Teach Soap

There is an excellent recent post of the process and appearance of the gel phase but is it a personal preference of the soaper to gel or not to gel or is there a recommendation to allow the soap to go through the process? I've read that milk and some sugar content recipes are better if not gelled. What's your opinion? thanks in advance for your replies.

Gel or not is a personal preference. I try to gel everything. Some soaps, like those with milk or sugars are hard to keep from gelling, because the sugars tend to heat up - sometimes a lot!

I typically gel mine, but it definitely is just a personal preference. The benefits for me are: quicker unmolding, brighter colors, no fuss about freezer space . I use wooden log molds, so gelling naturally happens with mine if they are left out on the counter covered.

_________________
Carrie
Wife to my Best Friend and Homeschool mom to 7 beautiful gifts

I prefer not to gel. Colors come out lighter and I can get away with using less fragrance. Be aware that ungelled soaps can zap, up to three days later. That's because the saponification process is slowed down. If you don't have many batches under your belt, I would gel; just to be on the safe side.

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

Some of my soaps I don't gel because I want the pastel color and it helps keep the fo from disappearing. But then there's some I want darker colors, so I just let the soap do it's thing. I'm not a soaper that worries about partial gel either. If I get partial, oh well. I haven't found a customer that cares whether it's gelled or not.

_________________
Genny

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

_________________
Carrie
Wife to my Best Friend and Homeschool mom to 7 beautiful gifts