Today is the next lesson in the Back to Basics Cold Process Series. Today, we are reviewing how temperature affects cold process soaping. If you missed yesterday’s Basic and Simple Cold Process Soap, be sure to check it out! It’s the perfect recipe for the beginner soaper. Tomorrow will feature another cold process tutorial including butters and essential oil. If you’d like to receive all the ingredients to make all the projects in this series, the Back to Basics Soapmaking Kit contains everything you need!
Cold process soap making is a science. It involves mixing oils and lye solution to begin a chemical reaction known as saponification. Like any scientific process and reaction, it’s important to be precise and consistent. For soap making, these means carefully measuring and mixing ingredients and controlling for factors such as temperature.
The temperature of cold process ingredients (the oils and lye solution) can greatly affect the final product. The temperature of your soaping area also affects your results. If you were to ask advanced soapers, “What is the perfect soaping temperature?” you would receive a wide range of answers. This is because it depends greatly on the particular recipe and design. For most soapers, the preferred temperature of soaping lye and oils are 120-130 ° F. In addition, many soapers and books believe it is helpful to have the lye and oil within 10 degrees of each other.
The temperature range of 120-130 ° F is popular for several reasons. For any recipe, it’s important that your soap making oils are completely melted. Oils and butters all melt at different temperatures, but at 120-130 ° F, the mixture of oils (and possibly butters) will all be thoroughly melted. A good rule of thumb is that your mixture of oils should be clear, with no cloudiness.
The oils above are the perfect soaping temperature, 120-130 ° F. Notice there is no cloudiness in the oil mixture.
If the oil mixture is too cool and has cloudiness, fatty acids within the mixture have solidified. Solid oil within the mixture can lead to a “false trace.” False trace occurs when soap batter appears to be a thick consistency, but the oils and butters have not saponified. To avoid false trace, ensure any hard oils or butters are thoroughly melted and do not cool during the soaping process. The temperature range of 120-130 ° F is a safe range that should not look cloudy, or lead to false trace.
It’s also important that your lye is an appropriate soaping temperature. Just like soaping oils, a great lye temperature for soaping is 120-130 ° F. Adding lye to water causes a exothermic reaction that causes the lye water to reach temperatures up to 200 ° F. Because the lye solution becomes so hot, it needs time to cool for soaping. I like to prepare my lye water about 1-3 hours before soaping to allow my lye to cool to a suitable temperature.
If the lye solution is too cold, it can solidify the oils and butters upon contact. If the lye is extremely hot, it can cause the saponification process to speed up dramatically. This is problematic if the soap design involves lots of layers, swirls or other complex techniques.
All this being said…soaping temperature is very much a personal preference, and will vary slightly depending on the recipe. Milk soap is a great example. To prevent the milk from scorching, lye temperatures need to be kept cool. Learn more about making lye solution with milk instead of water in this blog post. On the flip side, hotter temperatures are great when you want your soap to go through gel phase. Learn more about gel phase here. Below are some reasons why you may want to soap hotter or colder than 120-130 ° F. In general, I only recommend soaping at 160 ° F if you are working with beeswax.
When to Keep Soaping Temperatures Cool (100-110 ° F):
You want to prevent gel phase
You are making soap with alternative liquids (milk, juice, tea, etc) instead of water
You want to prevent glycerin rivers
When working with a fragrance oil that heats up
Your room temperature is hot
When to Keep Soaping Temperatures Hot (131-160 ° F):
You want to promote gel phase
If you’re using LabColors (promote gel phase)
You want to prevent soda ash
To help soap saponify quicker
You are working with beeswax
It’s important to also consider the temperature of your surroundings when making soap. Soap created with average or cool soaping temperatures can become quite hot if left in a warm or hot room after pouring into the mold. Hot room temperatures can cause soap to go through gel phase, or even overheat. If your room temperature is quite hot you may want to soap with slightly cooler temperatures than normal and avoid insulation. To learn more about insulating your soap, check out the When to Insulate Handmade Soap blog post. On the flip side, some soap recipes like milk soap can be placed in the fridge or freezer to prevent gel phase or overheating. Check out the Milk Project Roundup for a variety of recipes made with milk.
When soap becomes hot, it goes through gel phase. Gel phase helps soap look more colorful and shiny.
When creating cold process soap, I always have a temperature gun nearby to make sure my temperatures are appropriate. Temperature is key to ensuring the recipe sets up correctly, and the design turns out as planned. Remeber, if your soap overheats or is cold as it saponifies in the mold, as long as it is not lye heavy, the soap is safe to use. Below are the most common cosmetic concerns that are due to soap becoming too hot, or the soap being cold.
When soap is too hot: When soap becomes hot, it enters gel phase. Gel phase is great! It helps colors become more vibrant. But, if the soap gets too hot, it can form alien brains, glycerin rivers or volcano. In the collage below, “alien brain” is shown on the top. Notice the bumpy, wavy temperature? That is alien brain! This was caused by the soap being insulated in a hot room.
On the bottom left is a soap volcano. This soap overheated due to a combination of hot oils, coconut milk and a untested fragrance oil. Click here to read more about this incident. Luckily I was able to save this batch by using the hot process hero method. On the bottom right is an example of glycerin rivers. When cold process soap gets too hot the naturally occurring glycerin within the soap can congeal, becoming more apparent and visible, forming the “rivers.” Click here to learn more about glycerin rivers and how to prevent them.
