Teach Soap

I seem to move from one problem to the next. I am working hard on my colors which have always been a problem for me. So I am making 1/2 pound batches. Weighing everything in grams. Keeping records. Getting great colors. Now my new problem. I can't seem to get my soap to gel when I use an individual bar silicone mold. The last batch I set on a heating pad on low and it still didn't get. One batch in my 2 pound silicone mold gelled (it was on a heating pad) the next one didn't (No heating pad). I am adding sodium lactate so I can get the soap out of the mold. Without gel I am letting it set a week. At that rate I am going to have to by more molds. I never had a gelling problem with my trusty old homemake wood mold. I switched to the silicone mold because I wanted the nice sharp edges I was not able to get with my lined wood mold.
Aggggggggggh!

Individual molds for me usually don't generate enough heat to gel. Can you put your silicone mold in the oven?

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Genny

O don't know. I guess I can throw that question out there for everyone.

Well at least you are getting great colors! I usually use a silicone mold and I need to put it into the oven at 170 until I can see the gell starting around the edges. Then I turn off the heat and check every few minutes to make sure it doesn't get too hot.

I am glad you got over your color impediment.

You can put silicone in the oven to encourage gel (CPOP). You can set on a heating pad and cove with plastic wrap and a towel and it will usually get. Actually, depending on you recipe, you don't even need a heating pad, just to cover it well. I never use a heating pad or oven and almost always gel. The individual silicone bar molds don't allow enough batter together to generate the heat needed to gel. When you have a loaf mold, you have a lot more batter and it works together to create the heat. If your house is cold, sometimes you need to insulate the wood mold too. Other times you will overheat it if you insulate, other times you need to have a lid or cover AND a blanket to get gel, or just one of those. It is ALL dependent on many variables and takes time and experimentation to get the hang of it, making the right choice most of the time. Still, even after you have soaped for years, sometimes something still happens with a batch that you didn't expect.
Soaping is a journey, have fun with it!
Happy soaping

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy

I wouldn't say I have actually gotten over my color problems but I am on the road to recovery.

Mt entire issue with gel no get is the issue with soda ash. Seems like I always get it with no gel but not with gel. This last time I spritzed it with alcohol but it was only 70% and I can't see that it helped.

Maybe it is a wood slab that I need.

I am glad you are working through it. Try just insulating better, top and bottom and see if you can get your recipe to gel. If your recipe is one that is slow to trace, you could also change that up some, or soap a bit hotter and insulate well at the same time. There are a lot of adjustments to try and, as I said, it is experimentation. You will eventually find what works for you with patience and time.
Happy Soaping~

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy

Since I am working on colors right now I have not been adding fragrance and I know that alters things. I have also been pouring at a much thinner trace that usual. Maybe I will adjust that too.

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!