Teach Soap

Hey magic_hands, don't feel too lonely....I'm in the gel club with you.

Or at least, I WANT to gel but I've been having hit-or-miss problems lately. I have a wooden mold that comes with a fitted lid and I also have a double-sided dam so since I am working my way through BB's sampler FO packs, I usually split my batch in two and scent and color differently. I've made about 12 batches so far and the last 4 have had this problem where one side will gel but the other won't. The recipes are exactly the same and the insulation (the wood) is the same for each half. Lately, I've started adding a towel to give a little more insulation but I watch it to make sure it doesn't overheat.

My last batch was half Kumquat FO and half a scent blend of my own blend (Lettuce FO, Tangerine EO and a touch of Neroli FO). The side with my blend gelled nicely and is ready to come out of the log but the Kumquat didn't gel. In fact, it stayed in a semi-solid state for about 24 hours. When I saw what was happening, I added extra insulation just to the side with Kumquat but that didn't help either. I did zap test and no zing so I removed the lid at 24 hours and it's drying out and becoming solid now. But I can tell I won't be able to unmold it anytime soon.

I didn't list my recipe since it's the same for both sides. My lye solution was 34% and I did a 7% lye discount.

This is VERY frustrating. Anyone have an idea as to what could be going on?

Thanks,
zeo

I've only made two batches lol, both have gelled. I also use a wooden mold with a fitted lid. I cover loosely with a towel. I check on it every few hours to see how the gelling is going. When it reaches the edges I remove the towel and let the soap cool off. Maybe it help that I live in CA and it's always around 70-80 degrees in the house.

How do you know when it has over-heated? I was wondering about that last night.

I live where it is fairly cool & consistent all year long. I used to gel. I had the same gelling routine. cover with wooden lid and wrap with towels. I even put a couple layers of cardboard on my granite (for more insulation) since my granite stays pretty cool. Some of my batches would gel, some would do a partial gel and some would obviously overheat. I still use all the bars, don't think anything is wrong with using the ones that overheat, I think the fragrance burns off a bit & the moisterizing properties from the oils are probably compromised, but they aren't lye heavy so I use them. I have been soaping for about 6 months and don't plan to sell my soaps. I really don't know why some gel & some just partially gel. I'm getting more consistency not gelling now and the bars have a better feel to me. I can tell you, I've had the most trouble when using milk in my soapmaking process so I have cut that out. I think there are alot of oils that have just as much moisterizing qualities as milk. Sorry for long saga here.

Honestly, I use the CPOP method - I put my mold in the oven at 170, the lowest setting mine has, and leave it for an hour, then turn it off. I didn't like the inconsistent gel "ring" that you get if you have a partial gel.

Some fragrances and soaps don't need this - Pumpkin Spice fragrance, soap with lots of honey, soap made with milk - those will all gel on their own, and you risk serious overheating and separation if you use the oven. This is where testing and experience will save you - and good notes! I ruined a few batches figuring it out, but I think that's part of the learning curve.

As to the kumquat that didn't gel - did you mix at cooler temps? If not, it just might be the fragrances you used. Some of them cause a hotter gel - florals are pretty notorious for that, so it could have been the Neroli FO that kicked it into gel.

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Soap does not need to gel in order for it to become soap. Just give it some time, then cut it.

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

I pour on the countertop and put a lid on the mold before I move it. I'd be afraid of spilling soap into the oven - you'd get burnt soap stink every time you tried to cook. Eeeeeeewwww.

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That would tend to ruin the appetite!

Hehe...yeah that wouldn't be pleasant! For me, I've never spilled soap when I was pouring it into the mold. But since I like to pour at thin trace, I was worried about how steady my hands would be moving it down to the oven rack. When I try it, I'll just reduce my recipe by a few ounce so that it's not full.

I really hope this works...and it doesn't mess up my mold.

By the way, after you turn the oven off....how long do you leave it in there?

Thanks,
zeo

I wanted to try that with pumkin pie soap but now I know not to, thanks

I usually pop it in the oven after dinner - I have a day job, so a lot of my soapmaking is at night - and then leave it overnight while I go to bed. You can pull it out after an hour or so, and just keep it in a non-drafty spot to finish up.

Pumpkin Pie soap would probably be a good one to do the soapbuddy way, if you CAN avoid gel. Tends to get nice and hot.

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http://www.magichands.etsy.com
http://www.magichandsworkshop.blogspot.com

Just wanted to follow-up and let you know that CPOP did the trick! I ran the oven at 170* for an hour and then turned it off and left it over night (I have a day job as well and soap at night). I got full gel and was even able to unmold and cut within 12 hours. I'm really happy because the whole process used to stretch out over 2-3 days minimum. Now I can start soaping on Friday nights. I had tried that a couple of times but found that I kept fiddling with it wanting to get it out of the mold. And that was too much mental torture for me!

Thanks for the tips on how to do this. I like to pour at thin trace and it was a little sloshy moving it from the counter to the oven rack so I may play around more with medium trace.

zeo the happy cpopper.

I guess I'm a little confused with the cpop method. I thought the flashpoint on the FOs & EOs would mean that if the soap got hotter than that it would burn off the scent. Is this not correct? If it isn't, I'm gonna have my hubby build me some tops for my molds, because I'm still having some issues with gelling & I think it has to do with the FOs & EOs.

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HEAVENLY SCENT SOAPS