Lesson 7: Troubleshooting
Much like baking a cake, there are several things that can go wrong during soapmaking. Some problems are merely aesthetic — while they may detract from the beauty of your finished bar, they do not affect its overall quality. Others are more serious, and they may mean your bars are not suitable for use on the skin. If you are unsure about the safety of your final bars, always check their pH before using them on the skin. This is not a definitive list of troubleshooting tips — you may wish to purchase an additional book with a more fully developed troubleshooting section (see the reources section of this course for more information).
Trouble during mixing
Your soap fails to ‘trace’
This may not be a problem. If your recipe is made up of a large amount of oils which have a high percentage of unsaponifiables may result in soap that doesn’t trace. Other problems may be too much water or not enough lye. A soap mixture that does not trace is not always cause for concern. If, after 45 minutes, your soap has not traced, stop stirring for 5 minutes and then stir for 10 minutes. Continue this process for about another 45 minutes. If your soap has not yet traced, pour it anyway. If however, your soap is not tracing and you see evidence that the lye solution is not combining with the oil or they were combined but are now separating, you will have to throw this batch away..
Soap ‘seizes’, i.e. begins to harden in the pan very quickly
Pour (or scrape) the soap into your mold as quickly as possible. The soap is useable but may not be as pretty as you had hoped. Many synthetic fragrances can cause soap to seize. If you intend to use synthetic fragrances, purchase ones that have been tested in cold process soap making.
