Why oh WHY???

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I had assumed the FO reversed trace, but now I'm wondering if it was too chilly in the room (temps have been dropping here recently) and the hard oils were solidifying again, despite the hot lye solution, giving me pseudo trace.

Yep, you had false trace due to the hard oils firming back up. When the house is cooler, even I melt my hard oils.
 
Yep, you had false trace due to the hard oils firming back up. When the house is cooler, even I melt my hard oils.

Ugh that's what I thought. Do I need to worry about any issues with the bars? Is there anything I should be looking for?
 
To add to what Susie said- you may end up with 'stearic spots', but they are just merely an aesthetic issue.


IrishLass :)
 
Ok I'll take some close up pics later so you can see and let me know if there's any issues. They have not separated, so that's good. I see no spots, but I'm not sure what I'm looking for, so who knows LOL. TY ladies :)
 
So, how do we know that our soap is safe to use after waiting that 4-6 week cure period?

Shave off a piece and wash one's hands?

All I care about is safety. I don't care what the soap looks or smells like.
 
So, how do we know that our soap is safe to use after waiting that 4-6 week cure period?

Shave off a piece and wash one's hands?

All I care about is safety. I don't care what the soap looks or smells like.

As long as there’s no zap it’s safe to use. Try it once a week or so so that you can see the changes. After 4 weeks you should be good to go. They get better with age
 
Ditto what Shari said^^^. The zap/tongue test is the measure of safety. It's the quickest, easiest way to tell if there is any unreacted lye in your soap- it just takes a few seconds to test. And you don't have to test every bar in the batch- just one bar out of the batch is sufficient.

To expound a little more on what Shari said, don't confuse 'safe-to-use' with 'optimum-time-to-use'. For example, my soaps normally test out zap-free the same day I unmold and are safe to use right away, but they haven't matured enough yet to be able to perform at their level best in terms of lather, mildness and longevity. They don't reach that level of maturity until at least 4 weeks have passed, sometimes a few weeks longer (four-weeks is when I've found my formulas to have reached their acceptable, 'earliest best' for my likes, but they get even better as more time goes by).

To find your own 'optimim-time-to-use', set aside a zap-free bar to use for testing purposes and wash your hands with it once a week, remembering to jot down notes on the differences you see each time.


IrishLass :)
 
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