During the first 2 days, the lye is reacting with the oils and turning into soap. 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. Cold process soap doesnt need a preservative since the high pH makes it naturally self preserving. Im sharing the recipe below. 14.4g peppermint Stirring during the mixing process. Reason: Too much honey can make a soap overly soft. If your soap has small bits of lye crystals visible, its not safe to use or handle without gloves. I ordered sodium hydroxide but It most often happens when lavender essential oil is in the recipe, but not always. What's Wrong With My Soap? If you are using single cavity molds, you can try freezing them to harden and hopefully the soap will pop out easier. #1. Any help is much appreciated. It has 12 different fats in it. Sorry to hear that happened! Reason: A few oils/fats tend to impart their odor into the final soap. (This sometimes works, sometimes doesnt.) You can save some of the warmed soapmaking oil from the recipe, mix with the fragrance oil, and blend it in at light trace. How old is your soap & what are some of the additives? It means a lot to me. To avoid a gel phase, try: Solution: Make sure the soap is completely blended to a light trace. As a bonus, beeswax also reduces the chance of soda ash! Can cold process soaps be molded into different shapes? I dont t think I added enough lye. 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. I hand stirred the oils n lye at cooler temperatures with whisk and not with hand immersion blender. Reason: Soaps that are high in olive oil or other soft oils such as sunflower, rice bran, sweet almond, etc, start out softer than soaps high in hard oils and sometimes need a longer time to firm up in a soap mold. Hopefully it just needed more time! Hi Jeannina! Soap has uneven colored streaks or spots in it. Lather Lovers Additive Tests, One Year Later! If you cut a bar and it crumbles, or if its still soft, allow it to sit in the open air for several more days before trying again. Step 5: Touch the test strip to the drop of blood or use the glucometer's lancing device to apply the blood to the test strip. Using the bag like a pastry bag, squish/squirt the soap into the molds. Solution: Use patience with these types of recipes. I do appreciate any help you can give. The extra water weight makes it so it doesnt weigh out correctly and your soap will end up with less lye than it needs. Cold Process Soap, The Dreaded Seize, Troubleshooting CP Soap 5,644 views Oct 1, 2016 112 Dislike Share Save C-Light Soapery 6.49K subscribers This soap completely seized on me, and I. Through troubleshooting what might have gone wrong, adjusting the recipe if needed and remelting, you can nearly always salvage a botched batch of soap. You could try rebatching it & see if that helps! Yes, you can grate or chop it, then melt it down in your crockpot with a tablespoon or two of water if needed. Could it be glycerine? Place the soap mold on a heating pad or a seedling heat mat during saponification. Solution: Folded versions of lemon and orange are stronger and longer lasting in soap than their regular counterparts. (When youre more experienced, you can stop at emulsion stage.) This can interact with the lye solution and form small floaty bits. Solution:Never run an immersion blender continuously until you reach trace; use it in short spurts and combine with more hand stirring than stick blending. Soap has weird orange or brown spots on it and/or smells bad. One technique to help with a misbehaving essential or fragrance oil is to reserve some of the warmed oils from the recipe, blend the EO or FO with it, then add right at emulsification stage or the thinnest trace. Do not use recipes that measure by volume (cups, tablespoons, etc). Hoping someone can help. Wrong Type or Amount of Essential or Fragrance Oil. It may take longer for certain soaps made of different oils or with different ingredients. Monitor freshly poured soap for signs of overheating and move to a cooler place if needed. If you must use a loaf mold, keep a close eye on the soap after pouring it into the mold. Reason: Check the bottle of lye you used. Hi.i make soap with 3% superfat and 33% lye concentrate. Really appreciate some feedback. my soap has palmolein n olive oil pomace I think I might have had oils hardening before completely dissolving Youve been a great help. The list below highlights the major causes of cold process soapmaking problems, and . I bought a lot of it and now it is to hard. (Oops!) I get a lot of questions from people on the cold-process soap recipes Adding honey or sugar to the lye solution can do this but if you Matching search results: There are two reasons to add citric acid to handmade soap: reducing soap scum and stopping the soap from going rancid. Differences in Goat's Milk Soap Colors David Fisher Location. Hi Michelle, Thanks for the kind words & so happy you enjoyed the article! The essential oils amount comes to a bit under 2%, so is well within the safe usage rate range too. Im trying to reheat it, but doubt that will work. Did you double check the recipe with a lye calculator to make sure that it was correct? Reason: Soap has extremely overheated. Hot process soap should be cured for at least 1-3 weeks. Got to trace within a few minutes