White spots in soap

[JazzyC123]

I have recently made a coffee soap and just cut into it to only find a bunch of white spots in the soap. Thankfully the soap has coffee grinds in it so it actually doesn’t look too bad (kinda goes well with it lol), but I was wondering if anyone knows what this is and if it’s safe to use? I did multiple zap tests and nothing happened.

I also use palm oil in my recipe and have been mixing at a lower temperature, just below 90, so I am thinking it’s steric spots.

 

[The_Phoenix]

What method do you use to melt all of your fats? Also, post the entirety of the recipe so that I have an idea of what went into the recipe. Welcome to the forum.

 

[JazzyC123]

What method do you use to melt all of your fats? Also, post the entirety of the recipe so that I have an idea of what went into the recipe. Welcome to the forum.

I just melt all the oils over the stove together and let it cool down, sometimes I put it in the fridge to cool it down faster ( which i did this time). My recipe includes: 65% olive oil, 17% coconut oil, 15% palm oil, 2% beeswax, 1% castor oil. I also put a brown oxide, a coffee fragrance, sodium lactate.

 

[The_Phoenix]

I soap around 80-ish degrees and don’t get stearin spots. I’ve never soaped with beeswax. That really jumped out at me as a possible culprit. That’s not a terribly high % of palm oil so that doesn’t strike me as problematic.

Those are really pronounced spots. It’s possible that cooling faster in the fridge did something to the mix.

Have you used that fo before? Did your batter come to trace quickly? What was your lye solution temperature? Was that 90 degrees too? For how long were your fats in the fridge?

I have never cooled my in the fridge before. Between that detail and the beeswax, maybe that has something to do with it?

 

[JazzyC123]

I soap around 80-ish degrees and don’t get stearin spots. I’ve never soaped with beeswax. That really jumped out at me as a possible culprit. That’s not a terribly high % of palm oil so that doesn’t strike me as problematic.

Those are really pronounced spots. It’s possible that cooling faster in the fridge did something to the mix.

Have you used that fo before? Did your batter come to trace quickly? What was your lye solution temperature? Was that 90 degrees too? For how long were your fats in the fridge?

I have never cooled my in the fridge before. Between that detail and the beeswax, maybe that has something to do with it?

I haven’t used the FO oil before, that was the first time, and it didn’t trace quickly. My lye was around the same: just under 90 degrees, and it also went into the fridge for a bit. The fats are were probably in the fridge for 10 ish minutes.

That could possibly be it as well. I don’t think it’s lye spots, as a did like a million zap tests on different bars on different places and nothing happened lol. I also used a little sample piece to wash my hands and all was good (I’ve got sensitive skin too). I was hoping to sell the batch and haven’t found any irritants, so I’m thinking it’s harmless. Any thoughts?

I will mix the solutions at a higher temperature next time and see what happens.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

Could be stearic spots or air bubbles. If you cut the soap in the photo with a wire, try cutting a piece with a knife. It you can see small holes in the surface of the soap rather than white spots, you likely have bubbles. The trick to reducing bubbles is to avoid them in the first place. Any bubbles introduced during the mixing process are very difficult to eliminate. If the spots are not bubbles, they’re likely stearic/palmitic spots that form when the hards fats begin to crystalize in the batter. To reduce/avoid stearic spots you need to 1) completely melt your hard fats and 2) work at a temperature that works for your recipe. I have all but eliminated stearic spots since I started heating my hard fats until they are crystal clear. It is also important to work at a temperature that is right for the recipe. Finding the right working temperature to answer the “how low can I go” question has been trial and error. I can make perfect lard soap starting with my oils and lye in the high 70s F, but if I do that with my palm and shea recipe the resultant soap will be full of stearic/palmitic spots. For the latter, I learned that I need to start with my oils and lye at 95-100 F.

 

[JazzyC123]

Could be stearic spots or air bubbles. If you cut the soap in the photo with a wire, try cutting a piece with a knife. It you can see small holes in the surface of the soap rather than white spots, you likely have bubbles. The trick to reducing bubbles is to avoid them in the first place. Any bubbles introduced during the mixing process are very difficult to eliminate. If the spots are not bubbles, they’re likely stearic/palmitic spots that form when the hards fats begin to crystalize in the batter. To reduce/avoid stearic spots you need to 1) completely melt your hard fats and 2) work at a temperature that works for your recipe. I have all but eliminated stearic spots since I started heating my hard fats until they are crystal clear. It is also important to work at a temperature that is right for the recipe. Finding the right working temperature to answer the “how low can I go” question has been trial and error. I can make perfect lard soap starting with my oils and lye in the high 70s F, but if I do that with my palm and shea recipe the resultant soap will be full of stearic/palmitic spots. For the latter, I learned that I need to start with my oils and lye at 95-100 F.

Honestly, I have been recently slowly going lower with my mixing temperature, just to see how low I can go lol. When I mix the lye and oils together, the oils aren’t transparent so maybe I just mixed it too low. Like I said, I did a million zap tests and nothing happened (on multiple spots and bars too) so I am hoping it’s harmless. I always cut my bars with a knife so I don’t think it’s air bubbles. Do you think the white spots are harmless? The last thing I want is lye spots.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

If the spots aren’t zapping, they’re not lye heavy. Stearic spots are harmless.

 

[The_Phoenix]

I will mix the solutions at a higher temperature next time and see what happens.

I’m not sure that’s where the problem is. I’ve found that what’s more important than what temperature I soap at is how hot I get my fats when I melt them. I melt my hard fats pretty hot and then add liquid fats. Even if I make a big batch and pull from that as needed, because I melted my hard fats at a high temp, I don’t get stearic spots.

I recommend making the soap exactly as you did except melt your hard fats at a hotter temp, don’t refrigerate them (let them cool on their own), and soap at the same temperature as this batch. 90 degrees is just fine. I wouldn’t worry about that so much.

Hope that helps!

 

[The_Phoenix]

If the spots are not bubbles, they’re likely stearic/palmitic spots that form when the hards fats begin to crystalize in the batter. To reduce/avoid stearic spots you need to 1) completely melt your hard fats and 2) work at a temperature that works for your recipe. I have all but eliminated stearic spots since I started heating my hard fats until they are crystal clear.

Yup, this.

Stearic spots are perfectly safe. They’re more of an aesthetic and tactile annoyance.

I realized the other day that many soapers are afraid of over-heating their fats when melting. Thinking of those fats’ practical use in the kitchen, we expose them to extreme heat when baking with lard, stir-frying with avocado oil, deep-frying with palm oil. Those fats are intended to perform very well at high heat.

 

[amd]

I put it in the fridge to cool it down faster ( which i did this time). My recipe includes: 65% olive oil, 17% coconut oil, 15% palm oil, 2% beeswax, 1% castor oil.

I suspect that if you use beeswax and put it in the fridge to cool, the beeswax may have hardened. I haven't used beeswax in soap, mostly because of my concern that the melting point of beeswax is much higher than most oils. In your recipe, OO and castor are liquid oils, CO has 78° melting point, and palm has 95° melting point. Beeswax is the highest at 150°.