When soap is too cold: When soap is on the cooler side, soda ash can form on the top of the soap. Soda ash occurs on soap due to the natural process of unsaponified lye reacting with carbon dioxide in the air. The result is a thin white layer on the top of the soap. While perfectly safe to use, soda ash can be considered an aesthetic issue. To learn more about soda ash and how to prevent it, click here.
To dive deeper into the topic of temperature in cold process soap making, check out the blog posts below. If you have any tips are tricks for controlling the temperature of your soap, I would love to hear them!
Jazzed About Gel Phase
LabColors and Gel Phase Are Friends
Explaining and Preventing Soda Ash
Soaping in the Summer Heat
When to Insulate Handmade Soap
How to Add Lye to Milk for Cold Process Soap
The River Runs Deep: An explanation of glycerin rivers
Hi. I’m a relatively new soaper… since toward the beginning of this year. I’ve made some beautiful soap and haven’t had any problems until recently. I was away taking care of my mom who had cancer for a few weeks, then came back and my batches have mostly been problematic. I melt the oils and butters as usual and mix with the lye water when they go below 130° but lately the oils have been separating out and sitting on top. I don’t know if it’s because the weather is warmer now or what. I use a soap calculator as usual. It’s so weird. Makes me feel like I forgot how to soap! One batch was really bad, so I ended up rebatching/melting it all down and remolding, but of course all my marbling and toppings were ruined. A couple have been okay, but still a bit of excess oil on top. This evening’s batch was separating before I even got it poured, even though I mixed it well. I have been using a bit more fragrance/EO, but not more than recommended with the soap calc. If anything, less. Any help would be most appreciated. Thank you!
I’m wondering if it may be heat or stick blender related. How are you storing the soap, and how hot is it in your house? Does the separated oil go away after a few days? Also, how long are you stick blending that batch? Let me know and we’ll get this figured out.
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I have a quick question about room temperatures. I currently live in the basement of a friend’s house and have no control of the A/C or heater. It is always 60°F or colder in my apartment-type area. I soap in my kitchen, but I just started and only have 4 batches under my belt so far. One batch of M&P soap I made didn’t work out very well, and I believe it is because it is so cold in my apt. So I’m just wondering… does the cold temperature of the room have any affect on CP soaps hardening and/or curing? If so, what sort of effects?
Thanks!
Colder temperatures may cause the soap to harden more slowly, but it will cure at the same rate and the soap itself won’t be affected. In fact, with some soaps you want to keep it cool, like recipes made with milk or honey that scorch if they get too hot. If you like, you can gel your soap. That helps it harden more quickly and helps the colors pop. Learn how to insulate the soap to heat it up here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/when-to-insulate-handmade-soap/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
We live in the Caribbean were the average temperature is around 85-90F. We We have been soapmaking for about 7 months now, usually around 130F. This weekend, for the first time, we experimentted with a previously masterbatched lye-solution and decided to soap at room temperature. We melted the hard oils and butters and mixed them with the other oils. Both the oils and the lye-solution were at 90F when we started stick blending them together. We did not experience any acceleration issues and had no problem pouring the batter into the molds. We let the finish soap sit for 3 days (like we always have) before unmolding them. Unlike all our previous soaps that were slightly soft after unmolding, these new loafs were very hard and difficult to cut. Is this a normal result of soaping at room temperature? Or is this the result of false trace, and the hard oils hardening before saponifying?
Hmm, I’m not quite sure why that happened. It sounds like your soap emulsified just fine – usually false trace happens as soon as the lye is added. It starts to thicken immediately. Did you notice that at all?
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Please I tried soaping and anytime I did it, upon adding my lye solution to my oil, it becomes thicken that I can hardly stir it or use my stick blender. It has happened for more than 3 times now. My room temperature is 96 F. I maintain the temperature of 120 – 130 for my lye and oil. Please help on why it becomes thick
Does the soap thicken as soon as the lye is added? Do you have hard oils like coconut in your recipe?
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi Kelsey. I found pre-mixed lye water in an asian grocer. Can tgat be used in soap making? Thank you so much for your help!
It can, it’s a great option for those who don’t want to deal with the lye flakes. You will need to find out the ratio of lye to water in the mixture, then possibly add more water to your batch to match the Lye Calculator: https://www.brambleberry.com/Pages/Lye-Calculator.aspx
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Three of us got together to make soap, using a recipe from a book. The mixture never hardened and you can clearly see separation in the container. Recipe was: 32 oz olive oil, 74 ounces tallow ( we used 26 oz tallow, the rest lard), 3 oz cocoa butter, mixed with 41 oz water in 14 oz lye. My batch is thick and looks like applesauce, the other two ladies is liquid. Is it salvageable?
I’m thinking it may be the lye or the stick blender. How old is your lye? Does it say sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide? Also, how long did you stick blend for? Let me know and I’ll help you troubleshoot.
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I have trouble getting my lye solution to heat up. I am using frozen goats milk instead of water. The first batch I made rose to 90 degrees easily and made perfect soap. I soap between 90 & 100 degrees.
From there on, every batch that I did , even newly opened bottles of lye, I would have to place my lye/milk solution in warm water to get it in the 90’s.
Since then, almost every batch gets too hot and cracks in the middle after pouring. Is my lye old? What is going on? Should I just put it in frig and avoid gel phase? Really wanted to get the gelled look.
