Teach Soap

Hello all,

Happy New Year and may 2009 be a hopeful year.

My question is about gel. I like the idea of my soaps lasting longer, so I've been experimenting with non gel. I make the soap, put it into the Ikea drawer molds I have then put it in the frig as soon as it is poured or a little after. For one batch only I got totally no gel. All the others partialed leaving a tiny signature outline where the gell stopped.

Does FO and recipe affecft gel and if so which oils and which FOs tend to help the no gel process?

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"Be the change you wish to see in the world," Gandhi

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

_________________
"Be the change you wish to see in the world," Gandhi

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

I have found that if you make your soap "not" gel, it gives a lighter/whiter color appearence. Most soap colors or swirls, show up better in non gel. Gel soaps for me work better when I want to add herbs or such. It makes the herbs show up better. Sorta like seeing in a lake and noticing that there are pretty rocks down there. Certain FO's can be tricky. I tried the refrigerator several time with the "bulls eye" look to them. I changed to putting them straight in the freezer. I let it stay there for a couple of days. Still a long cure time..4-6 weeks to me is long. But oh so worth it.

I have never been able to just pour my soaps and wrap in towel. Bulls eye effect. Freezer for me!

Also on soap in the freezer. After it sits there a few days, you will have to let it thaw just a little bit to get it out of the mold. Remember, its frozen, so the outside will thaw first. Best time to get out of the mold. It will also sweat, due "only" to condensation. Just wait it out. Then cut. By putting your soap in the freezer, you are slowing down the saponification process. That is why you can/should leave it for several days. You want to bypass the heat. But the cure will be just the same.

A note on frozen soap - my sister forgot that a soap log was not thawed all the way and broke all the strings on our soap cutter! Now she has a better time remembering to wait - after stringing the new strings in the soap cutter!

Could someone explain what "gel" means and looks like? I've seen the term a lot but have no visual definition of it.
Thanks!

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Catie Beth

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

After all this talk about not having to have your soaps go through a gel (which I had never heard of even though I have always insulated my soap)
I got a book today from the library "Smart Soapmaking" by Anne L. Watson and it is all about the "myths" about soapmaking and guess what, the gel thing was in there She explains that you don't have to insulate your soaps at all. It will still turn into soap just fine

I also do not gel...my milk based soaps stay whiter and I do not need to color with TD. My non-gelled soaps do last much longer in the tub than my gelled. I actually prefer to use the NON gelled soap over the gelled. You do not need the exothermic (heat)reaction to make soap...the lye binding to the oil molecules makes the soap....the reaction can be controlled to achieve different textures of soap. Gelling or NON Gelling is not wrong....it is just a different technique and preference of some soapmakers!

If I use juice I do not gel either...

I think there is a link out there somewhere about gelling/nongelling milk based soaps. I'll search it out for you...

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He is the Good and I'm the Forest.

Here is the link...scroll down to * making goat's milk soap*

I believe it is the 'heat' that is causing the caramel color. Or at least...that is my opinion....but maybe others will weigh in on it. I love either light and dark...my non gelled whiter bar sells better though.

Not sure whose web page I am linking too.....but it is awesome information~!

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He is the Good and I'm the Forest.