Teach Soap

Hello Everyone,
I am new to soap making and I must say I am really enjoying it. I have been studying and watching video upon video about soap making (I am doing the cold process).

My question is this... There are some videos that show people wrapping their finished soap once molding in a towel to keep it warm and I also saw several videos of people putting their finished molded soap in the refrigerator. What is the proper thing to do and what is the difference between the two? I am a little confused!

Thank you for your help!

Welcome!
Whether gelling or not is a matter of personal preference. Wrapping the soap helps trap heat so the soap gels. Putting the soap in the fridge or the freezer helps prevent gel.
I prefer not to gel. The soap comes out smooth, lighter in color and I can use less fragrance.

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

I've been wrapping in towels till now and i think I'd like to try not gelling.
Do i have to put the soap in the fridge or freezer or can i just keep it in the same room that is dark and about 70 degrees without wrapping in anything? Just leave it open? Will it still gel in that temp?

There is more info here on gelling or not gelling your soaps. =)
http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body- ... gel-phase/

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

Thanks for the replies. I had read the page about gelling previously and am still debating. I think I'll just try putting a batch in the freezer to see the difference.
I have not been using milks at all and as far as the oils, they've been a mix of mainly soft oils for swirl recipes (almost no butters or palm) and some are really nice batches of high amounts of shea and cocoa butters. I have been soaping pretty cool - around 100 degrees so that I have more time to work with designs.
Guess I'm just going to try putting one mold in the freezer and see what I think!

If possible, make one batch of soap that you can split between 2 molds.
Put one in the fridge or freezer for 24 hours and wrap the other one in a blanket etc.
This way you will appreciate the difference between gelling and preventing gel.

I too prefer the look and feel of non-gelled soap. I have 2 mini-fridges in my soap room and they almost always do the job quite well.

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- Mickey!

Great idea Mickey! I will indeed try that next time!