Cooler lye is normal for milk. After adding the lye to your frozen milk, it heats up to about 70-90F. If it’s cooler, you can let it sit at room temperature until it’s about 90F or place it in warm water. You don’t want to go much hotter than that, otherwise it can scorch the milk, which causes discoloration and an unpleasant smell. The same goes for storing the soap – we recommend keeping it in the fridge or freezer for 5-24 hours. If it gels, it can discolor and crack. Learn more about working with milk here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/how-to-add-lye-to-milk-for-cold-process-soap/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hello,
I just made my first batch of 100% Castile Brine soap following the recipe in the Pure Soapmaking book. When I first started to cut in to the soap (I used a loaf instead of the individual soap molds) it was perfect, but as I finished a slice of soap, the bottom wanted to crumble. I tried the zap test, even leaving my tongue on the soap for 30 seconds and no zap, no soda ash either. Could this just be a result from cutting with a thick blade? Leaving it in the mold too long? Too much of a temperature differential while mixing the lye water and the oil?
Thanks for your help. I really want to use this soap after it cures, seeing as it doesn’t seem to have any caustic properties.
Best,
Diane
Bars made with loose salt or salt water will harden a lot more quickly than bars without. If they’re not cut as soon as the bars are hard, they can get pretty crumbly. For your next batch, you’ll want to cut the bars as soon as they’re hard to the touch – usually within an hour or two (remember to wear gloves). Individual molds also work really nicely because you don’t have to worry about cutting the bars.
The bars you have now are just fine to use. If they’re a bit to crumbly, they can be tossed in a jar with extra salt for a nice scrub, or embedded in another cold process recipe.
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Pure Soapmaking: https://www.brambleberry.com/Pure-Soapmaking-How-to-Create-Nourishing-Natural-Skin-Care-Soaps-P6298.aspx
Hi. I just did my first soap and i didn’t realize that everything was suppose to be 100° and up. I used frozen cubes of aloe vera 99.8% as my water. My lye was at 78° and the oils was at 82°. I reached trace in about 30 seconds. I sprayed it with alcohol but i did had soda ash on the spots i missed. My question is…is something wrong with my soap because everything was at a low temp?
Did you notice the soap started to harden as soon as the cold lye was added? If so, that may be false trace, which happens when the cold lye starts to harden the oils before they’re emulsified. How long did you stick blend your soap, and do you notice any separation? Let me know and I’ll help you troubleshoot. 🙂
Learn more about false trace here: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/spot-prevent-false-trace/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I am having trouble with my cp soap. My regular size batch is perfect, nice and hard and good lather. But I doubled the batch exactly, even checked it on a lye calculator, but each time it is very soft, doesn’t even come out of the molds. even when I let it sit a couple of extra days.
Any ideas why this would be happening??
My formula is basically, 1/3 olive oil, 1/3 coconut oil, 1/3 mix of avocado & castor oils
thanks so much for any ideas.
I’m wondering if it may be temperature related! If the temperatures in your larger batch were lower and the soap was poured at a thinner trace, it can take longer to harden and unmold. What temperatures were you soaping at, and how did you store the soap? Let me know and I’ll help you troubleshoot. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hello!
I want to say first that I love you guys, you’ve always been super helpful and informative.
I’m having trouble getting a complete gel phase. I’ve got a wooden mold that seems to insulate enough uncovered to get a partial gel. My last batch, I really wanted a complete gel, so I covered with cardboard and a towel. A few hours later, I went to spray with alcohol (I had forgotten), and I found alien brain!
It was only covered 2.5 hours at most. How can I get a happy medium, so I get a full gel?
It will take a bit of practice to find the perfect gel temperature for your bars! It will depend on your recipe, fragrance, how hot you soap, how hot your house is, etc. If your house is really warm and you soaped at higher temperatures, you may only need a piece of cardboard for insulation. If the house is cold and your temperatures are lower, you may need the towel, cardboard and even a heating pad. Just give it your best guess and check the soap after 30 minutes. If it’s too hot, you can adjust from there. 🙂
Learn more about insulating soap here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/when-to-insulate-handmade-soap/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
If your lye water cools too much toward room temperature before you get around to adding it in, what do you do? Do you just have to mix up a new batch?
You can try to reheat that lye in a hot water bath! That can bring the temperature back up. If it’s still pretty cool, you can use it – just watch out for false trace. That happens when cool lye water starts to resolidify hard oils in the batch. If that happens, just keep stick blending until the soap is emulsified and there are no lumps. 🙂
Read more about false trace here: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/spot-prevent-false-trace/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Thank you! 🙂
You’re welcome!
hi
I tried coconut milk CP soap yesterday. temperature of oil and lye was 120-130°F. trace was good when molded but in the morning when I saw it a good amount of oil was there on top of it. what could be reason and how I can deal with it?
Thank you
Hi Neha!
It may be temperature related, or it may be separation. How long did you stick blend for? Also, how did you store the soap? Let me know and I’ll help you troubleshoot. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
hi Kelsey!
I stick blend it for almost 8 minutes. I kept it open as here its very hot in India.
Thank you
Neha laur
Perfect, thank you! Because you stick blended for 8 minutes I don’t think it’s separating. Instead, it may be heat related. Sometimes when the soap gets really hot, it can get droplets of oil on top. They normally go away after the soap cures though! Do you notice them evaporating?
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
it did not evaporated. it was like a river flow. what I did today that I rebatched the soap. will cut in morning and will let you know. also please tell me what should be the temperature of oil and lye. for the very first time I tried making soap. want to know what does superfatning means. is it a % of carrier oils or fragrance oils.
