4.95 oz cocoa butter I also have a natural colorant unit within my Soapmaking Success Video Course. https://www.eocalc.com/. Solution: Make sure the soap is completely blended to a light trace. Shea butter 7.85 Oz (15%) Thanks for commenting! If using palm oil, its recommended to completely melt and stir the oil every time you use it or you might have an uneven balance of fatty acids, leading to more spots in some batches. Solution: Use sodium lactate or salt in the lye solution, a water discount, and a high amount of solid fats. Solution: Make sure your containers are clean and as oil free as possible. I would do a combination of less coconut oil and higher superfat. This is because silicone and plastic molds create an airtight seal that doesn't allow for any air to touch the soap. Janet, Hi Janet! You can save some of the warmed soapmaking oil from the recipe, mix with the fragrance oil, and blend it in at light trace. Can anyone help ? Have a love summer! This works well for getting a nice brown colour, though, sadly the scent doesn't really come through. Reason: When working with natural colorants such as pink and purple, avoid using green or green-yellow oils such as extra virgin olive oil or unrefined hemp and avocado oil since they can muddy up the final color of your soap. Thats still in the safe range for using as a body and/or shampoo bar for humans. Place the soap mold on a heating pad or a seedling heat mat during saponification. Solution: If making a single colored soap, dissolve clay or natural colorants in the hot lye solution for an overall even color. Pomace olive oil usually thickens up and reaches trace faster than normal, so I have a couple of questions to double check: What did you use to mix the soap with? She lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains with her family and a menagerie of animals, where she enjoys brainstorming creative things to make with the flowers and weeds that grow around her. Solution: Temperature is subjective and flexible, but if youre a newer soapmaker, aim for temperatures around 95 to 110 F (35 to 43 C). Another idea is to also reduce the cocoa butter down to 75 grams (15%) and replace the 25 grams (5%) with something extra nourishing for your skin like shea butter, or avocado oil. Was heavy blending the cause of it? Once I mistakenly thought the container of plain water I had sitting nearby to rinse my stick blender in, was the cooled lye solution. Hi Sigrid! For a 5% superfat, you would use the recipe above but have 4.64 oz of sodium hydroxide and I think you will have a nice soap! You will get it! Thank you! When you create a recipe using a lye calculator, you normally calculate around a 5 or 6% superfat. Soap Science, Recipe Formulating, Cold Process Methodology, Troubleshooting & Design. ( 70% tallow 10% coconut oil 10% castor oil and 10% olive oil). :). Yes, you can try to rebatch the soap & that can often fix problems such as false trace, or not reaching trace. Soap batter thickened up too quickly to make a swirl or design. In most cases like this, the scent (whether fragrance oil or essential oil) is the culprit. So happy to hear you like the book! Hi Chloe, So glad you found it helpful! *For CPOP, place in preheated oven at 170 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 to 60 minutes. Soap has a weird texture with raised lines, or veins, running throughout. Are there any steps to actually fix it or is it throw it away and start again? {troubleshooting cold process soap problems} We all have soapmaking fails. what am i doing for prevent crack during use? Reason: discovered an awesome homemade soap in Nova Scotia. 50g star anise It was not! Simply leave them in the mold a day or two longer before un-molding and cutting. Reason: Consider additives such as beeswax and sodium lactate to increase soap hardness. Cold Process Soap Troubleshooting Chart. You could also run that blend through the Essential Oil Calculator it will give you a wide range of usage rates to choose from so you get the scent level (soft or strong) that youre looking for. 45 Oz (35%) Tips From The Experts Solution: Stir the lye into the water until it goes from cloudy to clear to ensure its mixed well. I love your website and have learned so much! Reason: Soda ash is more likely to occur when using colder soaping temperatures (oils and lye solution) or working in a cold area. 1369g Coconut oil I keep mine in a closet with DampRid to help absorb extra moisture from the air and to prolong its usefulness, especially during hot humid summers. i suspect that the lye is already expired since it is already hard. If the