Teach Soap

I've soaped twice with a spicy Christmas fragrance. The first time was at 110° when I foolishly thought I could add color to boot. I was barely able to get it into the mold, and just left it to sit at room temp. It's pretty rustic looking but smells great. Time #2 I soaped at 105°, easily poured uncolored soap into a chilled mold and popped into the freezer. An hour later I transferred it to the fridge for the night, and cut it today. It obviously went through a partial gel. I'm wondering if next time I would do better soaping even cooler, say 95°? What would happen if I chilled the FO before using it? Or is it better to just repeat at 105° and leave at room temp. where it will likely go through a full gel?

I would have left it in the freezer overnight. Depending on which oils or butters you use, at 95 degrees, some of them might start solidifying and you could end up with lye heavy soap. If you can't avoid gel, then just let it do it's thing at room temp.

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

Thanks, Soapbuddy. I might try the freezer again. It looked like it was cracking in the center, and I panicked and took it out thinking the opposite temps. were stressing the soap. It now appears to be OK except for a big smiley face gel in the centers.

If it start to crack in the center that means it's overheating.

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

It definitely does heat up. I can't think of any other ways to keep it cool even while in the freezer. I added the FO at thin trace stirring, with a whisk; but gave a couple of shots with the SB just to be sure it blended. Should I forgo the SB after adding the fragrance? Thanks

I would still use the sb, just to make sure the fragrance is very well mixed. Have you tried adding the fragrance straight into your cooled off oils?

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

I have tried that in the past; but not with this fragrance, thinking the trace would get too thick while I was still adding the lye/water. However, it might be worth a try. Will let you know the outcome. Thanks for the suggestions.

If you know for sure that the fragrance would thicken it, add some liquid lecithin to slow the trace.

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