Thank you
Absolutely! What oils are in your batch? Also, are you using any additives like milk, honey, etc? Let me know and I can recommend temperatures. 🙂
Also, superfat is leftover oil in the batch that doesn’t turn into soap. It’s extra oil that adds moisturizing properties to soap. We like to superfat at 5%. We find that makes the bar feel nice but not sticky. Learn more about superfat here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/cold-process-soap/superfatting-soap-an-explanation-2/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi, wasn’t sure how to start a new comment, but I had the most bizarre thing happen to my soap. I did a goats milk coffee chocolate cold process castille soap. When I cut it, it was so nice, rich brown color evenly through out. Well, I needed to do so trimming of a bar about 1 week later and the inside had turned a cream white. What in the heck? It was uniform when I cut it. Any ideas to why this happened?
Oh wow, that is odd. I’m not entirely sure why that’s happening – usually soap does the opposite and gets darker! Can you send me a picture to our Bramble Berry Facebook page? I’m wondering if the trimmed parts just haven’t oxidized yet!
Bramble Berry Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BrambleBerry/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi, I wish I would have read this sooner, so I had a picture. It’s several weeks out now and the soap is a nice uniform brown. I guess it must have been a weird gel phase. Thank you for the feedback!
Oh glad to hear that! 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hello!
I hope all is well with everyone! I was working on a recipe out of Anne-Marie’s new book. The recipe is the White Tea with Eucalyptus Essential Oil.
Following instructions, I weighed out my tea and froze it. When adding the lye little by little it seemed almost freeze and never really warmed up over 75 degrees. This is my second time making this recipe and the same thing happened last time, except the lye/tea mixture didn’t go over 60 degrees. When the first one was unmolded it had a very thick layer of sad ash, somewhere around 1/2 inch thick and was so crumbly.
This time I tried putting the lye in a hot water bath to try to get the temp up, but after 5 minutes it only went up to 83 degrees. I went ahead and mixed and poured. For the first time I am forcing gel phase with a box over the soap plus a thick towel over that, as it sits on my window ceal.
Have you ever had an issue with this before? I would love to get some input.
Thank you so much for your time,
BrieAnna
Hi BrieAnna!
Hmm, I’m wondering if it may be your lye. When we were making that recipe for the book, we found the tea totally melted and got to around 100F. If the lye is expired, it won’t heat up as much. How old is your lye? Do you notice any clumping/discoloration with it?
Read more about expired lye here: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/expired-lye/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Can overheated oils still be used if temperature is dropped to correct range? I accidently let my oils get too high and noticed some color variations in the soap. I was in the correct range when mixing. I use coconut oil, shea butter, palm kernel flakes, palm oil and olive oil in my soaps.
That should be just fine! Oils are fairly sturdy and can withstand higher temperatures. If they get a bit too hot, just let them sit at room temperature until they cool to the right temperature. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I live in a very hot climate, it gets over 100 degrees out side, can I still mix the lye with the water outside in extreme hot weather?
You can! That should be just fine. The lye water may take a bit longer to cool in the warmer temperatures. You may want to store it in a cool area to speed up that process a bit. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I just made a 1# batch of soap made with 2% beeswax. My lye solution was around 125°F and oils (olive, coconut, palm, lard and shea butter) at about 145°F. I superfatted with castor oil but did not include any fragrance or essential oils. I used a stick blender and my batter traced in about 15 seconds. Thick trace. It looked even and was still pourable, so I got the batter into a tray mold quickly and started searching the web. It seems the high temp recommended above when working with beeswax causes fast trace. In the future, I may heat the oils to ensure fully dissolved beeswax but make sure to make the soap at a much lower temperature. Depends on how this fast-traced batch turns out.
That’s awesome, glad that batch turned out well! For beeswax, we recommend soaping around 160-170F. That ensures the beeswax stays melted throughout the process and the soap doesn’t trace too fast. 🙂
Learn more about working with beeswax in soap here: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/cold-process-soap/beeswax-spoon-plop/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi..In order to make a soap through cold process,do we need two different oils?.Can i use just one type of oil (palm oil) and mixed it with lye water?.
Thank you
Hi Syahrul!
You can use just one oil if you like! However, you may find that a 100% palm oil bar can be quite firm and not very moisturizing. Adding other oils, like coconut and olive, can help make a more balanced bar.
You can see the results from our 100% palm oil test here: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/single-oil-cold-process-soap-lather-tests/
And this post has more information on how to formulate recipes: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/formulating-cold-process-recipes/
You can make 100% olive oil soap! It does take a bit longer to cure, but produces a gentle skin-loving bar. 🙂
Read more about castile soap: http://www.soapqueen.com/bramble-berry-news/olive-oil/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi
I’m a first time soaper. I used Bramble Berry lye calculator and mixed 390g distilled water to 90g of lye. I stirred manually and all the crystals dissolved however it remained cloudy.
Also the maximum temperature the lye water reached was 100° F
I added lye water to the oils around 80° F as I waited for the lye water to go clear. (But it stayed cloudy)
I then used a stick blender and blended for an hour with no trace. At the end I was so frustrated that I separated the soap batter and mixed in different colourants and fragrance and still no trace and put it into my mould.
I had left a cupful of soap batter to one side and just mixed the fragrance (no colour) for a few minutes then it turned super thick.
300g coconut oil
50g avocado oil
50g olive oil
300g distilled water
90g lye crystals
Batter divided into 3 portions….
1/2 teaspoon of colorants
1/4 teaspoon of peppermint fragrance oil
Thank you 🙂
CORRECTION 390g of distilled water
Hi Steph!