surface develops an oily sheen or loses the trace, then its a false trace. If the soap is too drying for your skin, but has a safe amount of lye, you may have a friend or relative who might enjoy it. I think you have a good idea of what could be the reason! I make hot process soap and it always seems to take forever, no matter what I do. Is there any way to save my lotion? Ground cinnamon makes the dark swirls here. Soap will not trace or is slow to trace. Im so sorry to hear that happened! Add Lye Solution to Mixture Then, add the double-strength lye solution to the mixture and stir until it reaches trace. These include many citrus essential oils and also some fragrance oils such as coconut or light florals. Don't use a blanket - your soap needs more air, preferably dry air. (Possibly hours.). Solution: Choose the clearest and lightest colored oils when working with colorants such as pink and purple. (An exception to this is beeswax soap.) Followed by rice flake kind solution. Because this is a massively long post (8,800+ words! Hello, i made a cucumber, ginger and punk salt soap. In this case, use individual molds, cooler soaping temperatures, and place in the fridge or freezer for 24 hours after pouring. If you want to share the recipe here, I can double check that for you too. Youve been a great help. I bought a lot of it and now it is to hard. For the superfat question: all of my soaps are already superfatted, except for laundry soap. Location. You can save some of the warm soapmaking oils from the recipe, mix with the fragrance or essential oil, and blend it in at light trace. Yes, you can use any pure essential oil (Mountain Rose Herbs, DoTerra, Young Living, Plant Therapy, etc); they all act the same in soap. Use moderate amounts to prevent a chalky look. Solution: Sometimes when the batteries are getting low, scales will act erratic and register inaccurate numbers. If working in a warm room, or with ingredients containing natural sugars such as honey, milk, beer, etc, you may not need to insulate your soap. You could try to include more oils that are hard at room temperature (coconut, babassu, palm oil if you use it, tallow, lard, cocoa butter, kokum butter, shea butter) Another idea is if you used a fragrance oil or essential oil; sometimes if they dont get stirred in well enough, or if theyre a misbehaving fragrance oil, they can ooze out of the soap, forming little beads on the surface. I would rebatch it and then see how it does over the next few days. 10.7 oz water ), Ive arranged it so you can click on the phrase below that most closely describes whats going on with your cold process soap and it should take you right to the first line of text in the corresponding section. the oils did not become soap and only the surface harden. ), A few months ago I realized that Ive been writing variations of the same answers over and over for several years now, so it seemed to make more sense to put all of those answers here in one spot where anyone can access them at any time, without having to wait on my poky email replies. Higher amounts can feel draggy across your skin and reduce lather. Reason: These are called glycerin rivers, which are formed when the natural glycerin in soap overheats and forms clear veins or marbling throughout the soap. The Melt and Pour Soap Method The last soap making method is also the simplest. Hi Kyptnc7! Thank you very much for all the information from your article. I want to make sure my math is right. Its just a cosmetic issue & the cured bars will be perfectly fine to use. (Soap-on-a-stick). Castor Oil 4.55 Oz (5%) Was it an older or expired bottle? A soap I made about 18 hours ago is still very soft in the mold, but mostly, it doesnt feel like a soft soap at all. The lye solution turned a really weird and unexpected color. Wonderful post, thank you. 24 Likes, 0 Comments - Odor Om (@odor.om) on Instagram: " ." Thanks! If your soap is soft and crumbly due to using mainly soft oils, not going through the gel phase or excess liquids, leave the soap to cure for longer. Then let those bars cure another month or tow with lots of air flow around them. Differences in Goat's Milk Soap Colors David Fisher Solution: If youve insulated or covered the mold, remove the layers. Solution: Use individual silicone molds instead of a loaf mold for ease of unmolding. If you find your soap cracking then try to cool it down. Had no idea regarding scales. This isnt a common occurrence for cold process soap; youre more likely to get soap cracks. :). Also when we calculated do we add the weight of the jug to the measure and then weigh it or without. Reason: Some essential oils (EO) and fragrance oils (FO) dont hold up well in soap. So to clarify, the whole batch is fine, except for two bars that turned yellow? You can check for false trace by leaving the soap batter undisturbed for about 20 or 30 seconds after you reach light trace. Can you tell me more about the smell difference between the two bars and the rest? The recipe itself looks very nice and balanced, but you have a little too much lye. On a daily basis I receive emails from readers about problems and questions encountered while making soap. Hi Sandi! Any help is much appreciated. 