Is the darker oval spot in each bar of soap normal?

by Anonymous

On a few of my batches of soap I notice a darker oval area in each bar of soap. Is this normal? I thought it would go away after the curing process, but it has been 3 weeks or so and it does not seem to be changing at all.


Thank you so much!..

Answer:

I'm guessing that your soap didn't reach a full gel. The darker spot is gelled soap and the other is ungelled soap.

To avoid this you will either need to make sure the soap reaches a full gel or that the soap doesn't gel at all.

Cathy

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starstarstarstarstar 		Gel
by: Anonymous

What determines if soap reaches a full gel or not?

Answer:

During the insulation period, as the soap is completing the saponification process, it heats up, darkens in colour and becomes translucent. The look and feel of the soap base during the gel phase is similar to vaseline.

If the soap does not heat up enough it will not go through the gel phase which is why people who do not want to gel their soaps will put the soap into the fridge or the freezer.

Cathy
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starstarstarstarstar 		To gel or not
by: Anonymous

Is there any difference in the final quality between soap that has gone through a full gel and soap that has not?

If I insulate my soap too much it cracks in the middle and if I don't insulate it enough it will not reach full gel and I get dark ovals in each bar. Lol this is very much a science. But I'm learning. And thank god for this website!

Answer:

It certainly can be quite the learning experience!

To gel or not to gel is really just a personal preference. Either method will produce a wonderful bar of soap.

If you want to gel your soap without it becoming too hot and cracking, try peaking every hour or so until the soap has gelled pretty much to the very edges of the soap mold. Then remove all the insulation and put a fan on the soap to help bring the temperature down. This seems to work well for me. It also helps to reduce the amount of 'bloom' the soap gets on the top.

Cathy

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