jackie Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 I made my first batch of soap yesterday afternoon so I haven't unmolded yet. I did not color it. It went to trace really fast which seemed fine to me but then wondered if I did something wrong. It got pretty thick before I added fragrance so that wasn't it. I think it's because the lye water was 117 degrees (the tutorial said 100-120 and it was very slow cooling down; with ambient room temp of 64 I expected it to be faster)--if the lye was cooler it would slow it down; is that a correct statement? I prob should have used a cold water bath to cool it but the soap poured fine and it gelled fine (to my untrained eyes anyway). From first adding the lye water to trace, it was under 3 minutes. I used the stick blender in 30sec spurts then stirred (I only used the blender 3 times I think). Second question:I did not color it but it's kinda tan on its own. So do you need to make a recipe uncolored first to get an idea of what colors to expect? I guess I'm asking does the oxide color you add just blend with the natural color, like if the natural color was yellow and you added blue coloring, would your soap be green or would the blue actually come through? Don't know if I'm making any sense here. I'll unmold either late today or in the morning. I have a good PH meter (for my winemaking) so I can check that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrochet Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 The fast trace could have something to do with your recipe. For example if you use a high precentage of olive oil in your receipt you will not reach trace as fast as you would if used a high precentage of plam oil. Just some advice, until you get more familiar with your oils and how they react I would not use the stick blender JMO. As for the color, it just depends on what you use some morph to different colors, some you need more of some you need less. My soap base is not white it is more of a yellow and I have never had a blue turn green, but thats just me I can't speak for everyone else. Just a little something else, test, test, test.......you gonna hear that alot.Welcome to my addictionSheli Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitn Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Your recipe is likely why it traced so fast. I haven't had colorants turn my base another color, just the color I was going for.mine is an off white yellowish color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella1952 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 I have experienced colorants and FOs causing color morphing in CP soap. One simply notes which ones behave in an unexpected manner and remember that for future batches. Darkening or muddying of colors is not uncommon. Some FOs always cause the soap to darken when I use them, so I plan for that.What was the recipe you used? You may have experienced a "false trace" where the soap thickens as if it's tracing, but will loosen up again if one continues stirring. Too much SB causes my soaps to trace faster in general. With some formulas I don't even use a SB because of this phenomenon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackie Posted December 19, 2011 Author Share Posted December 19, 2011 The recipe was45% olive oil25% lard25% coconut oil5% castorThe fragrance was BCN clean cotton but like I said, it was pretty thick before I added it. I cut it yest and it was okay though I don't care for the color; has a little ash but that's no big deal to me. I even washed my hands with it (couldn't wait). I feel more comfortable now having that first batch done but I know I still have lots and lots to learn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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