Crackling after curing

by Ms. Lee Stone
(Seymour, WI)

I made your Seagrass recipe for the first time and after curing for 4 weeks it looks like it is "crackeled". Is this from too much lye? Did I cure it incorrectly? I have made almost all of your recipes and this is the first time this has happened.

Thanks for your time.

Answer:

Did the crackle look appear during the cure time or was it there when you cut the soap?

When the soap is insulating it can sometimes overheat and end up with a crackle like appearance. This should be apparent as soon as the soap has been cut.

If the crackle wasn't present right after insulating the soap but appeared later during the cure time then I honestly don't know what could have caused it.

To prevent the soap from overheating, take a look at it every couple of hours while it is insulating. Once the soap reaches a full gel, you can open the insulation up and put a fan on it to cool it down.

Cathy