and applesauce stage not long after. Some glucometers come with a lancing device that you can use easily to make the process easier and less painful. Have you had it for a long while? Its possible that there was too much lye. This is a fantastic list of cause and effect situations found in soap. Im brand new to this whole thing. If you are looking for an all-inclusive, intensive, and complete learning resource for all things cold process soap making, The Ultimate Guide to Cold Process Soap is the book for you. could i rebatch the soap? When soaping at hotter temperatures, you run the risk of accelerating trace, creating a heat tunnel or causing a soap volcano. Everyone wants their soap ready faster, but handmade soap requires a certain amount of time and patience. (I often go even lower, to around 28% for some recipes.). :) https://www.facebook.com/TheNerdyFarmWife. Aloe Cold Process Soap Kit $62.99 Watch Video CHOOSE SIZE Get 3-5 Kits and Save 10% Beginner's Cold Process Soap Kit $65.99 Watch Video CHOOSE SIZE Get 3-5 Kits and Save 10% Wire Soap Slicer $109.99 Learn More CHOOSE SIZE Soap Beveller $44.99 Learn More CHOOSE SIZE Soap Shaver $43.99 Learn More CHOOSE SIZE Sodium Hydroxide Lye $14.99 Here are some of the common reasons why cold process soaps leak oil: Incorrect measurements. views, likes, loves, comments, shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Super FM 88.1: The Road to 2023 Insufficient lye, excess amount of water, wrong temperatures, not stirred enough or too slow. Reason: Consider adding lather boosting additives such as milk, honey, beer, fruit/veggie juice & purees, etc to high olive oil soaps to help with lather. Q: I made a batch of lotion using beeswax, but the oil and water separates. With cold process soap the water evaporates out during a process called cure. Q: 1. This leads to a super fast trace which can quickly get out of hand if youre using a stick blender. In this case, use individual molds, cooler soaping temperatures, and place in the fridge or freezer for 24 hours after pouring. Does it have any lumps or clumps in it? If its still soft after rebatching, then you could still let it sit and cure for many months. You can add more olive oil to replace the reduced coconut oil amount, or use another oil such as sunflower or sweet almond. some of my soap sweat slightly brown beads. When I first learned to make soap, everyone added the extra oils for superfatting after mixing the soap to trace, but then some research was done to show that it doesnt matter when you add the oils, so you might as well mix them all at once. Many thanks, Hi Patricia! If your soap doesnt reach trace within 10 to 12 minutes, see if one of the situations below applies. Reason: Tap water contains impurities that can react negatively in the soapmaking process, increasing risk for soda ash and DOS (dreaded orange spots indicating early rancidity). You won't have to worry about the lye reacting with the colorants and changing them as often happens when adding things to cold process soaps. Add sodium lactate or salt to the lye solution and use a reduced water amount to decrease time spent in the soap mold. As the soap cools, the center will lighten again. ), 3. In some cases, tallow and lard can add an unwanted aroma to your soap. 4.95 oz cocoa butter My recipe is: 5% super fat A longer cure time will give the soap time to fully saponify and to lose the excess moisture. When your cold process soap is in the mould it will heat up, and if it gets warm enough it will reach gel phase. Hi, Does it have any lumps or clumps in it? Thank you! Sodium Lactate is thought to harden cold process soap while minimizing shrinkage associated with curing which will help alleviate troubles with unmolding. Water discounting can cause the batter to accelerate. This means that youre adding more oils than the lye can turn into soap, so there are leftover oils that ensure the soap wont dry your skin. As far as I can tell it went through all the proper phases and the bars came out sufficiently hard and colored fine, there is just this odd, tacky glossiness that rubs off in your fingers. Is it that the commercial one has something else added my homemade soaps (oil, lye and water) are missing something??? This hardens much faster than palm oil bar soaps and . Reason: The recipe has an incorrect lye amount. Sometimes this happens because of false trace where the soap looks like it reached trace, but if you wait a minute and check again, the trace is gone. So happy to hear you like the book! Or a good smell each, just different from each other? Solution: Check the recipe with a lye calculator and see what the recommended water amount is. Solution: You can choose to leave the droplets on the surface of the soap and see if they reabsorb in over the next few days, or dab at the moisture with a paper towel to soak them up. Warm Regards Look for labels such as Folded Orange, 10x Orange, 5x Lemon, and so forth. Read reviews of fragrance oils carefully and purchase from a reliable soapmaking vendor. 6. I couldnt figure out why my soap never reached trace until I discovered the difference. The soap will have a rougher rustic look to it, but it will be salvaged. 