Teach Soap

Hi everyone

Finally made my first batch yesterday and un molded today! I made cocoa butter/coconut milk and used a chip cylinder for the mold, it traced super fast so was quite hard getting into the mold as it was so thick,looks like I didn't get all the air bubbles out....the middle of the bigger cylinder soap has turned a different colour....is this a partial gel? I left it out after molding it but it started to over heat so put in the freezer overnight...the smaller one is all good and no colour change to that.

The second batch I made was calendula and patchouli, again this traced fast but managed to get in the mold all good, I didn't want to gel so put this straight into the freezer then into the fridge overnight but when I unmolded it i noticed a big gel ring on the bottom, is that normal? will the ring stay there or does it fade away?

One last thing....what do I do now? LOL.....they are 24 hours old so do I zap test first then cut?

Many thanks in advance......your advise has been helpful

Sorry about the small photo...im still learning to post them....has taken me an hour to resize this one to post lol.

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Ange

I can't really tell by the picture, but it does look like partial gel on the bigger cylinder soap.

As for the one you put in the freezer that still partially gelled, it can happen and is normal if you use ingredients that tend to overheat. I've never had a gel ring stay forever, so I'm assuming that it will go away.

If they're 24 hours old there may still be active lye in them, so you can zap test if you really want to. Just keep in mind though that there may still be active lye in them, especially if you put them in the freezer, since that slows down saponification.

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Genny

Cocoa butter is a hard butter and in large amounts can make your soap trace fast. Coconut milk has natural sugars which can make the soap overheat. What other oils did you used?

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

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Ange

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Ange

Yep, you have a recipe that is mostly hard oils & butters so that would definitely make your soap trace faster.

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Genny

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Ange

Castor Oil 7%
Cocoa butter 13%
Coconut 25%
Olive 25%
Palm 20%
Shea 10%

If I were you, I'd decrease the castor oil to 5 or 6%, the cocoa butter to 5-7% , the shea to around 6%, and O'd probably also decrease the palm OR the coconut by 5% as well. Then I would add the excess to the olive oil or add in another soft oil, such as avocado or apricot kernel.
But that is just me, and you certainly can find a hundred thousand ways to alter any recipe. It comes down to personal preference, so experiment and see what you like. Just keep good notes so that you can compare and contrast months down the road, that's when you will be able to see and feel the differences of the bar more easily. Have fun and enjoy the journey!

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

Tammy

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Ange

Yw! Don't forget to run your new recipe through the lye calculator. I like the soapcalc.net You can play with recipes there for hours, altering oils and seeing what it will do to your soap properties. There are always exceptions to rules, but it gives you a good starting point and a lot of help in understanding the oils.

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

Tammy

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Ange

Castor oil, cocoa butter and shea butter all accelerate trace. I use the 3 in one of my recipes, all at 5%. Trace still goes a bit fast, but not so fast that you can't do anything with it. Enjoy messing with your recipe!

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist