I made more Clarifying Facial Soap yesterday. It’s been many months since I’ve made it, but this was the seventh time, and each time seems to turn out differently. This time is no exception! Take a look at these pictures! I have an idea of why they are different colors, but I’m not sure I can explain it so that it will make sense. Unless you are a soapmaker, you may not care. If you are a customer, suffice it to say that your Clarifying Facial Soap will be back in stock on February 3rd!

If you want to read more about the phenomenon you see here, I’ll do my best to explain. I made two batches separately, but simultaneously, using the exact same ingredients. The ingredient in this soap that is giving me fits is the witch hazel. I use the kind you can buy at any drug store, so it’s 14% alcohol. I pour the lye into a solution of half distilled water, half witch hazel, and that’s when an abnormal chemical reaction takes place! I experimented with adding the lye slowly with the first batch and the reaction was a lot less than when I poured it more quickly for the second batch. First, the liquid turns a bright, neon yellow, and you can see the alcohol burning off. Then I end up with small rust colored particles floating on top. Normally I use my stick blender to mix the lye solution with the oils. Last time I made this soap, it set up before the essential oils could be properly incorporated and I ended up rebatching. This time I decided to add the essential oils to the rest of the oils before adding the lye solution and soap it at room temperature. Even with these modifications, it still set up fast, so I just stirred everything by hand. So, the more orange colored soap is from those rust colored particles, and they didn’t get incorporated like they normally do because I didn’t mix the soap with my stick blender. I’m going to keep an eye on these as they cure, and try them out to see if I can tell any difference. I’m sure it’s still good soap – just have to deal with the color variations. Next time I’ll be looking for a pure witch hazel and use more liquid – I’ll admit that I’ve probably discounted it too much for this type of soap.

Any comments from other soapers out there?