COMMON PROBLEMS IN SOAP BOILING - TROUBLESHOOTING
Since questions about various problems with soap boiling come up again and again in my workshops, I would like to go into more detail here.
I hope that one or the other will see the light :-)!
SOAP STAYS SOFT - DOES NOT SOLIDIFY
If your soap does not solidify during mixing, there can be two reasons.
1. check the quantities of the recipe, check the scales, check if you have weighed all raw materials and correctly weighed all raw materials.
2. if you can exclude point 1, it can also be due to your base fats. If the ratio of very high and only a few solid fats in the recipe, then the thickening of the soap glue takes soap glue takes much longer! Just be patient and keep mixing until the soap glue reaches a creamy consistency.
There is a thin white layer on the soap (the pour side). No need to worry, it is soda ash. It is a natural component of handmade natural soaps and is formed when the fresh soap glue is not covered quickly enough (cardboard, plastic film). It does not diminish the quality in any way. Soda ash can be easily "planed" or cut off if desired.
CRYSTALS ON OR IN THE SOAP
If you discover fine crystals, caution is advised. It could be too much sodium hydroxide due to a weighing error. Or it could be undissolved sodium hydroxide (milk soaps!).
Therefore it is necessary to test the soap for its PH value. With test strips moisten the soap and dip the strip briefly and read immediately. Handmade natural soaps have a PH value of 8.5 - 9 after maturing and no more! Do not use strongly alkaline soap and take it to the collection point.
SOAP CANNOT BE UNMOLDED
If the recipe has been accurately weighed and prepared, soap may "sit" longer in the mold. If it still does not unmold after 1 week, you can put it in the freezer for 2 - 4 hours.
BREAKING SOAP
If your soap breaks or splinters when you cut it, you may have made a weighing error. Thus, the ratio to the oil and lye is not correct and therefore the consistency of the soap.
Here it is urgently necessary to test the soap for its PH value!
If the PH value is in the normal range, it may be that you have used too high a proportion of very hard fats such as cocoa butter and therefore the soap breaks when cut. Or the addition of salt. Salt soaps are often brittle when cut. With either of these issues, it is only a minor visual problem and does not detract from the quality of your natural soap.