Teach Soap

Happy New Year! I'm looking forward to learning more and more about making soap at home in 2010. Are there any HP soapmakers here? I'd love to trade stories with you.

Welcome!
I make crockpot soap if I'm in a hurry. Otherwise it's CP with no gel.

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

I do both- CP and OHP but leaning more toward HP lately!

Well I'm curious about this.
I've done crock pot one batch so not too with it.

How do you do CP and not go to gel?

Perhaps I need a definition of gel, I just haven't read enough yet! Thanks all!

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~bytheSEAsoap~ Mella bythesea, bythesea, bythebeautiful sea

海の皂

I put my CP (CPOP) in the oven to force gel. But I'm guessing if you don't want gel- don't insulate- Just leave it out. I think some people put milk soaps in the fridge but I haven't done those so I can't help there.

When soap gels, it hastens the saponification process. Some people use it right away, but I would wait at least 2 weeks so the soap has had a chance to harden. I don't gel because my colors morph less and I can use fragrances that would normally burn off if they have a low flash point. I like the creamy feel of ungelled soaps. Either way it's still soap though.

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

So ungelled soap is brought to trace, put into mold and insulated overnight, then let sit for 4 - 6 weeks to complete curing process. This is ungelled soap?

So gelled soap is either put in crock pot, or oven to hasten the cure process before it is molded?

I'm I on the right track here or completely in left field?

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~bytheSEAsoap~ Mella bythesea, bythesea, bythebeautiful sea

海の皂

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

This is new to me - not going to gel? I tried my first batch of CP soap. I mixed it up just like I would for CPHP, but was careful to match the temp of the oil and the lye. I poured it into a mold and placed it all in an insulated box and left it for a day...then I peeked. Maybe I should have been more patient - the soap just didn't look right to me. It was solid but streaked. I assumed it had not completely gelled due to having cooled too quickly (I had it in the basement...). So, I chopped it up and put it in the crockpot. I've then remolded and unmolded the soap to cure. Several weeks later now, it still looks blotchy with some white chunks. I don't know whether to try it or rebatch it. Did I really mess it up by peeking? Is it really messed up or am I just paranoid?
I had hoped to use the soap to rebatch some Valentine gifts. Now I'm not sure what to do with it - no, I haven't actually tried using it yet

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Sister Notes

It's possible if you originally soaped at a low temp, it could be some of the stearic that didn't melt. Peeking wouldn't have made that much of a difference.

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

Thanks SoapBuddy - I'll check the recipe: olive oil, canola oil, coconut oil and palm oil (but I don't have the ratios handy). Time for a shower!

p.s. I think I mixed the lye and oil when they were both at about 110 F.

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Sister Notes

You're welcome. 110 sounds about right.

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

Ah bubbles, I tried the soap and it worked just fine! I also remembered that I had also attempted the cold process by hand and switched to the hand blender after about 30+min of stirring. Now that I know the soap is OK, I'm looking forward to my next CP batch!

Thanks to everyone for all the useful information, hints, and tips!

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Sister Notes

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

Just a little comment on Hot Process Soap. I've read a lot of instructions on Hot Process and they all sound so long & labor intensive. I have a girlfriend who makes Hot Process Soap and this is how she taught me to do it. I make my soap as if I were making regular Cold Process Soap, but after I pour into molds, wait for shine to dull on top of soap - then put the molds in a 180 degree oven (uncovered) for 2 hours. Remove molds and let set out all night (again, uncovered) - unmold and slice the next day! Wha La!! The only problem that might come up with this - ask me how I know - is, if you have regular, glued & nailed pine log molds, there might be some expanding & contracting of the glued corners of the pine log molds!! I finally found some wonderful silicone lined molds at woodfieldswood.com. He uses a very high quality Birch Wood plywood for his molds and there is no glue, just rods and wing nuts holding them together. YEH!!

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Islandgirl