Thanks for all the recipe details! That’s really helpful for me. I think the lye is the culprit. When the lye is added to the water, it gets really hot – up to 200F. As you continue to stir, it does turn clear. Because your lye was cooler and stayed cloudy, there may be something off with it. Do you know how old the lye is, or if it has any additives? Also, are you using sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide? Let me know and I’ll help you troubleshoot. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
If you soap and cure in a room that is colder that 68 degrees would that cause issues with your soap? My soap looks fine, then I unmold them from my single cavity mold and leave them to cure. When I come back the next day, some of them have cracks that have started on the edge and then it continues to increase deeper into the soap as it cures. My room can be anywhere from 62 degrees to 58 degrees. Thanks for any help you can give!
Hi Lisa!
Typically, soap cracks are caused by overheating. Room temperature doesn’t usually cause the soap to get too hot, but other factors can. For instance, if you’re soaping at higher temperatures or using an ingredient with sugar (like honey), the soap can get pretty hot. Learn more about working with honey here: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/adding-honey-to-cold-process-soap-tips-tricks-recipe/
Cracking can also be caused by other factors, like a high amount of butters in the recipe. Can you tell me a bit more about your recipe? Also, what temperature are you soaping at? Do you add any color or fragrance? What about sodium lactate? Let me know and I’ll help you troubleshoot. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi Kelsey! My recipe is for a brine bar. I’m doing 80% coconut oil, 20% avocado oil and sea salt (equal to 25% of the water weight) dissolved in my water. I’m superfatting at 10% and I’m not adding anything else to the mixture- no colors or fragrance. I am soaping using the room temperature method. My lye mixture is about 146 degrees when I pour it on the room temp coconut oil, then I add the room temperature avocado oil. I took the temp of the mixture before I put it in the 6 cavity silicone mold, it was 83 degrees. I did not insulate my mold, just covered it with waxed paper. Any ideas on what could be causing my cracking would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much.
Hi Lisa!
Thank you so much for your recipe! Because salt bars are a much harder recipe, there is a higher chance that they can crack. I do have a couple suggestions for your next batch though!
I would recommend soaping around 100-130F. If the bars are quite warm at first, they may have a higher chance of cracking. You can also up the superfat slightly or drop the salt amount slightly. Those options can help prevent cracking for next time. 🙂
The good news is the cracking is purely aesthetic, and the bars will still feel really nice on the skin!
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I recently saw a recipe that added lye solution to hard oils in order to melt them. Would this be a good idea when trying a recipe with beer, milk, or honey? Also, should a soap with those ingredients skip a gel phase?
*do i have to put my beer/honey/milk soap in the fridge to stop them from going through gel phase? 😉
Hi Anne!
When working with beer, milk and honey, your lye mixture will be cooler (around 80F). Because of that, it may not be warm enough to melt the oils in your batch. To ensure everything is melted, I would recommend heating the oils beforehand (in the microwave or a double boiler). Then, to prevent gel phase, you can pop the soap in the fridge or freezer for 5-24 hours. That will prevent the soap from scorching or overheating. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
do you mean it will be colder because you freeze the liquids first?
That is correct! With milk, we recommend freezing it before adding the lye, which keeps the temperatures lower. With alcohol, we recommend having it cool before adding the lye to prevent too much discoloration. Because of that, the temperatures of the lye mixture will be cooler, and may not melt the oils fully. You can use a microwave or double boiler to get them fully melted though. 🙂
Sorry about any confusion, my answer wasn’t very clear!
Learn more about working with milk here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/how-to-add-lye-to-milk-for-cold-process-soap/
And more about working with alcohol here: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/how-to-use-alcoholic-beverages-in-cold-process-soap/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi,
My question is – Can you add the oil to the lye mixture instead of lye mixture to oil? I am wondering because I like to melt my oils in a crock pot and if I could dump into the lye container I could restart the crockpot with a new batch of oils, it would streamline the process and less cleanup. I am sure there must be a reason this isn’t done though 😬.
Hi Emily!
In theory, I think you can pour the oils into the lye water. We haven’t given it a try so I can’t say for sure! I would recommend making a small test batch to see if it works well. Also, make sure to pour the oils really slowly to prevent air bubbles. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I often pour my oils into my lye solution. I usually use a large deep bowl to mix my lye and water to avoid any splashes. Since my oils are usually measured out in smaller cups I just pour them into the lye once the temperature reaches my desired point.
Thanks for the great tips Gil’ad! I know they’ll be really helpful for people looking to give that method a try. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
pls my soap look gummy to hand what will be the posible cause
and also what is the correct meaurement of oil to be use in the lye of 1(one) litre
thank for for provinding solution to my question
What is in your recipe, and how long did the soap cure? Let me know and I can help you troubleshoot. Also, you can use the Lye Calculator to find out exactly how much you need for your recipe: https://www.brambleberry.com/Pages/Lye-Calculator.aspx
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi do you have to heat a 76 degree coconut oil & palm oil when making cold process soap in a 90 degree room temperature? I live in an area where it is always hot & humid. What is the ideal temperature for the soap & lye? Thanks.
Hi Maddie!
We like having our oil and lye around 100-130F. That ensures everything stays melted, and gives you some time to work. If your room is hot enough to melt the coconut and palm you can use them as is! Just make sure the oil is fully melted and there are no chunks inside. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Thanks for replying Kelsey I’ve been reading your blog for awhile so i’m a little starstruck lol. I just want to make sure that I do this right when I make soap for the first time. I’m trying to avoid having false trace.
My oils never get solid & always stay liquid & clear. The oil is between 85-90 degrees F at room temperature. Does this mean I don’t have to heat them up at all since my oils stay liquid & clear all the time? I know that the lye & oil temp should be 10 degrees from each other but since it was mentioned that the ideal lye temperature is around 120-130 degrees i was wondering if it was okay if my lye temperature is lower & between 85-95 degrees F since my unheated oil is only around 85-90 degrees?
