Teach Soap

I was making soap with my son and had a emergency come up. He finished the batch and put it to bed. The next day when I unwrapped it the top was covered in small wrinkles. It looks as though it rose and then fell. Also there is a small streak of ash down the center. We've made this recipe before with no problem the exception this time was the EO. What caused the wrinkles?

It could be that it overheated a bit. I've had that happen before.

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

Yep, it may have overheated. Usually when that happens you get a good sized crack, but it can make several smaller ones just as easily. Some will move back together as it begins to cool and harden, which may then look like wrinkles.

What EO did you use and how much?

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy

The EO was lime. There was one ounce in a five pound batch. I checked on it during the first 24 hours a couple times. There was never any evidence of cracking that I could detect but over heating makes sense.

well that wasn't it then cuz 1 ounce in a 5 lb batch is nothing. So......not sure what happened. Depending on your recipe and the method of gel (was it wrapped, covered, wrapped and covered?), it still could have overheated, but it was not the EO's doing.

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy

wrapped and covered. Thinking about it, like I said, it looks as though it rose then fell. Perhaps it was rising, about to crack and I uncovered it in time to prevent that. I must say that it is the ugliest top, shriveled with some ash... yuk!

Well we all have made an ugly batch or two, so no worries, you are in good company! Lol I am pretty confident that it was the double insulation that caused overheating. It must have been your recipe or a gremlin!
Generally speaking you should use .9 oz ppo for a citrus EO (and an anchor so it will stick better), .7 oz ppo for a regular scent EO, and .4 oz ppo for a strong EO. Of course you still need to check the max usage rate and that always trumps generalities, adn you need to consider the whole amount if you are blending more than one EO as well. Hope this helps and better luck with the next batch! Now remember, you can cut the tops off and use those in a soap bag or shred them for confetti in another batch.

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy