Teach Soap

I am wondering if any sort of "prep" is necessary for putting cold process soap into silicone molds, specifically Bramble Berry''s silicone square mold? Is it necessary to use mineral oil, cyclomethicone, spray of any sort prior to pouring soap or can you just pour into a dry mold?
Thanks so much!

One of the main perks of silicone molds is that they require no prep.

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"Effective questioning brings insight which fuels curiosity which cultivates wisdom"

I usually wipe mine down with a little mineral oil, especially in the corners! I've had an untold number of soaps stick in the corners of silicone molds

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

I don't do anything to prep it.

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

I don't prep either. The only time I've had soap stick is if it didn't gel all the way to the edges.

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

I use moulds from Crafters Choice and never had a problem.

I have found that some recipes can stick in the silicone molds. I've left them for days before unmolding, and they just don't seem to harden enough or dry enough. Weirdly, it happened most recently in a silicone flower shape brownie mold. The edges of my petals stuck. I waited 3-4 days before unmolding. It may have been that my recipe was too soft.

I've had hard recipes that have fully gelled still get stuck in a silicone loaf mold. They also had 2% sodium lactate! Since I've started wiping the molds out with a little mineral oil this hasn't happened. But I ruined quite a few loaves of soap by doing nothing to prep the mold.

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

Thanks everyone! Since receiving the molds I've tried both methods - adding nothing and using a little mineral oil. I found already that just a drop or two (or 3!) of mineral oil smeared around with a gloved hand to the corners and the bottom seems to work much better. They dame out cleaner and much easier. So, thanks again for all the suggestions.

Nice post!

I am waiting for my supplies I ordered to make my first batch of cold process soap. I have been making M & P soaps for over a year now. I have the silicon loaf mold from Bramble Berry. I want to use this mold to make my cold process soap in. I did purchase the sodium lactate, but was wondering if you can just line the silicon loaf mold like you would a wooden loaf mold using freezer paper. Have any of you tried that? If not, I will definitely try the mineral oil on the sides and bottom of the mold. I did use vegetable oil on one of my plastic loaf molds from Bramble Berry for my M & P soaps. The soap came out very easily doing that. I just wiped the sides and bottom with very little vegetable oil. The plastic molds are not as flexible as the silicon molds and that makes it harder for M & P soaps to come out of.

For cold process soap, I don't line my silicone mold with anything.

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

OK, for anyone interested! Since I started this topic I thought I'd give some feedback on my results so far. I have made only cold process soap (not melt and pour), using recipes all the way from those that reach trace VERY quickly (border lined seized) to those that were nice to work with, to shampoo bars, (tend to take a long time to cure nicely in molds) to salt bars which cut best/unmold best when we un molded after as little as 3- 4 hours!. So here's our take away from Bramble Berry molds:
1. They are sturdy and beat the plastic "cooking" molds we had been using. You can tell they're better made and made for soaping (if there is such a thing).
2. They unmold nicely.
3. Would we buy again? Absolutely yes!
A. No prep for molds - we had a few problems on the edges of the soaps wanting to stick but it seemed to totally depend on recipe, length of time in mold, temperature (I soap in a separate building and when we're not out there it's turned down to 50°. These Midwest winters have been brutal this year on propane!) When all is said and done, no major problems but not every bar comes out looking professional and even 1 bar I can't sell seems a waste but does get relegated to the sample/giveaway/gift/use it ourself pile!

B. Mineral Oil prep for molds - just a drop or two in corners of mold smeared around with gloved hand seems to solve all the above problems! Yes, it's more time but in the end, they un mold faster, better and I think nicer looking so a drop or two of mineral oil is how we're going at least for now. By the way, we tried Cyclomethicone vs Mineral Oil and the good ole' mineral won out!

By the way, Bramble Berry's molds rock, especially the square ones. For some reason, we think they're the perfect size, easy to use, easy to clean etc etc etc so thanks Brabmble Berry and thanks to every tone who contributed to this post!

I will definitely try the mineral oil on the silicon molds! I can't wait to make my first CP batch! My first batch is going to be the "Lots of Lather" recipe in the silicon loaf mold from Bramble Berry. What are your thoughts on me using the sodium lactate with this recipe, or just wipe the mold down with a little mineral oil, or do both?

I was also told that if the soap is sticking to the silicon mold, just wait another day to try to unmold it. If it is still sticking, then pop it in the freezer for a little bit, but not too long. Has anyone tried doing that yet? I want to purchase the wooden molds in the near future.

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