Also is it okay if I prepare the lye water solution a few days before so I won’t have to wait for it to cool down or just a few hours before is advisable? Thanks again.
Hi Maddie!
If everything stays around 85-90F, it should be just fine to use! In that case, you can make your lye ahead of time and let it sit at room temperature. Because the coconut oil can solidify at room temperature and cause false trace, you want the batch to be at least 80F. You can also make a small test batch to see if everything works fine! If it’s a bit too cool, you can soap around 100-130F. 🙂
Read more about false trace here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/trace/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi I have a question please. I came across a recipe on Youtube. The instructor said to pour the lye and water mixture into the olive oil. She said NOTHING about heating the oil. There is no other fats just olive oil. Would adding the lye mixture to the olive oil heat it enough or did she skip the step of heating the olive oil? Do you always have to heat the oils? Please advise as I’d like to make this soon! Thank you!
Hi Dana!
The temperatures you soap at are personal preference! Some soapers prefer hotter temperatures of around 130F, while others soap at room temperature.
When making a recipe with hard oils like coconut oil and shea butter, we recommend temperatures of at least 100F. That’s because room temperature lye water can start to thicken those oils before they’re fully emulsified. This is called “false trace.” Read more about it here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/trace/
Because olive oil is liquid at room temperature, false trace isn’t a concern! It will stay nice and liquidy as you work with it.
If you’re just getting started, we recommend temperatures of about 120F. We’ve found those temperatures keep everything nice and melted and allow you some time to work with your design. As you continue to soap, you may find you prefer higher or lower temperatures. Around 120F is a great starting point though. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I’m having some trouble lately with my soap tracing and turning to hot mush within minutes of starting to blend and i can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong. I thought it was because i started using regular olive oil rather than Virgin, but i changed back and am still having the problem. Not only that but i have three batches that developed a layer of what looks like oil on top and seemed to be like custard and turning hard when blending but seemed to be separating as i poured it. I will note that i was trying to use more water than called for in these batches to try and slow down the trace.
I know there are a lot of factors I’ve left out but I’m just wondering what could cause that layer of oil or a hardening within minutes of starting to blend?
Hi Shannon!
I’m sorry about that, that is definitely frustrating. I have a couple ideas on what may be happening! The first is false trace. If your recipe contains hard oils and the lye water is cool, it can start to harden the oils in the batch before the recipe is fully emulsified. That makes it trace really fast, and can sometimes cause separation if it’s not fully mixed. You can read more about false trace here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/trace/
If you’re using a fragrance oil, that may be causing it as well. Certain fragrance oils can misbehave, and cause the soap to accelerate, separate or rice. Read more about that here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/soap-behaving-badly/
Can you tell me more about your recipe, including the oils you used, fragrance you used and the temperatures you were soaping at? Thanks Shannon. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi,
I’m having a similar issue as well. I noticed that since I started using red palm oil my soap trace quickly. I’ll have to quickly add the nutrient oil, activated charcoal and essential oils. Do I need to bleach my red oil first? White palm oil is scare in my neighborhood.
In addition, the soap is sweating profusely :).
Hi Ibukun!
I’m sorry about that! What temperatures are your lye and oils before you start soaping? If the lye is cooler, it may be hardening the palm oil before everything is fully emulsified. That may also be causing the sweating – it could be that the soap separated, and the moisture you’re seeing is unmixed oil. Let me know and we’ll get this figured out! 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi Kesley,
Thanks for the quick response. The temperature for the lye was 110 F and oils 90 F.
Thanks so much! How long did you stick blend the soap for, and where did you store it? 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi Kelsey, I didn’t get to use a stick blender at all because it began to trace as soon as the lye when into the oil. I stored it in a shoe box.
Thanks so much! That sounds like false trace. If your lye water is on the cooler side, it will start to harden the oils in the batch. It looks like the soap is tracing, but it’s actually the hard oils or butters solidifying. Read more about false trace here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/trace/
Your soap now is likely not fully emulsified. To get it all mixed up I would recommend using the Hot Process Hero method: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/hot-process-hero-2/
For the next batch, soaping with your lye around 100-120F will help prevent that false trace. If it still thickens as soon as the water goes in, stick blend for a minute or two to ensure everything is blended. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi Kelsey,
I didn’t stick blend at all, i only used a manual whisker. As soon as the lye hit the oil, it began to cloud and thicken.
That’s normal with false trace! I would definitely recommend soaping around 120F and using a stick blender for your next batch. That will ensure everything stays melted. Also, with manual whisks, it takes a long time to get the soap emulsified – at least two hours. Stick blenders get everything mixed up in just a minute or two! They’re very helpful. You can find those online, at a kitchen supply store, a department store like Target, a second-hand store and on BrambleBerry.com. 🙂
Stick blenders: https://www.brambleberry.com/Search.aspx?k=stick+blender
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I’m struggling with tiny bumps in the soap. I know they are purely cosmetic, but I want them to go away. I always tap my soap repeatedly, make sure my oils are melted and clear, and insulate the soap (wooden molds) with towels and a cardboard box over the top. My room temperature is on the cool side but not cold. I have been soaping at very low, sometimes room temperature levels, I have also been discounting my water quite a bit, could that be the problem?
Hi Janet!
My first guess is the bumps may be air bubbles, but it sounds like you’re taking all the steps to help prevent them! Sometimes those bumps can be unsaponified oils, but all your oils are melted and clear. Also, I don’t think it’s the water discount.