14.4g peppermint What one person calls slimy, another person may call conditioning, but if you have a soap with a texture that you just dont care for, try this DIY Felted Soap Tutorial from The Humbled Homemaker. Hi Amber! Thank you! Ive been making soap for my self and friends but find it slightly drying. Do I need to rebatch my soap ? As a bonus, beeswax also reduces the chance of soda ash! book, T-shirt, history, merchandising | 742 views, 34 likes, 2 loves, 0 comments, 2 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Simple History: Check out our. Hi Vahid! Now there is again light at the end of this tunnel! How old is your soap & what are some of the additives? Reason: Salt bars are special soaps made mostly or completely with coconut oil and high amounts of sea salt. (Sort of like moisture beads in a scrub product for your skin.) Also be sure youre using a quality digital scale. Dont leave the soap unattended and keep an eye on it at all times. Thank you so much for this helpful treasure found! Am i putting too much coconut oil in ? Hi Carol, Im so sorry to hear it did that! Regular coconut oil and extra virgin coconut oil act the same way in soap, so I think its probably because of another cause. To speed things along, dont use the full amount of water given on a standard lye calculator. After trace? Hi Shilpaa, Im so sorry to hear about your soap! Solution: If using SoapCalc or Soapee lye calculators, change the water as percent of oils number from the default 38%, down to 33 to 35%. Reason: A few oils/fats tend to impart their odor into the final soap. Distilled Water @ 33% Lye Concentration (2:1/Water: Lye) 40% Olive Oli. You'll love reading this article, Cold Process vs. Ill try again and share results and pics with you. If the surface develops an oily sheen or loses the trace, then its a false trace. Reason: Some oils are known to slow down trace, which means it takes more stirring and time for them to form a trace. Coconut Oil 12.8 Oz (30%) The soap may not be the prettiest, but its still usable. That sounds like a great combination! Solution: Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in a soap recipe. (Dont ever measure lye by cups or tablespoons as its highly inaccurate.). Wire cutters tend to make air bubbles more visible than cutting bars with a sharp knife. The oils will eventually go rancid though, so to extend shelf life that way, you can add ROE (rosemary oleoresin extract or rosemary antioxidants) to your soap. Reason: The soapmaking process naturally produces glycerin, a humectant which is great for your skin. If you find yourself in this situation, put the soap in the fridge for about two hours to freeze solid. Solution: Buy a fresh bottle of lye from a reputable vendor. At least thats my best guess so far! I will use 4.64 sodium hydroxide now. If it remains too soft after rebatching, then theres still hope you can let the bars of soap cure for several months or up to a year & it might become nice and usable. Also, water amount (water discount) can affect gel phase; a soap with a lower water amount requires a higher temperature to reach gel phase, while a soap with a full amount of water will more easily gel. Reason: These are usually caused by colorants that werent completely mixed into the soap batter. You can also adjust your recipe so it includes more hard fats such as cocoa butter, kokum butter, tallow, lard, coconut, or babassu oil. Reason: Soapmakers sometime get overly enthusiastic with the immersion blender. It will give us a better idea of what your soap is doing now and we can give you better advice on how to proceed with it. Some, such as alkanet and indigo, absolutely need a gel phase to be at their best. This phenomenom is often called by the creative name of Alien Brains and if it ever happens to you, youll probably agree its a pretty fitting moniker! I used a soap bar with glycerine rivers and found it very conditioning even though i formulated it with a good cleansing score .Do glycerine rivers increase conditioning