White Spots on Soap - Stearic Acid or Spoiled?

[ROYALEwCHEESE]

Hello all,


Long time lurker on the forums and finally decided to make an account as I ran into an issue with a recent soap purchase and would like to get some feedback.

From a recent soap order (Grooming Dept), I received a soap with what appear to be white spots in the soap. I did try lathering and I noticed the lather isn't as thick as the other soaps. Luckily the vendor was very kind and issued a refund but I'm now a bit cautious on trying other soaps of this brand. This is my only Grooming Dept soap that I'm trying so I'm wondering if anyone has had similar issues.

From my research it seems that the white balls may be stearic acid and is completely harmless, but I can't help but notice the lather isn't holding the structure well.

Thank you!

 

[FarmerTan]

An excellent question my friend! I have no idea what that is, but I'm leaning towards it being an ingredient in the soap.

If it was caused by some fat turning rancid I think it would smell?

I'm sure Grooming Department will make it right, and probably have any answers/help you need. Good folks there.

And welcome to Badger and Blade! I'll be watching this thread, as MANY people here have used his products, and been happy.

Welcome, Dave the Tanned Farmer

 

[VerbaVolant]

White spots (also called stearic spots) may not be quite as bad as orange ones, but they can still make your soap appear unattractive. This problem stems from temperatures that are too low for your lye and base oil. Ingredients that contain any amount of stearic acid require a higher melt point in order to dissolve that acid. Otherwise, they remain solid and appear as white spots in your final soap product. Avoid stearic spots altogether by increasing your soaping temperature to 100 to 120 degrees. Another tip is to start your soap making process by melting solid oils, then adding liquid oils to the mixture. This ensures a uniform consistency without worrying about your temperature dropping before the stearic acid melts.

I don't know much about soaps so take everything with a grain of salt.

Welcome aboard!

 

[Wgg2017]

If I had to guess I'd say it's a byproduct of the manufacturing process and nothing to worry about. I've had other soaps that weren't perfectly smooth and they worked well. I can't say for certain though; have you reached out to Grooming Dept to get their opinion?

I do know from experience that Grooming Dept soaps require more product to build a good lather than almost all other soaps I use. I can use ~3 scoops of soap with most, but GD and a couple others require 4-4.5 scoops to get a good lather. If I use less, it comes out thin and not very protective.

Try using extra product next time and see if that helps you get a better lather.

 

[ROYALEwCHEESE]

Appreciate the replies everyone!

It definitely doesn't have a rancid smell so I will load a bit more during lathering and give it another go.

 

[Dave himself]

Hi and welcome to B&B. I've never used GD soaps plus I'm no expert on soaps. I would say lather it and see how it goes. Also some soaps require less or more water. So i would add water slowly to see if that makes a difference.

 

[shupey]

All my Mickey Lee Soapworks soaps had these spots. It did not seem to make a difference in performance.

 

[lancre]

I've had a few soaps with spots like that - I never thought to question it, and it never seemed to have any operational effect.

 

[Dtownvino]

It looks like steric acid, and candidly it shouldn’t be there. It is a result of not making a correct batch of soap, regardless of what anyone says.

 

[GR5233]

I’ve seen something similar to that in a tub of Cella. Almost like tapioca pudding. I’m thinking it’s from being an older soap, it was improperly stored or both. It should still be fine for use

 

[Frito Ray]

It’s the new chunky style.

 

[Lane101]

Hi @ROYALEwCHEESE , GD soaps are a premium $27.00 U.S. for 4 oz. product and as this is from a recent order the ingredients should not be separating. Looks like this formulation was just released by GD on July 21st so not likely to be old soap. Suggest you reach out to the manufacturer to see what they can do.

 

[GrizzlyCA]

I am know that Mo would always make that right. Glad he did.
Those white spots are part of the ingredients and I have seen them on several brands.
I agree with comments above that grooming dept can take more soap. Totally. That said, they produce top quality soap that is my absolute favorite. I own no less than 12 different tubs. Lol!

 

[timetofly]

I believe that the responses are spot on, and will not affect the soap.

Welcome to B&B!!

 

[ROYALEwCHEESE]

Hi @ROYALEwCHEESE , GD soaps are a premium $27.00 U.S. for 4 oz. product and as this is from a recent order the ingredients should not be separating. Looks like this formulation was just released by GD on July 21st so not likely to be old soap. Suggest you reach out to the manufacturer to see what they can do.

Appreciate your confirmation on the soap dates, good to know that this series is relatively new. I might let GD know as an FYI for their R&D purposes, but the vendor I purchased it from was kind enough to refund the soap due to my concern (Thank you Pasteur!! ).

Quick update: I gave it another go with more product and a better water to lather ratio and the lather was perfect this time

 

[AlphaFrank75]

Hello all,


Long time lurker on the forums and finally decided to make an account as I ran into an issue with a recent soap purchase and would like to get some feedback.

From a recent soap order (Grooming Dept), I received a soap with what appear to be white spots in the soap. I did try lathering and I noticed the lather isn't as thick as the other soaps. Luckily the vendor was very kind and issued a refund but I'm now a bit cautious on trying other soaps of this brand. This is my only Grooming Dept soap that I'm trying so I'm wondering if anyone has had similar issues.

From my research it seems that the white balls may be stearic acid and is completely harmless, but I can't help but notice the lather isn't holding the structure well.

Thank you! View attachment 1713920

I have a lot of Grooming Dept soaps and I see this in some. I find it to be no big deal. And to be honest, I see this in soaps from other makers too. If you pick out a crystal or two and rub them between your fingers with a drop of water they'll dissolve.