Teach Soap

Late last night after hours of reading, researching, planning, thinking, (practically eating) soap - I was in that half space between sleep and awareness. For me this particular golden moment can be filled with brilliance and stunning breakthroughs. If my eyes and limbs weren't so heavy, I might have sat up and shouted Eureka!! Unfortunately, this moment can also churn out ideas better suited to pretend never existed when viewing from the light of morning. Right now this thought plunking away in my brain has yet to be categorized.

So . . . I'm still new to CP HP soapmaking. I have read quite a bit and understand the basics but surely still need refining on the "deeper science" of it. I had the crazy thought that a person could make a batch of CP, put in in the mold, then put it in a big lined roaster pan on low and force the evaporation and saponification process. Is this at all possible or is it a disaster waiting to happen??

I don't think the evaporation process can be rushed that much.

What you're talking about is CPOP (cold process/oven process). The soap will still benefit from a couple weeks' cure time just to let more water evaporate, but the OP portion will quickly finish saponification. There's a lot of discussion about this on various threads but this one might be a good starting point:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3517

Thank you silversprite! I will surely look into that thread and more.

Happy to help. Be sure to post photos of your first CPOP batch so we can see how it turns out.

Well, this particular batch I made today is not going to be oven processed - figured I better get a few more regular CP soaps under my belt first. That way I could hopefully troubleshoot more accurately should something go hinky with another process . . .

Thanks so much for the encouragement. I love this new world opening up to me. Just what I needed: another addictive hobby.

If the mold is oven safe, you can put it straight into the oven on low (170 degrees US), leave it there til it gels, then take it out and let it cool. When cooled off, you should be able to cut it.

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