White beads (Stearic spots or Palmitic spots)

[CLMP]

I am new to cp soap making and I'm trying to make Pine Tar Soap I think I have a good recipe but I am getting stearic spots. It said on line this happens when you soap at low degrees. I am soaping my pine tar soap at 85 degrees just like everyone else so what am I doing wrong and can I try soaping at a little higher degrees.

 

[Zing]

Hey, welcome to the Forum where we like to problem-solve and diagnose and encourage each other! Can you post your recipe including additives? Those do not look like stearic spots because all of a sudden I'm now an expert on stearic spots after a rash of them, see 3 batches with stearic spots! .
And way to be adventurous being a new soaper and jumping into the pine tar!

 

[Sar]

Hmm.. I suspect that they may be lye crystals. It happened to a batch that I once made and it kind of looked like this. Have you tried a zap test on it?

 

[CLMP]

Hmm.. I suspect that they may be lye crystals. It happened to a batch that I once made and it kind of looked like this. Have you tried a zap test on it?

Hi Thank you for your reply. I haven't tried the zap test still waiting to unmold it. So I'm wondering even if I made sure there was no lye floating in the water before I added it to my oils you can still get lye crystals and if so how would I avoid it next time.

Hey, welcome to the Forum where we like to problem-solve and diagnose and encourage each other! Can you post your recipe including additives? Those do not look like stearic spots because all of a sudden I'm now an expert on stearic spots after a rash of them, see 3 batches with stearic spots! .
And way to be adventurous being a new soaper and jumping into the pine tar!

Hi Thank you I'm pretty new at this. I want to make pine tar for my Dad for Christmas lol. My recipe is vegan it is 60% olive oil, 25% coconut, 5% castor oil, and 10% pine tar. I also used my calculator with no superfatting and I believe the lye count is at 33%. Also no sent just plain. Thank you for the encouragement lol I love making soap now the best new hobby I have found I might even sell soap next year at are little farmers market next year if I can get good at this. I like cp soaping so far.

Hmm.. I suspect that they may be lye crystals. It happened to a batch that I once made and it kind of looked like this. Have you tried a zap test on it?

I tried the zap test it did nothing just tasted like soap. Is it possible the white things are caused by me spraying to much alcohol on top maybe?

 

[Sar]

I tried the zap test it did nothing just tasted like soap. Is it possible the white things are caused by me spraying to much alcohol on top maybe?

I'm not entirely sure about that tbh so will allow the experts to chime in on that.
Sharing your formula might help. Does your formula contain a high amount of butters?

 

[DeeAnna]

The white bits on the top of the soap are sodium carbonate (washing soda) which forms when sodium hydroxide reacts with carbon dioxide in the air. Most people call this "ash" and it's fairly normal. Ash is pretty much a cosmetic issue; you may be able to remove the ash with a gentle wipe with a damp cloth. There are other methods of removing ash including steaming i

 

[CLMP]

I'm not entirely sure about that tbh so will allow the experts to chime in on that.
Sharing your formula might help. Does your formula contain a high amount of butters?

My recipe is 60% olive oil, 25% coconut oil, 5% castor oil, and 10% pine tar, no superfatting and my calculator does the lye at 33% no sent added. Oh and I used Bickmore pine tar

 

[AliOop]

My recipe is 60% olive oil, 25% coconut oil, 5% castor oil, and 10% pine tar, no superfatting and my calculator does the lye at 33% no sent added. Oh and I used Bickmore pine tar

I've had some of the same crystalizing effect with Bickmore pine tar, as well. I believe @DeeAnna is correct that it is a form of soda ash, since it can be steamed and then wiped off pretty easily when using 10% pine tar. When I increased to 20% pine tar, it wouldn't come off till I actually used the bars.

 

[Ford]

Hi, did you cover with syran wrap? Looks like it accelerated on you?

 

[CLMP]

I've had some of the same crystalizing effect with Bickmore pine tar, as well. I believe @DeeAnna is correct that it is a form of soda ash, since it can be steamed and then wiped off pretty easily when using 10% pine tar. When I increased to 20% pine tar, it wouldn't come off till I actually used the bars.

That's good news I took it out of the mold and cut it last night it's only on top. The soap actually looks very nice.

The white bits on the top of the soap are sodium carbonate (washing soda) which forms when sodium hydroxide reacts with carbon dioxide in the air. Most people call this "ash" and it's fairly normal. Ash is pretty much a cosmetic issue; you may be able to remove the ash with a gentle wipe with a damp cloth. There are other methods of removing ash including steaming i

Thank you it did seem to come off easy when I took it out of the mold last night and cut it the soap looked very nice in side of it. No specs in side.

Hey, welcome to the Forum where we like to problem-solve and diagnose and encourage each other! Can you post your recipe including additives? Those do not look like stearic spots because all of a sudden I'm now an expert on stearic spots after a rash of them, see 3 batches with stearic spots! .
And way to be adventurous being a new soaper and jumping into the pine tar!

Thanks so much.

Hi, did you cover with syran wrap? Looks like it accelerated on you?

I didn't know about syran wrap I will try that next time. Just wondering what you mean by the soap accelerated I'm very new to soap making do you mean it got thick quick and also how would I avoid that problem next time.

 

[cmzaha]

First off never zap test crystals themselves just in case they are lye which they very seldom are. I have had crystals such as this form on other soaps at times and even if they do not wash off they are fine. Normally as DeeAnna mentioned we figure they are Sodium Carbonate crystals but I have also had crystals form when I used sodium citrate or lemon juice as a chelator. Sometimes the crystals would be really dense little spots like yours.

Acceleration means your soap batter thickens quickly and it is pretty common when making pine tar soap. BTW, as a new soaper you did not choose the easiest soap to make and I congratulate you that your pine tar soap looks great. Pine tar will cause the batter to thicken (accelerate) faster than other formulas. This is an issue you will learn about as you get further into soap making. Some fragrances can be difficult and cause bad acceleration. You do not always have to cover soap it depends if you want your soap to gel, or recipe, etc. That is a subject for another post. As a new soaper, it is worth spending time reading through DeeAnna's information found here Soapy Stuff

 

[CLMP]

First off never zap test crystals themselves just in case they are lye which they very seldom are. I have had crystals such as this form on other soaps at times and even if they do not wash off they are fine. Normally as DeeAnna mentioned we figure they are Sodium Carbonate crystals but I have also had crystals form when I used sodium citrate or lemon juice as a chelator. Sometimes the crystals would be really dense little spots like yours.

Acceleration means your soap batter thickens quickly and it is pretty common when making pine tar soap. BTW, as a new soaper you did not choose the easiest soap to make and I congratulate you that your pine tar soap looks great. Pine tar will cause the batter to thicken (accelerate) faster than other formulas. This is an issue you will learn about as you get further into soap making. Some fragrances can be difficult and cause bad acceleration. You do not always have to cover soap it depends if you want your soap to gel, or recipe, etc. That is a subject for another post. As a new soaper, it is worth spending time reading through DeeAnna's information found here Soapy Stuff

Oh wow thank you for all that info. When I was mixing the pine tar it was pretty thin for about 4 min of mixing with a wisk and I thought oh no it's not becoming thick but then all of the sudden it happened and it was like a perfect trace but as I started to poor it in the mold I could see it getting thicker by the second as I poured it. It turned out really nice though and I like the smell and the white stuff washed off nicely I guess I got lucky and it has a nice lather.

 

[Marsi]

Nice
Could we have soapy (cut) photo's please?
(Your soap sounds so nice and it would be great to see how it all ended up ok )