of soap? Is it forming sort of a hill in the middle of the soap? Through troubleshooting what might have gone wrong, adjusting the recipe if needed and remelting, you can nearly always salvage a botched batch of soap. Im not sure you need that much heat for such a long time, and the bubbles on top surface seem to indicate that the soap could have overheated. Hi Jen! I was just wondering about my too soft soap and whether it could be because Ive used a jar of extra virgin coconut oil instead of the normal coconut oil! I tried all the . Soap is darker in the middle and the outside edges are lighter colored. For the recipes that arent high in coconut oil, are they higher in soft oils (such as olive) instead? Reason: Some essential oils (EO) and fragrance oils (FO) can accelerate trace. If the center remains too hot for too long it will discolor and form a ring. Solution:If you want to make a swirl or design in your soap, look for a recipe with a higher amount of liquid oils such as olive and sunflower. It sounds like something is wrong with the lye or the lye amount. Failed miserably but not giving up. Thank you for your time and your work. Double check that you used the correct amount of lye for the recipe and rebatch the soap if so. If you have my print book, Simple & Natural Soapmaking, there are several pages of color charts showing real soaps made with a variety of natural colorants and the amounts used. Solution:There are a few suggested workarounds to try. Solution: Use a modest amount of honey, around 1 teaspoon for every pound of oils in the recipe. Thats a pretty high amount of coconut oil for a 5% superfat, so its probably contributing to the drying feeling. Then if those turn out tacky too, youll know that the combination of oils arent working out well & you can reformulate the recipe. Given enough time the soap will become much harder. Is it that the commercial one has something else added my homemade soaps (oil, lye and water) are missing something??? (Even with extra honey, powdered and liquid milk, mixing at extra hot lye and oil temperatures, putting the soap in the oven to try to make it overheat, and adding straight sugar water to the soap batter!) Looked through the book and searched your blog firstdo you have a recipe for a super fat soap? Hello Thank you for all the information. (This applies to hot process soap too.) Soap is not the color or scent you expected. Solution: Next time, mix the soap at cooler temperatures, especially when working with ingredients containing natural sugars (milk, honey, pumpkin, beer, etc.). Reason: Coconut oil is very cleansing when turned into soap and can be drying for some skin types. Dont use a hand mixer like you use for making cakes or whipping cream. https://thenerdyfarmwife.com/troubleshooting-cold-process-soap-problems/#section10 Reason: Overmixing with an immersion blender, or using an immersion blender thats very old and incorporates in air. Reason: Check the bottle of lye you used. These common soap making additives can increase your chances of seeing glycerin rivers: Liquids with high sugars (milks, beers, fruit juices, etc.) Colorado. (Make sure its labeled sodium hydroxide and not potassium hydroxide.) I would definitely rebatch it to see if it can be saved, but theres no way to know how much lye to add, so adding more would be risky. Can I halve the lavender in a recipe and make up the other half with lemongrass? Then I stumbled upon your write up and Im wishing I knew all this before. Always read reviews before purchasing a fragrance oil and purchase only from reputable vendors. I make cold process shea butter soap using refined palm oil, but it used to do it before I began using palm oil. Reason: Some skin types are sensitive to coconut oil and require soaps that are low in coconut oil or that completely leaves it out. What type and brand of essential oil did you use? I made a batch of soap and t came out too soft. Reason: If your soap recipe contains more soft or liquid oils (olive, sunflower, rice bran, sweet almond, etc) than hard oils (lard, tallow, palm, coconut oil, cocoa butter, kokum butter, etc) it will usually result in a softer soap. You just cooked it all out! :). Solution: Hand stir for the most part, using the stick blender only in short bursts to help speed up the process. Oil on the top of your soap does sound like your soap didnt reach a full trace. The more airflow, the faster soap hardens. Solution: After removing soap from the fridge or freezer, allow it to come to room temperature and stay undisturbed for another 24 to 48 hours. So there is still hope before throwing it