White streaks in soap

[venus78]

Hi everyone,

I'm new in this forum and I have a problem with some of my batches.

My last 3 batches of soaps have white streaks in them, and some white spots at the bottom and a white layer on the top of

the soaps (I zap tested and it's not lye). I read that some eos that aren't stirred enough may cause that but two of my soaps' batches don't

have any essential oils in them. one of them is coffee and the other one is unscented.

I'd made 6 batches before these and I didn't have the same problem, the only difference between them is that

my new batches are superfatted 8%- my old soaps were superfatted 6%

Could the 8% superfatting has caused the problem?

Thanks

Venus

[Dagwood]

Were your hard oils fully melted? I use PKO and I've noticed that I would occasionally get white spots. Once I started melting the PKO first and then adding the other hard oils to melt, the problem went away.

[Lorrie]

What is your recipe?

[venus78]

Thanks for your reply. Yes, I did melt the hard oils completely, but before I melted hard oils first and added liquid oils to them but recently I've added liquid oils to hard oils and put the pan on the stove to melt the hard oils.

[venus78]

Here's my recipe:

coconut 26%

Palm 26%

Olive 39%

Castor 5%

Sweet almond 4%

Superfatted 8%

[Scented]

It could be your palm at 26%. Perhaps just mix your oils a little more and make sure your palm is completely melted.

[Meridith]

Also, a 5% superfat is really all you need with a basic recipe. When doing coconut bars, you can do a really high superfat, but,normally, 5% will do so I'd recommend taking it down from the 8%.

I don't think using the palm at 26% though is a problem. A very good beginner's recipe I know calls for 30%. I've soaped that recipe many times with no problems. It's what I use when teaching class. However, it could be the palm because you aren't getting in stirred in all the way. Make sure your palm is always stirred and blended properly.

Here's a tweak of your recipe that you can try if you like. This is what I'd do with those ingredients.

coconut 20%

Palm 30%

Olive 40%

Castor 5%

Sweet almond 5%

5% super fat.

Be sure to always run your numbers for the correct lye amount. Never assume any lye amounts you are given are correct. And any changes to a recipe means you need to refigure your lye amount again.

To save money, you could change the SAO out for safflower or sunflower oil. I personally think SAO is wasted in soap and is better for lotions, butters and that sort of thing.

You could also take the palm out and sub in lard. Lard is wonderful in soap.

Or you can sub in 1\2 of your OO with some RBO (make sure to run your numbers.).

[venus78]

Thanks a lot Meridith. I will definitely use your recipe next time I'm making soap and will reduce superfatting to 5%.

[venus78]

Hi Meridith, I have another question and I'd be thankful if you could help me.

My soaps which are 3 weeks make my skin flakey and a little dry.

I used the same recipe plus grapeseed oil and 6% superfatted.

I'm so disappointed because I wasn't expecting it at all.

I purchased my olive oil from grocery and I suspect that olive oils in grocery might not be so pure although they say they are.

Do you have any idea what could be wrong?

Thanks a lot

[IndulgentCreations]

I have always heard that streaky soap is caused from too much stearic. Did you melt your palm and stir it before weighing out what you needed or was it no stir palm? Just a thought.

[Lorrie]

My soaps which are 3 weeks make my skin flakey and a little dry.

I used the same recipe plus grapeseed oil and 6% superfatted.

I'm so disappointed because I wasn't expecting it at all.

I purchased my olive oil from grocery and I suspect that olive oils in grocery might not be so pure although they say they are.

Not Meredith but you could be sensitve to the coconut oil. I can't use more than 20% in my soaps because it makes my skin dry and itchy, So I use palm kernel instead. Maybe try subbing that for coconut and rerun your numbers to make sure that you have the correct lye amount.

I also think that Olive oil sometimes from the grocery store is not pure.

[Scented]

I'd wait though and try it after 4 to 5 weeks. Coconut seems to mellow and there's a way to make it less irritating too, but see how it feels through a longer cure.

[Meridith]

Hi Meridith, I have another question and I'd be thankful if you could help me.

My soaps which are 3 weeks make my skin flakey and a little dry.

I used the same recipe plus grapeseed oil and 6% superfatted.

I'm so disappointed because I wasn't expecting it at all.

I purchased my olive oil from grocery and I suspect that olive oils in grocery might not be so pure although they say they are.

Do you have any idea what could be wrong?

Thanks a lot

As has been pointed out, you could be sensitive to CO; alot of folks are when used over a certain amount and some are just plain allergic to it. I have a customer that is allergic to it. You could sub in babassu or PKO for the CO which will help to add lather and hardness to your bar. Babassu is a bit pricey though and for you PKO, I'd recommend buying it in flake form because its easier to use that way. Also, your lye amounts could be off so that you really did not do a 6% SF. Do you have a reliable scale that you use? Or as was also pointed out, a little longer cure might help.

