before I upped my coconut and started using sunflower I never had ash, now I do. I thought it was probably the coconut but don't know for sure.
Handmade soapers have tried to figure out ash for many years, even with chemists help.. None have figured it out.. they have tried different oils, different temps.. some believe fast cooling (air flow) There is no explanation for ash as of yet.. I get it sometimes and sometimes I don't... same recipe.. Your guess is as good as anyones????
Well that helped Barb :crazy well I guess I will not worry to much then . I am glad its not only me . I figured I can take a damp rag and make it look nicer. I am soaping at cooler temps but not all batches are effected. 1 out of 10 within the last few days . Thanks for the input . Patty
Almost always if I cover my mold with just cardboard I never get enough ashing to care. And even if I don't in the summer I often don't get ash. The exception is Cybilla's OMH and which ashes NO MATTER WHAT!!!! And I just leave them that way - still sells. I'm thinking it has something to do with the room temp, gelling, air. But it's a mystery... Bethany
If I cover my soap with plastic wrap as soon as it is solidified enough to do so I don't get ash. BUT if I don't get that plastic down in the corners of the mold it will be on those corners but not where the plastic wrap touched to soap. Drives me nuts. I much prefer not to have ash. :/
been reading up on this ash stuff and it seems that having hotter temps you get less ash I haven't gotten ash so maybe the oven curing is what is saving me.
Hmmm, now that you mention it I think I have noticed that soaps I put in the oven get less ash than those that don't go in.
I don't seem to get ash if my soaps go thru gel state. I use milky way molds so sometimes I lose a lot of heat and the coolest ones seem to ash the worst. Usually just dry brush it off with a cloth. It is annoying tho, isn't it!