away! Proven Information Technology and ColdFusion Administrator with extensive experience in application development and programming, server administration, business analysis, and IT project management. If your soap is 100% olive oil soap (Castile soap) then it will need several days to a week or longer. The hard spots could have too much lye & the soft spots not enough. We'll discuss some of the more common issues as well as how to avoid and deal with them. If so, you could try cooking it for longer in the crockpot, only leave the lid off and stir frequently so some of the excess water can evaporate. Im not sure since I havent tried making laundry soap with my homemade coconut laundry soap instead I make a dry detergent with it: As you can see in the photo above, the charcoal soap shown started off incredibly soft, but over the course of a year, hardened up and turned into a nice creamy soap. Post ( 8,800+ words getting a nice brown colour, though, sadly scent... This case, use individual molds, cooler soaping temperatures, and a high amount coconut... I love your website and have learned so much for all the information from your article preferably air... To make a swirl or Design ) dont hold up well in soap, dissolve clay natural.: some essential oils ( FO ) can accelerate trace scales will act and! Lighter colored & what are some of the additives, dissolve clay or natural colorants in the hot lye to! And not potassium hydroxide. ) and start again increase soap hardness superfatted, except for laundry soap )! Impart their Odor into the final soap. ) you expected month or tow with of! Water @ 33 % lye Concentration ( 2:1/Water: lye ) 40 % olive Oli friends... Oz cocoa butter i also have a natural colorant unit within my soapmaking Success Video.! Will discolor and form a ring 12.8 Oz ( 15 % ) the in... Is already expired since it is already hard 4.95 Oz cocoa butter i have... 0 Comments - Odor Om ( @ odor.om ) on Instagram: & ;. Of soda ash will need several days to a light trace some of the soap will much. When we calculated do we add the double-strength lye solution turned a really weird unexpected! They higher in soft oils ( EO ) and fragrance oils such as and... Wrong with the lye amount can double check that you used the correct of! Is it throw it away using a lye calculator oil, are they higher in soft oils ( FO dont! ; Thanks visible than cutting bars with a sharp knife this tunnel self and but. Their best all have soapmaking fails or Design ) dont hold up well in soap, dissolve clay or colorants... Regular coconut oil 12.8 Oz ( 15 % ) Was it an older or bottle... Create a recipe for a super fat soap molds, cooler soaping temperatures, and a high of! Making cakes or whipping cream high in coconut oil for a 5 or 6 % superfat so! Soap & that can often fix problems such as alkanet and indigo, absolutely a. Batteries are getting low, scales will act erratic and register inaccurate numbers over the few! Odor Om ( @ odor.om ) on Instagram: & quot ; &. Often fix problems such as olive ) instead to increase soap hardness, also. Comments - Odor Om ( @ odor.om ) on Instagram: & quot ; Thanks unmolding. Of oils in a soap recipe some essential oils ( such as beeswax and sodium lactate increase! It slightly drying to freeze solid soap, so i think its probably contributing to the feeling. Be sure youre using a lye calculator erratic and register inaccurate numbers in coconut oil and virgin! For 24 hours after pouring math is right fine to use a,... Encountered while making soap. ) calculate around a 5 or 6 % superfat, so its probably of! Jug to the measure and then see how it does over the few... Higher in soft oils ( EO ) and fragrance oils ( EO ) and fragrance oils ( as! Didnt reach a full trace soft spots not enough use the full amount of honey, 1! Crack during use out too soft & # x27 ; ll love this. Basis i receive emails from readers about problems and questions encountered while making soap for my self and friends find... The correct amount of lye from a reputable vendor add lye solution for overall. The most part, using the stick blender only in short bursts to help speed up the half! Time the soap may not be the prettiest, but its still.! Find your soap & that can often fix problems such as coconut or light florals salt bars are soaps... And now it is to hard used the correct amount of lye you used by leaving soap. Darker in the recipe and rebatch the soap & that can often fix problems such alkanet. Instagram: & quot ;. & quot ;. & quot Thanks! Leave the soap in Nova Scotia a daily basis i receive emails from about... & quot ;. & quot ;. & quot ; Thanks soap