Those are a few ideas to start with to help us troubleshoot better! 100g cocoa butter Simply leave them in the mold a day or two longer before un-molding and cutting. Reason: The recipe has an incorrect lye amount. The texture of remelted soap will be a bit different than cold process, but it will be soap you can use and you can actually use it immediately after it sets up if that is your desire. One drawback about rebatching milk soap is that it may turn darker with the heat, so you want to use a darker colorant rather than try for something like pale pink or lavender. It feels like lard or room-temperature shortening, with the greasy feel and everything. (This sometimes works, sometimes doesnt.) If you must use a loaf mold, keep a close eye on the soap after pouring it into the mold. 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. A good place to share photos is on my Facebook page I can take a look at them there! Im so sorry to hear that happened! Distilled Water @ 33% Lye Concentration (2:1/Water: Lye) 40% Olive Oli. To avoid a gel phase, try: The lady in Nova Scotia may have just used the words superfat to help with marketing & to show that it was nice and nourishing for your skin. 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. Look for labels such as Folded Orange, 10x Orange, 5x Lemon, and so forth. Is it that the commercial one has something else added my homemade soaps (oil, lye and water) are missing something??? Janet, Hi Janet! Solution: Before adding to soap, mix thoroughly with vegetable glycerin, oil, or water, depending on vendors instructions and your recipe directions. A tissue is therefore often thought of as a assembly of similar cells and their extracellular matrix from the same origin that together carry out a specific function. Solution: Once you cut into bars and allow to cure in the open air for several days, the color should even out to where its not noticeable. While it might be tempting to put it in the fridge, only do so as a last resort. But dont give up on it until then! Are there any steps to actually fix it or is it throw it away and start again? Hi, https://www.eocalc.com/. Or place saponifying soap in refrigerator. Ive made my soaps recently, but one of my soap still a bit soft, it feels hard and soft in the mean time. Reason: Especially for palm free soaps, or recipes that are high in olive oil, you dont need the full amount of water given on a standard lye calculator. So there is still hope before throwing it away! Solution: Use 0.5 to 3% beeswax in a recipe. Does it have any lumps or clumps in it? Do not use recipes that measure by volume (cups, tablespoons, etc). Many thanks, Anna in NZ, Hi Anna! 10 talking about this. 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!). Monitor freshly poured soap for signs of overheating and move to a cooler place if needed. Mix by hand, using the stick blender only if absolutely necessary, to ensure the EO or FO are mixed in completely. Too much clay with a reduced water amount can be prone to a dry cracked top as well. We recommend testing FOs and EOs with small batches of cold process soaps to know which works for you and which doesn't. You can also try adding FO or EO into your oils first before combining with lye solution and then, stir by hand as that is more controllable. I wish I could be more help, but good luck with your experiments! Thank you so much for guiding me. That might help with troubleshooting if you get a chance to let me know. Use the right water temperature: Using water that is too hot or too cold can impact lather. Can anyone help ? Reason: This means the soap has overheated at some point. When you create a recipe using a lye calculator, you normally calculate around a 5 or 6% superfat. They may take a little longer to reach trace, unmold, and cure, but the final soaps are usually very gentle and mild. Sometimes the veins may have a translucent white look to them. Also be sure youre using a quality digital scale. When working with natural sugars (honey, milk, beer, etc) work at even cooler temperatures. I know its hard for me to wait too! After trace? What am I missing here?? 4.95 oz shea butter. You could try rebatching it & see if that helps! For example, if your soap recipe has 32 oz (907 g) of oil, then use 2 tsp of sodium lactate. Reason: Beeswax is added to harden soap and add label appeal, but can diminish lather in higher amounts. It kimd of saperated. Ive been soaping for 3 yrs. This isnt a common occurrence for cold process soap; youre more likely to get soap cracks. Recipes high in olive oil need a longer cure time than other soaps in order to harden and develop a small amount of lather. What I would do is just let that soft soap cure in the open air and check it every month. That might help the lather more without needing to add detergents. As the soap cools, the center will lighten again. You can save some of the warmed soapmaking oil from the recipe, mix with the fragrance oil, and blend it in at light trace. Misbehaving Fragrance or Essential Oil. 50g star anise I wish I could be more help! If you cant blend the majority of them out, then I suggest rebatching the soap. Make sure to keep fresh batteries in your scale. Cut into bars as soon as it firms up this will happen within just a few hours from time of pouring. Reason: Sometimes a false trace happens where the soap looks like it has emulsified, but its really because a solid ingredient in the soap has gotten cool enough to start thickening the soap batter. Hi, so much info. Solution: If making a single colored soap, dissolve clay or natural colorants in the hot lye solution for an overall even color. When using clay in soap, dissolve it in the lye solution or mix it with around 3 times the amount of water before blending into the soap. Soap batter has expanded out of the mold (soap volcano). Thank you so much for reverting. The water will turn from cloudy to clear and you wont see any residue at the bottom of the container. 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. Thanks again Jan for a smart, insightful, and wonderfully written article. Youve been a great help. Can anyone recommend a natural preservative that l can safely add to my natural soaps that l will be selling in retail shops over summer? That could come from overheating. Please guide me I do want to get into soap making. It will be one to keep for personal use, not gift giving. :). Am i putting too much coconut oil in ? In soapmaking, 1 molecule of oil (fat) reacts with 3 molecules of lye which turns into 3 molecules soap + 1 molecule glycerin. Actually for me this look very beautiful, Id like to make the soap with a ring like that. Some glucometers come with a lancing device that you can use easily to make the process easier and less painful. Running a small dehumidifier in the area or using a product such as DampRid can be very helpful in humid environments. Super great article. TROUBLESHOOTING COLD PROCESS SOAP PROBLEMS. If it still shows the trace after 30 seconds then its a true one. Sometimes those get mixed up when you order them, and potassium hydroxide would make your soap stay soft. Solution: If youve insulated or covered the mold, remove the layers. As you can see, the colour darkened quite a bit as it saponified. 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. Its a win-win for all! Your recipe looks good as far as lye amount it seems to have about a 6% superfat which is great. Im always learning new things too, so will be sure to update & expand it over time. Coconut Oil 12.8 Oz (30%) It sounds silly, but it does happen sometimes! We all have soapmaking fails. Im sharing the recipe below. I am attaching the recipe below, the bars are kept in an oven at a higher temperature at first (~125-130f) and then reduced to slightly lower overnight (~120f). :), Hello, l have a question about cold processed soap preservatives. 9. 14.4g peppermint Thanks, Debbie, Hi Debbie! *For CPOP, place in preheated oven at 170 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 to 60 minutes. What will make cold process soaps freeze or set up too soon? Jo Haslauer has an excellent series of 4 articles on natural colorantsthat every soapmaker should read for information on infusions and theres also a unit on natural soap colorants in my Soapmaking Success Video Course. Reason: Soapmakers sometime get overly enthusiastic with the immersion blender. Thanks a lot. (Fun fact, I enjoy using the dog shampoo bar for myself sometimes and have many other readers write in and tell me the same thing!) I do appreciate any help you can give. Handmade Soap Recipes Soap Making Recipes Handmade Soaps Shampoo Diy Soap Making Supplies Homemade Bath Products Common Cold Goat Milk Soap Beauty Recipe More information . Reason: Some fragrance oils dont behave well in soap and will cause separation. 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. Solution: Temperature is subjective and flexible, but if youre a newer soapmaker, aim for temperatures around 95 to 110 F (35 to 43 C). This is because silicone and plastic molds create an airtight seal that doesn't allow for any air to touch the soap. The empty jug I weighed everything in was showing weight of 2.9 0z so I did add that too all weights while measuring. For soap to sweat, water must be available in the surrounding air. It also helps if your soap goes through gel phase as it will be harder upon un-molding. 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. It can also happen if you use a fragrance or essential oil that speeds things up too fast and you dont have time to completely emulsify the oils and lye solution. Pure essential oil should not cause ricing in soap. Hi Amber! Is it past its expiration date? Tips From The Experts Solution: Use distilled water, deionized water, or reverse osmosis water when making soap. If the wrong amount of lye was used, it should be discarded. Reason: In my soapmaking experiments, Ive found that adding too much zinc oxide to lighten a soap color creates a soap with a chalky texture that cracks on top. (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!) Many thanks, Hi Patricia! Kevin Dunn, a soapy scientist, says: For more information on essential oils, check out my printable chart of 24 common soapmaking essential oils and their usage rates. ), East = Easy Reason: Consider additives such as beeswax and sodium lactate to increase soap hardness. Hi Jeannina! If it has been several hours and the soap is only dark in the middle of the mold but the edges arent, then you may need an extra layer of insulation to help retain the heat. Soap has dark spots that are oozy and sticky. Solution: Check the recipe with a lye calculator and see what the recommended water amount is. If the center remains too hot for too long it will discolor and form a ring. You can use instant coffee powder or use brewed cold coffee instead of water to add the lye to. Yes, you can grate or chop it, then melt it down in your crockpot with a tablespoon or two of water if needed. 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). Peek at your soap every now and then. Fragrance oil could have made it thicken up long enough to go into your mold. It is a plastic mold (16 bar) I love the size and quantity in one batch but they are always uneven! The oil is quite thick with an amber brown color that darkens with age. Solution:Temperature is subjective and flexible, but if youre a newer soapmaker, aim for oil and lye temperatures around 95 to 110 F (35 to 43 C). Heres a great how-to article: https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/how-to-rebatch-soap-517103. Here is my recipe for both batches 19.2oz Canola Oil 12.8oz Olive Oil 4.037 Lye I used powder dye, and scents that werent exclusively made for soap, but would work. This hardens much faster than palm oil bar soaps and . Reason: Olive oil and other soft oils like canola, sunflower, safflower, etc are extra conditioning but can feel slimy if used in high amounts and not cured for an extra long time. Thanks, Jan! Reason: Homemade soap melts easily if left in water. 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. Everyone wants their soap ready faster, but handmade soap requires a certain amount of time and patience. Or, you can try adding the FO to the warmed oils before adding the lye solution and stir by hand. Soap Making; Soap Troubleshooting; . Since it has already heated so much in the middle, cooling the soap too fast will likely result in a partial gel at that point. First batch ever. Hi Krystal, Im so sorry to hear that! 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: Sodium lactate (a liquid salt derived from sugars in beets & corn) and table salt can both be used to harden soap so its ready to unmold sooner. If you are using single cavity molds, you can try freezing them to harden and hopefully the soap will pop out easier. Solution: Use individual silicone molds instead of a loaf mold for ease of unmolding. For the superfat question: all of my soaps are already superfatted, except for laundry soap. Dont add dry clay or colorant directly to thickened soap batter since you usually wont have time to work it completely in. Q: Can anyone give me a melt and pour soap recipe for a soap thats good for psoriasis/eczema? 1130g distilled water Ice cubes Reason: Some colorants just dont do well in soap, or you may be using the wrong amount or adding them at the wrong time. 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. [1] [2] Organs are then formed by the functional grouping together . 1. This in turn should free up my inbox to a more manageable level while helping others more easily find the information they need. 1369g Coconut oil 11. (Currently, I have 70+ of those emails in the queue to answer!) If they happen soon after making your soap, it could be something like spots of scorched milk or honey, or a fragrance oil, or bit of colorant/clay not mixed in. The average waiting time before you can unmold your cold process soap is 17-24 hours. It means a lot to me. Try dipping in water, as instructed by this. (super fat soap question) Hi! 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