CareBear Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 can non-gelled soap get ash? or does it only show up on soap that has gelled? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dublon Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 I don't know if this is any help but.. I made my 4th batch yesterday. It went reallllllllly well . But it didn't gel, as far as I can tell, and I have ash.What I'm thinking is that we went out for a couple of hours last night and we have a wood stove, so by the time we got back, the stove was almost out.It is friggin cold around here these days, so the house cooled down quite a bit, and I think my batch cooled off too quickly, although I had wrapped my pan in blankets! I have some ash this morning, and I also had some condensation... which has now since evaporated.My Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca_IA Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 Both can form ash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 My non-gelled soaps tend to get ash more often than my gelled soaps, but both have before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meridith Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 Did you have RBO in your recipe? I've noticed I get more ash when I use RBO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CareBear Posted February 10, 2007 Author Share Posted February 10, 2007 I was just curious. All my soaps gel (I cannot seem to prevent it, once I even put a batch in the fridge for 3 days, and on the 4th day it started and I ended up with a partial...).I don't really mind ash - sometimes I love it, most times I ignore it, sometimes I remove it (wash or plane)Never use RBO (got too much OO as it is LOL). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca_IA Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 Ditto what jcandleattic said.I've never noticed oils making a difference, I'll have to notate that one, in case I ever start using it alot. (thank you).I got ash very bad when I used water straight from the tap. I've got ash very bad from some FO's.I now try to leave saran wrap on the soap until it's cooled off and ash is a very rare occurance, but when it does happen, I go with it. I've never covered salt bars with saran and those have never formed ash before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meridith Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 Oh yeah CB I forgot about your butt-load of OO. You lucky girl you. I get ash too even without RBO, but I've noticed more of my bars with RBO ash so I was thinking it might be a culprit. But that is just a guess.edtied to add: I've done the saran wrap on and off, gel no gel, oven and no oven and still can get gel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca_IA Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 Meridith, do you mean you still can get ash? Are you leaving it on until the soap is completely cooled off, as in back to room temp? If not, try that. If ash is something you want to avoid, have you tried Iben from the Dish's alcohol method of preventing ash? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carriegsxr6 Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 Mine sometimes ash in the corners where the gel doesnt reach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scent Cellar Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 My base recipe has a high percentage of rice bran oil and it tends to ash unless I spritz the top with alcohol. I don't mind the ash when I do colored swirls on the top of the soap as the ash sometimes lends a nice touch to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CareBear Posted February 10, 2007 Author Share Posted February 10, 2007 I keep forgetting the alcohol thing. Weird, but I often don't get ash till I've unmolded... Maybe that is because I cure my soaps near a heat vent. Didn't do that in the old house, where I rarely got ash. On the other hand, this house is much colder (and I didn't start soaping till the summer anyway, when it was gol derned HOT in my house.Could be just about anything I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meridith Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 Meridith, do you mean you still can get ash? Are you leaving it on until the soap is completely cooled off, as in back to room temp? If not, try that. If ash is something you want to avoid, have you tried Iben from the Dish's alcohol method of preventing ash?Yes, I meant to say ash. Duh on me for not paying better attention! LOL Ash it isn't something that bothers me but I've tried paying attention to just to figure out what might cause it when it happens. It's not really something I've made a conscience effort to avoid either. I'm more concerned with other things and can't overload this brain too much. LOL And for me, RBO could be a contributor to it. Personally, I think at times ash can add a really cool look to the soap and your swirls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountainmadness Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 You can get ash with both non-gel and gel. I get more with a non-gel but that is what I prefer anyway.CareBare- I am assuming that you use warm lye solution if every batch gels. I use room temp lye and have to force mine to gel if that is what I want.I have noticed also and have notes of the FO or EO that cause more ash. Peppermint EO is the most ashy- in my experience.HTH.Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CareBear Posted February 10, 2007 Author Share Posted February 10, 2007 I always make up my lye sol'n hours before an have it at RT when I soap. I also melt and mix my oils/butters and let them come to RT too. And every batch gels. I do insulate to ensure it gets to the corners, but especially in log molds I have very little choice in the matter!I think it's the vibes of this house we've been in since October - no matter where I put the mold it gels AND I get ash! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crafty1_AJ Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 Runs the gamut here. I've had tons of ash on UNSCENTED soap, so it's not just fo. (I've got a pic right now in the B&B Gallery of an unscented castile with heavy ash.)I've had ash on the parts that gelled and no ash on the ungelled portions of a partial gel batch.I don't use rbo and I get ash. Some batches gel; some don't (although most of my soaps do gel, as I encourage it).Sometimes I make a soap the exact same way. One batch gets ash; next doesn't.Honestly, it's a bit of a crapshoot, IME. I don't like topping my soap with plastic wrap because after gel, it tends to wrinkle and leave those creases in the soap surfaces. The alcohol method is supposed to work well, but I never mess with it. Once I get the soap in the mold and insulated, I'm done with it until the next day. LOLEdited to add: I mostly use slab molds, and ash is always worst on the top, which has the most air exposure during the first 12-24 hours. Sometimes I cut a batch and it's fine, then later the other sides develop a bit of ash as well. Something to do with coming into contact with air (which would explain why alcohol spritzing and plastic wrap prevent it somehow). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinInOR Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 For me it seems temp related. My first year I never got ash. Then one winter I started getting bad ash. Who knows, different lye, different batches of oils. I did have 1/2 a log get ash and 1/2 not - the half that got ash had it's lid knocked off so the cool air was getting to it. If I cool slowly, and don't use a high water discount, I don't get as much.Last time I tried the alcohol method it left weird yellow spots. If I use lavender EO, then nothing seems to prevent it except "full" water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CareBear Posted February 11, 2007 Author Share Posted February 11, 2007 with lavender EO I swear I can see the ash forming while the batter is still in the bowl! LOL!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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