There’s nothing more frustrating to watch a carefully prepared soap recipe fail right before your eyes. Unfair I know! But such is the nature of soapmaking and sometimes things can go wrong when making soap.
Here are some common soapmaking problems that beginners & experienced soapmakers alike may face when making soap. In my opinion, there are 4 reasons why soaps fail
Not choosing the right base formula
Issues related to the process with regard to temperatures & blending
Environmental conditions such as surrounding temperature & humidity
Untested additives added to the soap.
Most common soapmaking problems fall into these 4 categories. Let’s learn how to identify them & troubleshoot them:
Sticky Soap
If your soap feels soft or sticky, it could be due to your base formula - too much soft oils or too much water. Next time around, formulate a harder soap recipe & reduce water slightly. You can also use common table salt to improve hardness.
Soft & Malleable Soap
If the soap is soft & gelatinous and does not harden up even after a few days after cutting, it may be that the soap is lye deficient. Either there has been a mistake in measurement or the lye has lost its purity and has become inactive over time.
Soap can also become malleable if the soap hasn't gone through the gel phase.
Brittle Crumbly Soap
The soap has too much lye in it & is lye heavy. It can be because you missed out an oil in the recipe. The soap can be grated up and used as laundry soap or rebatched to add in extra oil. Rebatching can be done only if you know exactly how much of what oil it is missing.
Rancid Soap
If your soap smells off or develops dark orange spots, it may have gone rancid. This can happen if the base oils used were old or if the soap was stored in a warm, humid environment. To prevent rancidity, make sure to use fresh oils and store your soap in a cool, dry place.
Separated Soap
If your soap separates into layers, it may not have been mixed well enough to reach emulsion & trace - the point of no return. If the soap has not been mixed until that point, the soap will separate into its component oils & water.
Weeping Pockets of Oil & Lye
Mostly occurs if the soap hasn’t been mixed well to emulsion. This can also happen when you use untested & accelerating additives that move the batter quickly & thickens beyond your control in a matter of a few seconds. This means that the soap has not had enough time to mix thoroughly. Generally, not considered safe to use until it is rebatched thoroughly.
Cracked Soap
A soap cracks on the top if it has too much heat. If your soapmaking temperatures are on the higher side, the surroundings are hot or if superheating additives have been used in the soap, or the recipe has a higher proportion of coconut oil, the soap will likely crack. If you catch it early on, you can seal it together with gloved hands or place the mold in a cool open area for it to lose some steam.
Soap Batter Accelerates/Seizes
Untested additives especially essential oils, fragrances are usually responsible for acceleration. To a minor degree, soaping temperatures and water amounts used in the recipe can also play a role here. Make sure your additives are well tested before using them in soap. Also make sure you make soap at ambient temperatures (32-43C/90-110F) and use adequate water for soapmaking.
Well, in my opinion these are the most common soapmaking problems that you will most likely face in your soapmaking journey. And once you've understood the possible reason for the problem, troubleshooting becomes so much easier.
Additional Reading
Previous articles in this Basic Beginner Series