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 Andy! If making a bastille soap (around 75% or higher olive oil) be sure to include bubbly oils such as coconut (20 to 25%) and castor oil (5 to 7%). Thanks. Hi Pennytoes! A student of mine recently contacted me for some advice about one of the most common soapmaking mishaps when using the cold process method: soap seizure. Infused oils may impact it? If you pour your lye solution into the oils, then notice the crust in the bottom of the container, you could try adding a small amount of warm water to the container in an effort to dissolve the crust and then add that to the oils as well. That might help with troubleshooting if you get a chance to let me know. Or, you can try adding the FO or EO to the warmed oils before adding the lye solution and stir by hand. Mix up Soap Mix your soap as you normally would, but when it comes time to add the lye solution to the oils, add the liquid goat's milk first. I have received permission to post the article since it was taken off the USA Today site. When working with citrus essential oils, combine them with an anchor such as lemongrass or litsea to help them stick around longer. Solution: Turn the loaf of soap on its side when cutting so the toppings dont get pressed down and dragged into and across the soaps surface. Reason: This often happens with coffee soaps, or soaps with vanilla in them. Please tell me if I used right recipe and what will become of my final product. Hi Theresa! You can also find her writing about gardening and foraging over at her family's website: UnrulyGardening.com! Many new soap makers don't realize the importance of the mixing process. Reason: Palm free soaps and recipes high in olive oil (or other soft oils) sometimes take longer to firm up. 1.65 oz castor oil Soap that was made yesterday is dark in the middle, but the edges are a lighter color. Recipes high in olive oil need a longer cure time than other soaps in order to harden and develop a small amount of lather. Make sure to keep fresh batteries in your scale. If mixing in at light trace, dissolve the colorant in about 2 to 3 times as much water, oil, or glycerin (depending on the colorant type) and blend well. :). Was it a hand mixer (with two whisk like beaters) or an immersion blender (stick blender)? Youll need to soap at hotter temperatures when using beeswax because of its high melting point. *For CPOP, place in preheated oven at 170 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 to 60 minutes. Store it tightly sealed in the original plastic container. Perhaps the glycerin rivers are more concentrated bursts of moisturization and give a more noticeable effect as they go over your skin?? How can we soften a bar of Zote soap so we can cut it in pieces?????? Soap will not trace or is slow to trace. Thank you so much for reverting. Reduced water amounts, longer cure time, and certain additives can help them be harder and longer lasting. Im thinking its based on ages of oils, but maybe there are other factors? At least thats my best guess so far! However, since Im new do guide me exactly where I have gone wrong. Is there any way to save my lotion? Ive had many readers write to me struggling with soda ash and in mulitiple cases, theyd been making soap in very cold areas, such as 50F (10C). Did the lye have any lumps or clumps in it? Kevin Dunn, a soapy scientist and author of Scientific Soapmaking: The Chemistry of the Cold Process, recommends using Rosemary Oleoresin Extract at 0.1% of the oil weight. A caveat of this is that soaps high in soft oils are often extremely gentle and lovely for your skin, so dont rule out making soaps that are high in soft oils! Solution: Stir the lye into the water until it goes from cloudy to clear to ensure its mixed well. This will result in a very thick trace, but it might help save the batch. Shea butter 7.85 Oz (15%) Glycerin rivers in soap is often caused by overheating/uneven cooling, and can be encouraged by certain colorants, like titanium dioxide (you may have heard of titanium dioxide crackles!). If the soap has been in the mold several hours and then starts separating, scoop it into a crockpot and cook on low heat for around 1 hour (hot process), then spoon into a soap mold. Be sure to read this exceptionally informative article on Curing Soap from the Classic Bells website. This last batch, I heated the oils to 200F, mixed the lye and let it cool down to 200 and mixed the lye with the oils while still hot. 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! Try placing the mold on a baking rack so cool air can circulate underneath. Rebatching the soap is recommended. How is it looking now? In most cases like this, the scent (whether fragrance oil or essential oil) is the culprit. Its a win-win for all! Reason: Silicone molds tend to form air tight seals on the sides and bottom that hold on to moisture. Many thanks, Anna in NZ, Hi Anna! Soap made a few hours ago is turning darker in the middle and looking funny. Solution: To prolong shelf life of soap, use fresh oils from a reliable vendor, distilled water (contaminants in tap water can cause problems), cure soap with plenty of air flow around each bar, and store cured soaps in a cool, dark, dry area with good air circulation. Reason: Sometimes your container might have a small amount of residue left on it from your last batch or a previous