Preventing Discoloration in Handmade Soap
Hello,
I am a soap maker in Ghana. I’m interested in the distillation machine you made while in Ghana. Can I use that type of machine to make distilled water for my shea butter soap? I’m trying to work out a problem with discoloration and dreaded orange spots. Thank you.
Thank you for contacting us.
The essential oil distillation machine could also be used to clean water.
However, the dreaded orange spots are not usually caused by the water.
I can better help you if you will answer a few questions:
- Are you using palm oil or palm kernel oil?
- Are you making Box Soap or Black Soap?
After you answer these two questions I will ask you some more questions and then may have a correct answer for you.
I make cold process shea butter soap using refined palm oil, but it used to do it before I began using palm oil. The major problem is the darkening of the soap after about 6 months.
Thanks
Good to hear that you are making cold process Box Soap.
Please use palm kernel oil instead of palm oil. This hardens much faster than palm oil bar soaps and makes a better product. Your recipe should remain the same, palm kernel use the same amount of sodium hydroxide as palm oil. You can add 3% shea butter as a SUPERFAT to your recipe.
What are you using for scent? Do you add color?
To go over the basics (which you may already know):
I like to make a 25% lye solution: 4 parts clean water to 1 part lye. Let this rest overnight. Use this lye water up within 3 days or it will spoil.
Mix 1 part oil blend (melted palm kernel and shea butter) with 3 parts lye water.
Always add lye water to oils – not oil to the lye water. Take a long time to add the lye water. The stream should only be as fast or thick as pee and the oils must be moving as you add it. Takes about 20 minutes to thicken to trace. Pour into plastic lined molds.
You do not need fancy wooden boxes to pour into. Almost anything that will hold the weight will work.
How can I remove the dark color and strong scent from the palm kernel oil?
I use fragrance and essential oils, I also color some of my soap. I get some fragrance oils and soap color from Brambleberry and essential oils from Natures oils.The soap discolors in both the fragrance scented ones as well as the soap I use essential oil in, and it also goes darker whether I color it or not.
After approximately 6 months my soap goes from a nice light ivory color to a ugly beige. I thought it could be minerals in the water or the coconut oil I use. I have found a new source for quality coconut oil, but not sure what to do about the water.
Yes, you will have to refine the PK oil. The method I learned is this:
Put the PK oil in a place where it will get full hot sun all day. Place the amount of sodium hydroxide that will fit into the palm of your hand into the plastic PK oil container and let it rest on top. In two or three days the PK oil should turn lighter. Please do not use your bare hand to measure.
PK oil is sold in plastic containers, and these containers are never cleaned. Little bits of old oil stick to the inside of the bottle. This old oil spoils, and when it does, it spoils all the oil near it. This goes on until, very quickly, the entire bottle becomes strong smelling and begins to spoil.
I recommend that you clean out your PK bottles with lye water, swish and rinse with cool water. Repeat until you can get the oil all off the plastic. You may need also to use a brush and hot water with soap. Mark them with a bit of colored cloth tied to the handle and insist that your supplier refills those same cleaned containers for you.
All the Best!
