# Ash keeps returning, why?



## Dorit (Apr 20, 2011)

I unmolded after 12 hours (which I no longer do, I unmold and cut asap) next day there was a white ashy film, I trimmed it on all 6 sides and left for a few days and the ashy film returned. Does anyone know why it is doing this? Dorit


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Some scents ash, some never do. Some oils do seem to give others more ash...perhaps post what oils you use and maybe someone with similar oils in their recipe can give you a heads up. The only soaps I have that ash I also can't cover to keep the ash down or they would overheat, so I embrace the ash with texture. vicki


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## Dorit (Apr 20, 2011)

The odd thing is that the same recipe, same FO will behave well most of the time, this only happens once in a while. Maybe I measured lye wrong, or soaped too hot? Could this have that effect? Of course now I measure more carefully and mix only at room temp.


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## In it for the Bucks! (Mar 12, 2012)

I have heard that hard water will cause ash.


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## tmfinley (Feb 21, 2008)

I don't use any water at all in my recipes and still get ash occasionally. I notice it more when I soap too hot and then have to cool the soap down with fans or turn the ac up in the room. I think you will get many different answers from many different people as why they think they get ash.


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## Faye Farms (Sep 14, 2009)

I get ash if my soaps saponify in too cool of temps. Wrapping them up good so no air gets to the tops makes a big difference too. But then, if they are wrapped up good they saponify in temps high enough to prevent the ash. Clear as mud, right?


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## Jo~* (Oct 26, 2007)

Id love to hear the theory on the whys of this.
I sometimes have the same problem and I hate when it happens. I can deal with it just on the top but all over just looks bad IMO.
I don't make very much soap compared to lot of you guys.
I don't get to fancy in how I make soap. I don't use AC or fans or really anything. I just make my soap pour it in the log molds and unmold next day. I use the same ingredients every time only diffrent thing may be the FO brand. It seems like I have been getting it more lately. I wonder if it could be the humidity in the air?


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## Dorit (Apr 20, 2011)

Lets see if we can narrow it down. 
-It is humid here. I soap in a room with a window AC, its adequate but not always cool or dry enough
-Once in the mold I cover with plastic and several blankets
-Once I cut the soap I set them out to dry
-Its on the drying rack that ash keeps appearing
-BTW its this same soap that is hard to cut and is brittle and breaks off in chunks
So, waited too long to cut? Air too humid? Oils too hot? 
The controll is that I used same recipe,same FO, same mold.
Dorit


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## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

I have certain FOs that will ash worse than others: Apple Jack, Oatmeal Milk & Honey, and Dragon's Blood come to mind. And my UNSCENTED soap tends to ash on the ends and bottom corners.....areas that are not exposed to air until I unmold. So go figure. It's not just superficially either....it goes into the soap.


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## Dorit (Apr 20, 2011)

This is curiouser and curiouser, my unslcented is fine so is my Dragon's Blood and HMO. I dont think its the FO because each one that turned out bad I had a batch turn out ok??????


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## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

I think it depends on which house the moon is in and whether or not the stars are in proper alignment. LOL

For me, I know my scent has something to do with it because I can always count on those certain ones ashing....no matter what time of year, what the temp or the humidity is. Or maybe it is my scent combined with my formula. But that doesn't explain why unscented ashes and other scented ones come out fine. Like I said, the moon has to be in the right phase.  I know this has been discussed at length over on the dish several times and there never is a clear consensus.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Why do you cover and blanket your soap? It makes it retain heat, and overheat. A couple of mine I put a fan on...all the others simply go on open wire shelves till cutting the next day. Vicki


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## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

I can't imagine covering the soaps with plastic AND with blankets.  I'd probably have soap bubbling out onto the floor  

I am nearly convinced that my ash is related to cold weather. I rarely ever get ash on sides or bottom, but this winter I got some soap out of a round mold that ended up covered on all sides with ash. I've done the scent before and it didn't ash. This time I added color, maybe that made the difference? 

My kitchen is unheated unless I decide to light a kerosene heater in the room next to the kitchen. At night, and when we are gone the heater is off, so the ave. room temp. is about 54 degrees. I get much more ash in the winter than in the summer. I think air conditioning increases ash too. And then there are probably 150 other things that will cause a lot of ash.


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## Faye Farms (Sep 14, 2009)

I fill 6 logs molds at a time and have them all lined up together. I then put a layer of card board on top and then a towel or light blanket. When it's really hot I may just use the layer of cardboard alone. In the winter I may add another layer besides the cardboard and towel because our house is usually really cold. There are a few soaps that I do not insulate as they heat up enough on their own. I hate getting partial gels and I do think the insulating helps to not get so much ash so that's why I cover my soap. It works for me. If I get ash it is always on the top of my logs. I've never had ash show up on the sides of my bars and if it doesn't show up in the first 8 hours it won't show up at all.


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## Jenny M (Nov 21, 2009)

I, too, just embrace the ash & try not to disturb it if possible. It's kind of pretty. Someone asked me how I got the pretty frosting on my soaps. And it's just like Kathy says. It's the phase of the moon or maybe what you were wearing when you made the soap. Well, a complete mystery, really. But as sure as you take a liking to it, it won't appear on the next batch.


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