Are there any additives in the soap, like honey? Additives with sugar can cause the soap to overheat, causing those bumps. You can see an example of that in this post: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/adding-honey-to-cold-process-soap-tips-tricks-recipe/
Let me know and we’ll get this figured out. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I tend to soap at 80-90 degrees when doing intricate swirls/designs between a light-medium trace. Im in the UK and my room is neither too hot or too cold. I use both shea and cocoa butter in all my soaps. I find that when I try to soap at a very light trace, my soap tends to have super fine hair line cracks on parts of the soap. How do you deal with lye that is MASTERBATCHED? What caused my soap to crackle on the surface? FO had no vanilla and behaved extremely well and let me play for a long time :((
Hi Christine!
Hmm! It may be the amount of butters in your recipe. In general, we recommend staying below 10-15% of butters in your total recipe. More than this, and your soap is more likely to crack. This is especially true with cocoa butter, that is a more solid and brittle butter. You may try using less butters in your recipe and see if that helps! 🙂
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
what should you do if your lye solution is way too cold? I have frozen my coconut milk in ice cube trays and then measured out the cubes for the amount of liquid I need. I start adding my lye slowly like everyone says too….. And I end up with lye solution that is like 50-60 degrees! I am so not think it would be wise to put it in the microwave to heat it up. What do you think?
Jenn cold lye milk is perfect. Hot lye in milk will scotch it and turn it orange or brown. Add the cold solution as is (I like to strain it into another container before I pour). Mix and blend up as usual. The sugars in the milk will promote gel phase on its own. I actually like to cold process my soap so o usually stick milk soaps in the freezer straight away.
Hi Jenn!
Melissa is correct (thank you!) – when working with milk, you want it nice and cold. If the milk gets too hot, it can scorch. That creates an unpleasant smell and can discolor your soap. While the soap is still totally fine to use, it may not be what you’re going for.
Then, once your soap is in the mold, pop it in the fridge or freezer for 4-24 hours. That will keep it nice and cool, further preventing discoloration. 🙂
Read more about working with milk in the How to Add Lye to Milk for Cold Process Soap here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/how-to-add-lye-to-milk-for-cold-process-soap/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
And in the end it’s a crapshoot. What works for one soaper will work differently for another. Enjoy the process and have fun. Humidity, room temperature, elevation, soap recipe, everything will determine your outcome. You will find through experimentation what works for you, and that’s what makes your soap unique!
That is definitely true Melissa! With so many factors to consider, it can seem overwhelming. However, the more you practice, the more you know exactly what works for you! 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Deadly accurate answer. You’ve hit the busyeell!
Temperatures in rooms can vary with each person’s preferences as well as the region of the country in which they live and the season of the year. Some call room temperature 72 degrees and for some 80 degrees is what they are comfortable with and set their thesmostat to. In the article, you mention room temperature being “hot” or “cold”. What temperature range do you refer to as hot and cold respectively? Being to to this craft of soaping, I’m still trying to determine why my batches solidify fast as opposed to on the videos I have seen. I’m looking at ingredients, but maybe temperature also might have something to do with it.
That is very true Ana! Seasonal temperatures definitely play a role in the soapmaking process. 🙂
For room temperature, it definitely varies. Some people keep their houses as cold as 68F, while in places like Arizona it can be as hot as 90-100F!
Temperature can definitely cause your soap to solidify faster. If your lye is at room temperature and you have hard oils and butters in your recipe, the lye water can start to solidify the oils before they’re emulsified. This is called “false trace.”
Acceleration can also be caused by certain fragrance oils, especially florals, and how long you stick blend for. Read more in the Soap Behaving Badly post: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/soap-behaving-badly/
I’d love to help you troubleshoot further! Can you tell me a bit more about your recipe, the temperatures you’re using, and any fragrances? We’ll get this figured out. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I know veteran soapmakers who stopped checking their soaping temperatures years ago & others who have been soaping just as long who record their oil and lye temps for every single batch. Like almost everything else in the soapmaking world, the favored practices seem to vary!
But we recommend to every new soapmaker that they monitor their temperatures – if they opt to stop later, that’s their decision 🙂
That is very true, everyone has a slightly different method! The more soap you make, the more you know exactly what works for you. Well put! 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I’ll be tackling cold process soon and I will definitely monitor my temps then, but since I’m one of those who does solely hot process I don’t ever monitor my temps. I keep my crock pot on “warm” through the whole process of stick blending and stirring, then once I’m at “mashed potato” stage I switch to a stainless spoon. The whole process only lasts for 30 minutes til I reach vaseline stage, not hours. I keep the stick blender going too if necessary. I just love soaping!
Soaping is so much fun! I’ve been experimenting with hot process soap lately and really enjoying it. I like that the soap is ready to unmold in just a day or two! 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I’ve been soaping anywhere between 105-115 degrees. I’ve done it hotter but without fail I get glycerin rivers and/or heat cracks on the top. Even at this 105-110 temperature, I still get heat cracking sometimes which is frustrating. Also soda ash happens almost every time for me…
I’ve also noticed that soda ash sometimes happens to me not until after unmolding and cutting.
I can’t find the happy medium.. too cool causes soda ash but too hot causes cracking.
Hi Chelsea!
Getting the perfect temperature can be a bit tricky, especially with all the seasonal temperature changes!