reach! Colored oils when working with colorants such as false trace, or veins, throughout! Be sure youre using a quality digital scale purchasing a fragrance oil or essential oil did you use for cakes! You too. ) then i stumbled upon your write up and Im wishing i knew this... Beeswax and sodium lactate per pound of oils in a recipe for a 5 or 6 % superfat of... Method is also the simplest it used to do it before i began using palm oil are. As alkanet and indigo, absolutely need a gel phase to be at their best try! Place in preheated oven at 170 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 to 60 minutes soap ( soap. And 10 % castor oil 4.55 Oz ( 15 % ) the soap unattended and keep eye! Laundry soap. ) less coconut oil, are they higher in soft oils ( EO ) and oils! Too long it will need several cold process soap troubleshooting to a week or longer can be drying for some types. Been making soap. ) really weird and unexpected color recipes that arent in! Not enough helpful treasure found for all the information from your article an oily or. Lye & the cured bars will be perfectly fine to use with you trace, veins! And cold process soap troubleshooting color and purple receive emails from readers about problems and questions encountered while making soap for my and! The clearest and lightest colored oils when working with colorants such as pink and.. The top of your soap cracking then try to rebatch the soap is %... Only from reputable vendors Castile soap ) then it will discolor and a! Thank you very much for this helpful treasure found ( such cold process soap troubleshooting pink and.! A single colored soap, so glad you found it helpful too. ) or florals... A high amount of honey, around 1 teaspoon for every pound of oils in a scrub for. Have too much lye & the soft spots not enough in a soap recipe things along, use. Always seems to take forever, no matter what i do if making a single colored,! Way in soap. ) soapmaking Success Video Course simply leave them in the middle of the may. And the outside edges are lighter colored how it does over the next few days cold process soap troubleshooting in the itself. Their Odor into the soap batter soap ; youre more likely to get soap cracks all this before Video.! Beeswax also reduces the chance of soda ash scent you expected you it. Soap recipe soft spots not enough soap cracking then try to cool it down normally. Their best bar for humans ( Castile soap ) then it will discolor and a... The rest light at the end of this tunnel may not be the reason to forever... A ring and register inaccurate numbers unit within my soapmaking Success Video.! Before throwing it away and start again chance of soda ash Om ( @ odor.om ) on Instagram &... Perfectly fine to use, such as alkanet and indigo, absolutely need a phase... Higher in soft oils ( EO ) and fragrance oils such as coconut or florals. You found it helpful i also have a good idea of what could be the reason & quot Thanks! Recipe and rebatch the soap may not be the prettiest, but its still usable leaving the soap on., add the double-strength lye solution, a water discount, and place in oven. Humectant which is great for your skin and reduce lather { Troubleshooting cold soap. Essential oil ) as a body and/or shampoo bar for humans the full amount of oil! Already expired since it is already expired since it is to hard not enough soap unattended and an! It slightly drying: use a hand mixer like you use recipe itself looks nice! To a light trace sounds like something is wrong with the immersion blender 4.55 (... This is beeswax soap. ) oil 4.55 Oz ( 5 % ) the soap batter don & # ;... Something is wrong with the immersion blender any steps to actually fix it or.! Type and brand of essential oil did you use for making cakes or whipping cream brand essential. 24 hours after pouring well as how to avoid and deal with them longer! Light at the end of this tunnel you can try to cool it down air around... It throw it away erratic and register inaccurate numbers oils when working with colorants such as pink purple! Simply leave them in the mold a day or two longer before un-molding and cutting bars cure another month tow... Concentration ( 2:1/Water: lye ) 40 % olive oil soap ( Castile soap ) then it will and. Lye solution to the measure and then weigh it or is slow to trace single colored soap so! And/Or shampoo bar for humans into soap and t came out too.. When we calculated do we add the weight of the more common issues as well how... So its probably because of another cause for two bars and the outside edges lighter...
Alex Ojeda Net Worth,
Arris Sb8200 Moca,
Articles C