# "Bloom" on soap??



## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

I made Vicki's Pumpkin Soap from the recipe in the sticky, but as some of you may remember, at the time, the recipe was missing 16 oz of safflower? Anyhow, I adjusted the lye for the oils/butters I used and made it with 48 oz shea, 16 ounces Olive Oil, 16 ounces Mango Butter, and 16 ounces Coconut Oil. Plus FO. It seems fine and is firming up quite nicely, but it has a "bloom" on it like you sometimes see on chocolate. Anyone ever have that? It's just for our own use and I'm not terribly worried about it, just curious. Thanks!


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## Guest (Oct 13, 2009)

Could be soda ash, is this bloom white and only on the top of the soap that was exposed to air as it was in the mold?.. 
some people have said that soap can mold, I have never had any do this, but I do not superfat my milk soaps, if you have fat in the milk you are already superfatting without excess oils.. too much excess oil (superfatting) I suppose could mold or go rancid since all the oils are not safonified during the process.. 
Wash your bloom off by washing your bars of soap and let them dry, if this comes back then it is mold.. ( i doubt it tho)
Barb


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## kidsngarden (Oct 28, 2007)

I mostly embrace the ash, though many go to great lengths to get rid of it. It's purely a cosmetic thing, not affecting the soap it self


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

My pumpkin soap has raised looking areas on it, exactly like pumpkin pie does, little crinkly skin? Is that what you are talking about? There isn't enough solids in it to mold unless you didn't get it mixed in well enough and perhaps put it in the fridge which retarded the sap process? I would think that if it was anything that could mold, you could wipe it off with a towel when the bar is harder. I have never seen mold on soap...now dead sea mud does have a sort of moldy look to it on the top of the bar, least that is what a customer told me  Course I also had a customer recently ask if I could swap out her lotion for another scent because it (the scent) made her nauseous  That will not be on my website as customer feed back! Vicki


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

It doesn't look like what I've thought was ash (a uniform discoloration on the top of the soap) It's not on the top of the bars only...it's on all the surfaces exposed to air since I unmolded and cut it. It really looks just exactly like what happens to a bar of chocolate sometimes if it gets warm. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate_bloom

I didn't put it in the fridge, and I even reduced the amount of pumpkin to 6 T. because I had only 6 lbs of oils. I just tried to wash my hands with it...the white stuff on the outside was very waxy and difficult to get off of the soap, especially on the uncut surfaces. I used an end piece and initially, it was like trying to wash your hands with a crayon or something. Eventually, I was able to get a lather on the cut surface, but then if felt as if I had put some sort of exfoliant in the soap. I can even see some tiny, tiny things that look sort of like grains of sand or something, only smaller. It's very strange. I hate to even mention this, but I did use Myron's shea for this recipe...could something be not right with that? It's 50% of the oils, as I made it. Otherwise, the only other variable is the Sweet Pumpkin FO from Aroma Haven.


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## kidsngarden (Oct 28, 2007)

It's ash, it's just REALLY heavy ash. I can tell by your description of the crayon feel. I even get flecks sometimes too - my almond does it every time. Next time spritz with rubbing alcohol and you can try covering your soap. covering doesn't work well for my textured tops.


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

You would spritz the entire soap after you cut it before you cure it? And how do you cover it if it's curing? Doesn't that defeat the purpose? (None of this was there when I unmolded it.)


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## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

I use alcohol on my tops about an hour and a half after pour. I have some that will get ash on the sides or corners after it's out of the mold. But usually it's just a bit so I overlook it. I've never had ash develop on a cut side. That's really odd.


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## kidsngarden (Oct 28, 2007)

you don't cover during the cure, just while the soap is in the mold. People use saran wrap or lids for their molds to cover.

I spritz (if I'm going to) once the soap is firm in the mold - and hour or so. then I might spritz during the cure. you can do it whenever once the soap is hard. 

The only time I have had ash on the cut sides is in my heavy shea recipes.


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

Well, this was definitely a heavy shea recipe!


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