If you’re getting heat cracking and glycerin rivers, it sounds like your soap may be overheating as it sits in the mold. This can happen if you live in a hotter climate. I would recommend popping your soap in the fridge or freezer for 4-24 hours after it’s in the mold. Then, pull it out and let it sit for 3-4 days before cutting. That will keep it nice and cool, which should help prevent the cracking and glycerin rivers. 🙂
As for soda ash, it can form right away, or take a little bit! To help prevent it, spritz it with 99% isopropyl alcohol every 15 minutes for the first hour. That creates a barrier that protects the top.
You can also adjust the recipe slightly to help prevent it! You can water discount by 10%, or decrease your superfat level. Adding .5% melted beeswax helps as well. Read more tips for preventing soda ash in this post: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/explaining-and-preventing-soda-ash/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi Chelsea.
I consistently soap at the temp you describe and I consistently get flawless soap. However there was one particular soap that always produced glycerin rivers as opposed to all others. I ran out of cosmetic coconut oil the first time I tried it, so I used store bought extra virgin coconut oil that I use for food. I also used some avocado oil that I bought as a salad dressing oil. Both claimed to be 100 percent pure! My soap was a mess with glycerin. I thought I let it get too hot. I loved the way the soap felt, so I made it a point to allow it to cool more properly the next time I made it. This time I had cosmetic coconut oil 76 degree, and used that. Used the same avocado oil as before. Still had glycerin rivers but less significant . Still loved the soap’s feel, so decided to go with the rivers since I chalked it up to the recipe. Picked out design that might actually be enhanced by them. Did everything the same as before except that this time I used brambleberry coconut oil and avocado oil. Kept store bought stuff out. Soap came out amazing. No rivers then or any time since. Perfect every time! I realized that my coconut oil and my avocado oil possessed a quality that was a problem in the saponification process.
I would suggest you go over your oils and check them out for place of purchase and/or expiration dates.
That’s a great idea, thanks so much Maria! Store bought oils can sometimes have additives that do some odd things in soap. We’ve had the best luck with our oils, which are pure. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Coconut oil: https://www.brambleberry.com/Coconut-Oil-P3196.aspx
Avocado oil: https://www.brambleberry.com/Avocado-Oil-P3198.aspx
In this blog – what actually happened with the large picture of the pink soap -and how to fix. I had the same thing happen to me last night making your sunshine calendula recipe. Thank you!
Hi Debbie!
The pink Painted Hearts Soap has “alien brain.” This happens when the soap gets overheated. It doesn’t affect the final bar at all though! It’s purely aesthetic. 🙂
To prevent alien brain, you can soap at lower temperatures (around 110-115F). You can also store the soap in a cooler place so it doesn’t go through gel phase. During gel phase, the soap gets very hot. If it gets too hot, the alien brain can appear.
The Sunshine Cold Process Soap is made in our Vertical Wood Mold. That mold insulates very well, and tends to keep the soap nice and toasty. If your house is hot because of summer temperatures, you may want to run a fan on that mold as it saponifies. You can also pop it in the fridge or freezer, if you have space. 🙂
Learn more about how to store your soap and how heat affects it in the When to Insulate Handmade Soap post: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/when-to-insulate-handmade-soap/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Making Sunshine Soap: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/cold-process-soap/making-sunshine-cold-process-soap/
I soap at 80-90 degrees and it comes out fine. No false trace at all. I pop in the oven and a soap is born.
oven is off and no heat previous when you put it in oven? Thanks in advance – new and having some issues – lol
That’s awesome Beans! Soaping temperatures are definitely personal preference. Some soapers prefer to soap at room temperature, while others prefer higher. It all depends on what you find creates the best results for you. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
What about waiting for lye and oils to cool to room temperature before blending? I’ve heard people do that with success.
Hi Mona!
Some people prefer soaping at room temperature! One thing you do have to watch out for is “false trace.” If you have hard butters or oils in your recipe, the room temperature lye water can cause them to harden before they’re fully mixed together. We usually soap at higher temperatures to prevent false trace. You can also decrease the amount of hard oils in your recipe and add more soft oils. 🙂
Learn more in the All About the Trace post: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/trace/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
For me, I’ve done what I call “room temp soaping” but it involves having all my oils weighed out together and unmelted. I then mix fresh lye solution and immediately pour into my oils, stir until melted and then begin stick blending. I only do this when I know the fragrance and it behaves well. I also notice that the soap done this way is always much softer the next day than when I do my usual method of soaping.
Hi Lynetta!
That is such an interesting technique, thanks for sharing Lynetta! Do you find the lye melts harder ingredients, like cocoa butter? I’d love to give that a try. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I’ve been using this technique for the past few months, as well. It melts palm, coconut and shea… cocoa butter is harder so I don’t know if it would work as well or not. After melting the hard oils I add the soft oils in… it works very well!! 🙂
That is so cool! I think I’ll give that a try. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi I’m the same..when I got taught to make soap it was to weigh the hard oil (cocoa butter and coconut oil) then make the lye and add it hot to melt the hard oils, then add liquid oils (rice bran usually) and blend away…I’ve never read temperatures…but after reading this I’m wondering if I should…but am confused about at what part am I checking temp? It’s impossible to check the hard oils lol or does temp checking not apply to this method…I’m confused! Lol
I generally soap at around 118-120 degrees. I often see/hear about those who soap at room temperature, is there any concern about soaping that cool?
Hi Michael!
If you have a lot of butter or hard oils in your recipe, the cool lye water can cause them to harden before they’re fully emulsified. This is called “false trace.” We tend to soap at higher temperatures to avoid false trace. You can also decrease the amount of hard oils in the recipe and add more oils that are liquid at room temperature. 🙂
Read more in the All About the Trace post: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/trace/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry