Dreaded Orange Spots

by Miriam Fields
(Houston, TX)

I have made 9 small (2.2-3 lb) batches of soap over the last 2 1/2 months. I stopped using GSE and have only had DOS in soap bars several yrs old. Now I have DOS in a batch not more than 8 wks old.

I did use the last of the palm & olive oils from the bottom of the bottles. Was my oil too old? I know some of this oil is in some of my other batches, why is only this batch affected?

Answer:

Have you ever noticed when pouring your olive oil, the cloudyness that can be present in the last bit of the bottle? This is quite noticable when using pomace olive oil. The cloudyness is small particles of olives that have made it through the oil extraction process.

I can't say for sure but I think that sometimes these bits contribute to the possibility of getting DOS. I try not to use the cloudy bits of olive oil in my soaps for this reason.

Other factors that can cause the DOS in this batch while not others can include old ingredients, humidity, and botanical matter present in the soap that is going bad.

Cathy