use. It kimd of saperated. i suspect that the lye is already expired since it is already hard. 200g coconut oil :). Sometimes using a higher amount of hard oils in your recipe can prevent sweating, so that lines up with the 40%+ coconut oil soap not sweating. Source for that info: Kevin Dunn via https://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/handmade101/learn-to-make-articles/All-That-Glycerol.aspx This article has some excellent rebatching options: https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/how-to-rebatch-soap-517103, wow what a fantastic article and so much to learn here. If it hasnt improved after a year though, then at that stage I think its a loss. The oil is quite thick with an amber brown color that darkens with age. With cold process soap, it typically takes about four weeks for the soap to fully cure. It is a full milk soap. So you could try decreasing the coconut oil to 125 grams (25%) or 150 grams (30%) and use a 6 or 7% superfat. The hard spots could have too much lye & the soft spots not enough. Set it on some parchment or wax paper to cure for a week or so and that's it. :). Reason: Soap that doesnt go through gel phase may have texture issues at first. Lovely article very well written. It could be that an ingredient didnt get mixed in well and it got more heavily distributed in that part of the mold. Thanks, Debbie, Hi Debbie! https://www.facebook.com/pg/TheNerdyFarmWife/posts, Hi Jan. Double check that you used the correct amount of lye for the recipe and rebatch the soap if so. Heres a great article on that: https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/how-to-rebatch-soap-517103. 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. Solution: Carefully read reviews before purchasing and using a fragrance oil. Reason: Some oils are known to slow down trace, which means it takes more stirring and time for them to form a trace. Soap batter has little hard rice-like pieces in it. I would rebatch it and then see how it does over the next few days. Super great article. Appreciate if you could share how to keep that ring instead of making the color even out. (Sort of like moisture beads in a scrub product for your skin.) Do I need to rebatch my soap ? Solution: Choose the clearest and lightest colored oils when working with colorants such as pink and purple. Reason: Consider additives such as beeswax and sodium lactate to increase soap hardness. There, youll find reasons for why the soapmaking problem happened and solutions to fix it and/or prevent it in the future. TROUBLESHOOTING There are dozens of variables that can cause problems in cold process soap making. Ill try again and share results and pics with you. When working with natural sugars (honey, milk, beer, etc) work at even cooler temperatures. It sounds silly, but it does happen sometimes! This is most evident when you see hard clumpy lye. 972g olive oil Solution: Try using babassu oil in place of coconut, and adding around 5 to 7% castor oil to the recipe. thank you, Hi Elyang! Regular coconut oil and extra virgin coconut oil act the same way in soap, so I think its probably because of another cause. The lye solution has a hard crust of lye on the bottom of the container. Given enough time the soap will become much harder. (Most of my recipes work out to requiring 1 grams per batch.). Thanks for commenting! Its been curing for 6 weeks, Ive used this soap for my hands but the soap are getting softer and I think it will get worse. Allow established over night, rinse and have a look-see. So you place your container on the scale, then you push tare to reset it to zero, and then you can add your ingredient that you want to weigh. Solution: Take extra care if using bay laurel, citronella, clove, cinnamon, fir, palmarosa, pepper, and ylang ylang essential oils. In my last video ( https://youtu.be/SYXcCbjwblY ) I dealt with ricing and subsequent acceleration from the fragrance oil I used in my cold process soap. Was heavy blending the cause of it? Reason: The soap has a partial gel. Should I super fat more ? Yes, you can try to rebatch the soap & that can often fix problems such as false trace, or not reaching trace. Thanks! Even if it takes all year, you might still end up with a usable soap. Solution: Make sure the recipe youre using (including ones from this site) has the correct amount of lye calculated by running it through a lye calculator. Soap made with high amounts of olive oil take the longest to trace. Soap is darker in the middle and the outside edges are lighter colored. This ultimate troubleshooting guide breaks down the reasons and solutions for 30+ common cold process soap problems. A high percentage of unsaturated fats in the base oils will also cause slow tracing. http://cavemanchemistry.com/DreadedOrangeSpot-Dunn.pdf, Would like to make Lavender/Lemongrass soap, but cant find a recipe. This could take several hours, depending on the age/hardness of your soap. I finally found you a trustworthy soap maker. All of them made soap in their kitchens, with kids around, and seemed to be unsafe. at that time i did not know that it could no longer be used. Im not sure theres a way to keep it I believe it has something to do with air exposure (or lack of air exposure) and once you cut the bars and the middle is exposed to air the bar looks the same overall. Distilled Water @ 33% Lye Concentration (2:1/Water: Lye) 40% Olive Oli. I will use 4.64 sodium hydroxide now. Am i putting too much coconut oil in ? <3, This is legit the BEST comprehensive reference I have ever discovered for soap making troubleshooting! Try using your immersion blender to smooth the lumps out. Too much clay with a reduced water amount can be prone to a dry cracked top as well. Solution: Since the soap is within 24 hours old, you might be able to force the rest of the gel. In biology, tissue is a historically derived biological organizational level between cells and a complete organ. On a daily basis I receive emails from readers about problems and questions encountered while making soap. The website thenerdyfarmwife.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. You'll love reading this article, Cold Process vs. Yes i used actual items not scents and two my bars turned yellow and dont smell anything like the rest. (You may have to scroll up a little bit before reading the spot it sends you to, depending on your device, plus some of them have an accompanying photo that may be helpful to see.). :) https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/how-to-rebatch-soap-517103. I tested the PH is all around 7. Good luck with your next batch of soap! We all have soapmaking fails. 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. You may notice that a weak lye solution doesnt get very hot, the soap batter takes too long to reach trace, and the final soap feels oily or soft and squishy, like playdough. Solution: Cover your soap to minimize the amount of air that raw soap is exposed to. 698g Sodium Hydroxide Solution: Before adding to soap, mix thoroughly with vegetable glycerin, oil, or water, depending on vendors instructions and your recipe directions. Appreciate if you can please respond. It should start to cool down and stop cracking. I just made soap and it has oil floating on top. I used brambleberry lye calculator with super fattening level of 5%. More than 40% seems to not be sweating I can send photos to better demonstrate the issue too. On a daily basis I receive emails from readers about problems and questions encountered while making soap. This year, Ive been experimenting with putting my soaps in a clear plastic storage tub. The most common reason for your soap to be oily is due to wrong measurements, or you may have stirred it wrongfully during the mixing process, but let's look into it in detail. Thank you, this is so helpful. Was the cucumber and ginger finely juiced or pureed, or were there larger pieces in the soap? Use the same method of placing in the freezer as above, only be careful popping them out as the clear plastic is prone to cracking. They may take a little longer to reach trace, unmold, and cure, but the final soaps are usually very gentle and mild. Through a long history of practical experience a variety of causes and their cures have been detailed. It was smooth when I poured in but Im still not sure why I could see oil on top. I have a question. Sodium hydroxide 4.79 +2.9 = 7.69 Hello, i made a cucumber, ginger and punk salt soap. If the surface develops an oily sheen or loses the trace, then its a false trace. Solution: If youve insulated or covered the mold, remove the layers. I would try making a much smaller test batch of the same recipe but dont oven process the soap at all, or instead just put them in the pre-heated oven then turn it off & leave in overnight without any further heat. Reason: Overmixing with an immersion blender, or using an immersion blender thats very old and incorporates in air. You can check for false trace by leaving the soap batter undisturbed for about 20 or 30 seconds after you reach light trace. Solution: Use a water discount. Reason: Spritzing too much alcohol on top of your soap (in an attempt to reduce soda ash) may cause cracking. We provide a 12-week soap-making class in one easy-to-read format, not . Stash the molds in a warm place and allow them to cure and harden for 24-48 hours. Hi, thank you, this post is amazing and Im sure took a ton of time! Thanks, Jan! You have a great idea about remelting or rebatching your soap when it didnt trace properly. A there a rule of thumb, for super fat soaps? Or perhaps the oils were the same, but the fragrance was different? Hi Tara, Im so sorry to hear that! Let the soap set up for 24 hours or so. Thank you so much for this helpful treasure found! Allow for a longer cure time: The longer your soap cures, the better the lather will be. This year, you can stop at emulsion stage. ) instead of making the even... My soap it from your last batch or a previous use or an immersion blender ( stick blender is... Still not sure why I could see oil on top lactate is thought to harden and develop a amount. Or EO to the lye solution and form small floaty bits of if! ) 40 % olive Oli typically takes about four weeks for the soap & what are some of the.... Most cases like this, the center will lighten again 30+ common cold process,. This leads to a light trace to minimize the amount of air that raw soap is completely to... Of oils, combine them with an anchor such as false trace 5x lemon, and additives! 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