When buying OO, make sure it is pure. Some of the cheaper brands are cut with other oils which will change the sap value and the outcome of your soap. Another route to go to keep costs down could be using olive pomace which is a cheaper OO and perfectly fine for soaping. I notice no difference in my bars made with OP and those made with regular OO. You can buy it at Soapers Choice in 7lb jugs. They also sell RBO. RBO and OO have similar properties and are a good sub for one another. RBO does not produces the slimy lather that OO which for some is considered a plus.

When using GSO, be careful of the amounts you use as it has a pretty short shelf life and can go rancid in your soap causing DOS. GSO is another oil I'd use for applications than soap. I personally think its wasted in soap. Just my opinion though. I'd recommend using sunflower, safflower or canola oil (another one that you need to watch the amounts in your recipe because it can go bad but I've used it up to 10% with no problems.) These oils bring some wonderful conditioning qualities to your soap and can spare your wallet a bit.

And yes, palm does have steric in it which can cause some issues with the look of your soap if not blended well. But, I'm not sure that that is your problem. But if it is, subbing in lard can also help cure that issue. Lard will help to make a harder bar while helping with the conditioning qualities. Like PO, it won't add much to the lathering though. If you can post pictures, we might be able to tell better.

[venus78]

Thanks a lot for all your very helpful messages. :smiley2:

[Carrie]

Hi Meridith, I have another question and I'd be thankful if you could help me.

My soaps which are 3 weeks make my skin flakey and a little dry.

I used the same recipe plus grapeseed oil and 6% superfatted.

I'm so disappointed because I wasn't expecting it at all.

I purchased my olive oil from grocery and I suspect that olive oils in grocery might not be so pure although they say they are.

Do you have any idea what could be wrong?

Thanks a lot

Your first bars had a very high percentage of coconut. Many people have problems with itchy skin when coconut is above 15-20% of your recipe.

Also, I never judge a soap until it's cured for 6 weeks. I'd put them back on the shelf for a few more weeks and try them again.

[venus78]

Thanks Carrie, I'll do that

[venus78]

I have one last question about streaky soaps which is caused

because of stearic in the palm.

I don't have a no stir palm and I was wondering is it a good idea to melt the palm (my palm isn't solid in room temperature and the stearic settles at the bottom of the container), stir it and put it in the fridge to become soid, or jut melt it and stir it before measuring each time?

[Meridith]

I stir it each time. At this time of year, it was always melted so it made it easier for me to stir. But when it wasn't hot out enough to keep it melted, we'd melt it down and separate it into smaller containers so it was easier to melt and stir it each time.

[venus78]

Thanks Meridith, you're always a great help

[venus78]

I umolded my new batch a few hours ago and there's no sign of white streaks in it :smiley2: so relieved .. I was so nervous:lipsrseal

The only thing was that the batch was lighter on the outside, when I cut it into bars I noticed it was a little darker in the inside and each bar has a lighter layer around it about 1mm.

any idea why?

[Meridith]

Did you use FO? Could be the fo. It should turn the same color all the way as the air gets to it and it cures. Usually they are lighter on the inside and will darken up like the rest with time.

Congrats on a streak free soap.

[Carrie]

The only times my soap is darker in the middle is when I did't get a complete gel.

[venus78]

I used spearmint eo. If it didn't gel completely how can I prevent it from happening again? I always leave my soap in the mold for 12-14 hours, I've

left my soaps for 24 hours but usually ended up with something like "alien brain". I don't know why but I think it might be the dry weather.

I usually cover the mold with a blanket.

[inherowndominion]

I'm not sure if the spots are powdery or oily, if you used TD or not.

One place to look is your lye...I've noticed with my lye that if it gets exposed to humidity, when dissolved and cool it will leave a "crust" on top of the water. If you leave the crust in there when you make the soap (contrary to popular belief, no the crust won't harm the soap if it's properly sapped), it will leave white streaks and spots. If this happens to me, I skim the crust off the top before I mix.

[venus78]

Hi Meridith, I have another question and I'd be thankful if you could help me.

My soaps which are 3 weeks make my skin flakey and a little dry.

I used the same recipe plus grapeseed oil and 6% superfatted.

I'm so disappointed because I wasn't expecting it at all.

I purchased my olive oil from grocery and I suspect that olive oils in grocery might not be so pure although they say they are.

Do you have any idea what could be wrong?

Thanks a lot

I just though of something about my soaps that make my skin flakey,

When I purchased lye, they had two kinds of lye:

1- industrial lye 96-99% purity $2 per kg.

2- lab lye (that's what they called it) 99% purity $25 per kg.

I purchased lab lye. Since I live in Iran and we don't have any soapmaking suppliers, I'm not sure which one is used for soap making.

Could it be the kind of lye I use?

Thanks everyone for your help