Teach Soap

Okay, so I received my half dome molds (6) in the tray. Someone suggested that you coat them with oil to cure them. I know I saw that thread somewhere here but can't seem to find it and my mind is going so can anyone tell me how long I need to let the coated mold sit before I can wash it and use it?

Thanks.

Hi Karen,

I would season them for a day or two and preferably not with olive oil or a spray like Pam that has alcohol in it. Maybe some Canola, Safflower or Sunflower. A function of the olive oil is that it causes the soap to stick to those molds. Then before pouring soap in them, I wiped that out. I put a small amount of mineral oil in them because it doesn't saponify. I wipe the inside cavities lightly with mineral oil like I would if I were lightly coating a baking pan. I do that each time I use them. Also, I find it easier to pour into those if I transfer the raw soap from the pan to a large measuring cup.

HTH
Kate

Oh shoot, I have olive oil in them now. I'll wash that out and put canola oil in them for a couple of days.

Thanks so much for the info Kate.

You're welcome. I used olive oil the first time, too.

If this is CP, any soapmaking oil will saponify. I would use a light coating of mineral oil or a tiny bit of vaseline for the inside of your molds.

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

Thanks.

last Dec, Lindy posted pics of some molded dog soaps--- I was impressed how nicely they came out of the mold as I have had trouble in the past with a clean release. Here's what she said:

Joined: Sat Oct 25, 2008 8:17 pm
Posts: 123
Location: Sunshine Coast Thank you!

I spray my milky way molds with Crisco Oil and they come out beautifully - no freezing or anything. You have to let the oil absorb into the soap, but I really like doing it this way.

Cheers


I know that common soap sense says this should not work. The Crisco spray oil is 100% canola --- no alcohol. It works. Can't explain why, but it does. I do almost all individual molds. I use them right out of the box-- wipe out the dust with a damp paper towel, dry, spray with Original Crisco spray, pour, pop into the freezer and demold. I've never "cured" a mold. I used to use mineral oil or vasoline--- what a mess and I'd have to wipe the soaps off sometimes. It works for me-- it will be a year in Dec that I have done it this way. Thanks to Lindy.

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You may be only one person to the world, but you may also be the world to one person

If you don't want to use mineral oil or vasoline, you could also add beeswax and/or sodium lactate to your recipe.

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

Thank you all for the suggestions. I'll be using the molds sometime this week, I will post pics!

I think I may have figured out why the Crisco Canola spray works. The front label says it's 100% Canola oil. The back label lists Canola as the first ingredient. The 2nd is soy lecithin. I looked at the competitors labels too, and on their back labels, in parentheses, soy lecithin is listed as an anti-stick agent. Didn't say that it was an anti-stick agent on the back of the Crisco Canola spray bottle but it did on the others.

That's the same stuff that Soapbuddy recommends to slow trace or stop a seize. I wonder if soy lecithin would work in the molds by itself? I guess there's only one way to know for sure.

JustKate, Fascinating - and great detective work. One of our regular customers at our retail store (Otion) swears by spraying down his molds prior to pouring CP soap into them and feels like it definitely helps with an easy release. And, his soaps are really beautiful.

One of these days, I'll do a CP test in a hard to release mold with a variety of different release techniques and sprays and post photos and the review and results. It sounds like a great experiment ...

_________________
Happy Soaping!

Anne-Marie
blog: www.soap-queen.blogspot.com
supplies: www.brambleberry.com

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

Hi all,

I've been reading the posts while away. I like the idea of using the crisco spray. I checked the back of the "PAM" spray I have here at home and canola is listed with soy lecithin (sp). I'll try that today with a batch.

Where do you order soy lecithin, Kate & how would you apply this when using the molds? Why would you use this instead of just plain old spray from grocery store? Would you add the soy lecithin to your batch say like sodium lactate?