Teach Soap

So next weekend as long as the weather is warm I'll be trying to make my first batch of soap. But I wanted to know how long does the soap stay in the mold? I just bought a plastic one and don't know if that will make a difference with how long it stays in the mold. Some sites and recipes say like 24 to 48 + hours. How do I know when to take it out and how do I know when it's safe to use:?:

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@!BuG!@

It depends how big of a soap batch and whether it gels or not. Will you be making a cold process soap, then pouring into the mold, or will you cook it first then put into your mold?

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

I'm planning on doing cold process and just pouring it into the mold.

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@!BuG!@

It also depends which oils you will be using. Do you have a recipe or a list? Some oils like castor or almond are considered soft oils and those will take longer to harden in a recipe that has a high % of them in it. Normally, if the soap gels, you can take the soap out when it cools off and the top feel like a rind from a hard cheese. If the soap doesn't gel, it might take 3 days or longer before the soap is ready to come out of the mold.

I would wait at 2 weeks before trying it on your skin. If you can wait 4 to 6 weeks, so much the better. Soap gets milder and harder as it cures. Make sure that you run any recipe with a lye calculator and superfat at LEAST 5%. I prefer 7%. Add all your oils and butters right up front instead of at trace. Lye is still very active at trace and it will take whatever it wants. There is no guarantee that any particular oil or butter will end up as your superfat.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.