Why did my soap turn white?
That weird, white film on cold process soap that develops on the surface of the bars is called soda ash. It generally appears during the first few days after making your soap, either while it's setting in the mold or just after you've cut and during cure.
Different fragrances, especially, can have different natural colors that will cause soaps to be darker when combined. Fragrances that have a lot of vanilla, florals, or citrus tend to be the most likely to turn your soap darker and this can happen in melt and pour soaps or cold process soaps.
Rancid soap, whether liquid or bar, will smell "off" or musty. Rancid bars may have a wet-feeling, slick surface. The bar may be entirely orange or rust colored or may have just scattered rusty orange blotches and spots. These spots are often called "DOS" or "Dreaded Orange Spots" by soapers.
Castile Liquid Soap, Liquid Sunshine and other castile related products such as our foamers and spray cleaners will turn white after being cold or frozen. This is completely normal. All of our organic liquid soap products will return to their normal clear amber color as they warm back to room temperatures.
How to fix it. If you have too many leftover oils in your liquid soap, those excess unsaponified oils will make your liquid soap cloudy. This is mainly a cosmetic problem and can be fixed by adding in a tiny amount of KOH solution if you're really set on having a clear soap.
Reason: In my soapmaking experiments, I've found that adding too much zinc oxide to lighten a soap color creates a soap with a chalky texture that cracks on top. Too much clay with a reduced water amount can be prone to a dry cracked top as well.
Soap does expire, but if it still lathers when you wash your hands, it should be effective. Most commercial store-bought soaps expire after two to three years. Natural or handmade soaps may expire sooner, within one year, as the essential oils and fragrances can get rancid or moldy.
Warning: if you previously used a different soap, do NOT top off the dispenser, if you attempt to mix it with a different brand, there is an ingredient in Softsoap that will cause the mixture of 2 soaps to separate and become runny and appear gross and cloudy.
Your Soap Has Curdled in the Pot
Often the cause of curdled soap is a reaction to fragrance oil.
Usually if a soap is made with just fats and sodium hydroxide it will not mold due to the pH and the fact that soap is actually a salt. But, if someone has added a botanical element such as a veggie puree or even flower petals the possibility for mold spores to find a place to thrive is somewhat higher.
How long can liquid soap last?
Dish Soap: 6 to 18 months
Liquid soap will last from a year to 18 months, but powdered dish detergent is only good for up to six months once it's opened.
As soap gets older, there are two main ways it deteriorates. The first way is that the fragrance evaporates out of it, and the second way is that some of the oils may go rancid.
You will know that your soap has gone bad if it has a slimy texture, visible mold, or a strong unpleasant smell. You may even find that your soap has an orange, rust-colored hue to it, which means that either the oil in the soap has gone bad or because of oxidation.
Raw soap typically starts in a liquid state and becomes solid as saponification proceeds, and as the soap cools. Generally, when liquids turn to solid, crystals form. They may be large crystals like diamonds or quartz, or they may be too small to see with the naked eye.
I wouldn't recommend it when we can just use the correct amount of lye. If you overcook soap in the hot-process method, it will dry out and make a huge mess. It should only be subjected to heat until the chemical reaction is finished.
Tip: You cannot superfat liquid soap to the same degree that you can with bar soap. The max you can superfat liquid soap is around 3%. However, a 3% superfat is actually very high if you want to add a scent!
Then you can do the "zap test." It involves tapping the soap lightly on your tongue. It sounds weird, but it totally works. If the bar “zaps” you, it's likely lye heavy.
Lye-heavy soaps also tend to become very hard and crumbly very quickly in the mold, but this is not always the case. If in doubt, always check the pH to make sure it is safe.
If you make cold process soap, there's a good chance you've gotten soda ash. It creates an uneven, white, ashy film on the bars. Soda ash is harmless, but it can be frustrating.
"Sometimes using a product that is expired can result in skin irritation along with bacterial infections. Most products have preservatives in them to keep fresher longer but over time, even preservatives lose their effectiveness," Sellers said.
Does soap actually expire?
The short answer is yes, bar soaps can expire. Like most cosmetic products, soap bars have a recommended shelf life even if they don't have an expiration date emblazoned on their packaging. Most bar soaps have a shelf life of two to three years, but this can vary based on the ingredients used to make the soap.
Use a Draining Soap Dish
The best solution to avoid the soap from coming in contact with excess is water is to place it on a soap dish. The dish should elevate the soap and allow the water to drain. In the shower, placing the soap on a shower rack works as well. The key is to keep the soap dry.
Soda ash forms when unsaponified lye reacts with naturally-occurring carbon dioxide in the air. It doesn't affect the final bars and the soap is safe to use. However, it can obscure more intricate designs. It typically shows up on top of soap, but in some cases it can run all the way through.
Sometimes there's no way to avoid acceleration, so to ensure your batter will not accelerate or seize test new fragrances in small batches first. Seized soap (which is a more advanced form of acceleration) is like the texture of dough or clay and may even look cracked and crumbly.
