What's on the surface??

[jbedaded]

I made honey soap today. Recipe as follows: 10.2 oz olive oil, 8.4 oz coconut oil, 5.7 oz. palm oil, 1.5 oz castor oil, 2.7 oz. sunflower oil, 1.5 oz cocoa butter, 4.23 oz lye, 9.9 oz distilled water

1.3 oz fragrance
2 tbsp honey

all seemed to be going well. i didn't want it to gel so i put it in fridge for about 30 minutes, then left it out at room temperature. I sprayed top with 91% isopropyl alcohol.

Everything looked fine until about 10 hours later when I saw the white spots on top. From the dark area, I assume there was some gelling, but i am unsure as to what the white spots are.

Need some guidance from experienced soapmakers here. Thanks in advance

 

[Millie]

Looks like soda ash, nothing to worry about Love the textured top!

 

[jbedaded]

Thanks for replying.

I thought spraying with alcohol would prevent that. Also, I've encountered soda ash before, and it's on the surface. This seems to be under the surface.

 

[lenarenee]

Ash has many tricks up its sleeve and has a variety of styles of appearances.

Spraying with alcohol than covering with plastic wrap is what many people do, but some but have success with that.

I read something just a couple days ago from a physics website about ash (it's not just soap that gets it). Wonder if I bookmarked it? I'll look, but we'really having Internet connection problems.

 

[BrewerGeorge]

My guess is condensation drips from the plastic cover. IME, these are especially likely if you use a lot of alcohol because it evaporates more easily.

They'll probably go away during curing.

 

[jbedaded]

Thanks for the reply. Actually, I did not cover it. The plastic you see in the photo is bubble wrap, which is lining the molds I was aiming for a "honeycomb" look when I peeled it off. But I did not cover the surface at all--just the alcohol spray.