Teach Soap

This is probably a silly question, but what, exactly is the difference between CPOP and HP? I've made a few hundred pounds of straight up cold process soap, and then read in a book that to HP you can (one of a couple of ways) make your soap, put it in a hot over for about 3 hours then turn it off and leave it there for 6-8 more. It also said that you can then use it as soon as it's hard enough to cut.

I've now made about 30 pounds of soap this way and I've used it the day after cutting and it seems to behave just like my CP does after it's fully cured. I like it better than my CP stuff, b/c it seems to be much smoother.

But the question is, am I HP'ing or CPOP'ing? And if I'm doing it the way I am, is there a need for a full 6-week cure like w/ CP? There doesn't seem to be.

I have a spring fair I am doing in March and I wanted to be able to have more ready to sell then which is why I started doing this. Dumb luck, I guess, that I actually like it much better!

Sounds like CPOP. You make CP soap, then pop it in the oven to force gel. To me, HP is cooking it on the stove or in a crock pot, then glopping it into your mold.

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

So, when you do HP on the stove or in the crock pot, what is the reason that you can use it sooner than CP? I'm just wondering b/c everything I've read about it seems to say that when HP'ing you keep the temperature fairly low (150-170 F), and doesn't forcing a soap through gel cause it to reach temps higher than that? I admit that I've never tracked the temperature of my soaps when they're going through gel, but I've felt the mold and some of them get pretty hot.

I guess I am just not getting cooking soap makes it ready to use sooner. What am I missing?

HP tends to evaporate more water as more areas are exposed to air. (I presume that you stir). With CPOP once you put it in the oven, you don't stir. I would still let them cure out for at least 3 weeks, so more water can evaporate. That way the soap will last longer. Some soaps go through higher temp gel as some FO's or EO's tend to heat up more.

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

That makes sense, soapbuddy. Thanks!

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