most recent? That circle looks like it might be partial gel..

It's hard to say for sure but it may also be that you soaped too cool for the beeswax.
 
Hmm, so in the pictures, the last pic is the oldest and first pic is the most recent? That circle looks like it might be partial gel..

It's hard to say for sure but it may also be that you soaped too cool for the beeswax.

Yes thats the right way round regarding the photos however between the first and last photo there is about 3-4 days though. Ok ill definatly do some research into temps for bees wax i was doing it by eye and getting the oils to around the same temp as the lye mix. Does partial gel take a few days to appear in that way? if thats all it is im fine with that the soap itself seems fine, quality wise iv tried it to wash my hands and doesnt feel like theres anything sinister with it. It was more so i could try avoid it happening again. so ill definatly research partial gel and beeswax iv used beeswax before but this hasnt happened could of just got lucky with the though. Could it be anything to do with the use of Lime EO? i forgot to mention that on the last post

@cmzaha iv just seen one your posts iv had these on wooden shelves and this is how they have turned in a matter of days could this be because of your explination of the consequences of storing on wood? i knew about not storing on metal wood however i hadnt seen any warnings about until i came across your post from earlier this year
 
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I do not recall ever mentioning anything wrong with storing on wood, unless I was mentioning that some wood would turn black if lye soap sits on it

you just said it would discolour soap if you placed directly on some types of wood because of it absorbing moisture. it is entirely possible i have misunderstood your comment though. I took a screenshot so you might be able to re explain for my simple tired mind ;):) sorry if i misunderstood what you meant

Edit. Just read what you wrote again and you were indeed saying the wood might discolour not the soap. Sorry im suffering with insomnia tonight well this morning now 7am and iv not slept for over 24 hours so to say im tired is an understatement
 

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Partial gel can definitely take a couple of days to "define" itself. All soap, actually, takes some time to settle into it's true colors.
I've used lime EO several times and I've never noticed any discoloration.
 
sounds like its probably just partial gel taking hold then how lovely does lime eo in soap smell i cant stop taking a massive whiff of it while im walking by lol. thank you for all your help and advice. ill add gel and part gel ect to my list of stuff to research iv set up a temperary office up in my living room to organise everything better and will be spending a couple hour researching and printing stuff off to try help my soapmaking improve. i suspect this forum will be the source of a fair amount of that information i need. You guys and gals are just awesome :):D
 
It could be sofa ash as well as partial gel. Sofa ash can appear after you have unmolded. I sometimes get it in individual cavity molds. I can take the soap out of the mold and it’s perfect and a few days latter some of the surfaces will be covered. It can generally be removed with steam from an iron.

I’ve solved this problem by unmold it after 5 days (impossible to do unless you have many molds). I also spray the mold and the exposed surfaces. If I have to unmold early I will spray all the surfaces with alcohol. I also gel my soap and I soap hotter (110*F 43*C) and use a pretty high lye concentration.

These things also cure another similar problem that leaves a white coat on and through the soap that can’t be removed with steam.
 
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