If it is a heavy seize and you can't save it, you've got three options! Hot Process it – Dump it into a crockpot and hot process it. If it goes beyond the point of being able to stir it smooth and pour into a mold, you can hot process it.
It will finish cooking in the mold and overcooked soap is a lot like overcooked chicken. No bueno! Don't leave the soap alone until it is done cooking and you are waiting for it to cool down.
Identifying Mold on Soap
If your soap isn't used in some time and you see white marks or circles all over it, chances are it's just dried bubbles from the last use. But if there are strange colors present or it smells funnier than before, it may very well be mold.
However, liquid soap can become contaminated with bacteria and poses a recognized health risk in health care settings.
Bacteria from fecal matter & other sources can grow inside the dispenser. The sad truth is that soap from bulk soap dispensers is prone to becoming contaminated. According to recent studies, contaminated soap may actually do the opposite of what they're supposed to do.
Liquid Soap Preservatives
There are quite a few different preservatives that can be used, and you can do your research on which one you prefer, but two of the most common preservatives used in liquid soap making include Liquid Germall Plus & Suttocide.
Why does liquid soap have an expiration date?
Soap specifically has an expiration date because it contains oil, which can go rancid. Some soaps made with synthetic chemicals can last anywhere from 4-5 years, whereas natural soaps can expire after only a year.
The shocking answer is, yes. Bacteria tends to grow inside the goo created when the bar soap contacts water for some time. The wetness of the water allows microbiological growth, while skin cells that remain on the bar soap can be used as a food source for some pathogens.
The soap they use never reaches the landfill, helping the local environment and all of the new soap is distributed to areas of need. Hotels actually pay Clean the World to take their unused soap — $. 50 per room, per month, according to Thrillist.
Bronner's body care products within three years of the manufacture date. Soaps are self-preserving, but because our products are biodegradable, it's best to not leave them on the shelf for too long. Also, the soaps are good for 24 months after opening the product, within that 3 year window.
But because liquid castile soap does not contain these ingredients, that means that it is not only completely safe and effective to use to brush your teeth, but that it can even become your permanent replacement for toothpaste!
Castile soap is unique in that it's both gentle and strong; it's gentle on skin because it's made from saponified oils that have hydrating properties, but it's an equally powerful cleanser that can tackle even the most stubborn grime.
When hard water and soap are mixed, the magnesium ion reacts with soap molecules and forms a solid material called a precipitate, which does not dissolve. This precipitate (soap scum) reduces the ability of the soap to make bubbles.
Are there 'crystals' or beads of liquid on your Melt & Pour Soap? Do they look powdery? These are the symptoms of your soap 'sweating' (it's also called 'glycerin dew') which is common in humid climates. Melt & Pour Soap (henceforth MP Soap) is also known as Glycerin Soap because of it's high glycerin content.
Castile soap is ultra concentrated so one big bottle can last a really long time. But remember that its shelf life is about three years. After this time, the oils can go rancid.
Yes, homemade soaps can expire. Most homemade soaps expire or otherwise deteriorate after one year. After that, the soap may become rancid, and there is a high risk of mold. However, it may take more or less time for the homemade soap to expire depending on the materials it is made out of.
How long does it take castile soap to cure?
Allow the bars to cure for 4-6 weeks, and enjoy! Some soapers prefer to allow Castile soap to cure for up to 6 months to a year! The longer the cure time, the more the lather will improve. This soap is made with 100% olive oil, which is called Castile soap.
A properly cured bar of soap WITHOUT organic additives (fruit purée, juices, florals) will not grow mold. With a pH of between 8–10 it is too alkaline to support mold.
As soap cures it changes color from day to day, going from light to dark, to light. The essential oils and fragrance oil levels change as well.
If the top of the soap is cooler than the bottom, for example, the soap molecules with the highest freezing point will crystallize at the surface. As cooling continues, the soap molecules with the next lower freezing point solidify, and the process continues until the entire batch is solid.
Bacteria from fecal matter & other sources can grow inside the dispenser. The sad truth is that soap from bulk soap dispensers is prone to becoming contaminated. According to recent studies, contaminated soap may actually do the opposite of what they're supposed to do.
You might be wondering if soap can go bad like food in the refrigerator or if it can expire like old medication or other personal care products. The short answer is no: if left undisturbed, bar soap remains soap for years. It should still be just as effective at cleaning no matter how old it is.
Soap solution is basic in nature and turns the color of the solution into yellow.
Jo has shown us that natural soap isn't only brown or green, it can also be a riot of shades - just like our gardens!
The combination of the lye solution and base oil low temperatures created the perfect environment for stearic spots to form. Just a side note. In the soaping community we call them stearic spots but really they can also be palmitic acid spots or actually a combo of both. Both are high melt-point oils.
When you pour the lye water into the oils, the mixture starts to turn slightly cloudy and milky. This is the start of the saponification process, where the lye and oils begin to react and turn to soap.
