Teach Soap

Since I'm just now learning how to gel CP soap in the oven, I'm curious as to whether there are any drawbacks so I'd love to hear from your experienced soapers on this.

Also, do you have to gel your soap immediately? Or can it sit around a few hours before being put in the oven? What if it's in the oven longer than 1 hour?

Thanks in advance for your opinions on this.

Gelling or not is a matter of personal preference. Since you are new to this, I would gel. It is best to gel as soon as your soap is made. If you wait a day, it will take longer for the soap to gel in the oven. You can leave the soap in the oven after you turn the oven off. Depending on your recipe, sometimes it's best if you take the soap out as soon as it's fully gelled so the soap doesn't overheat.

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

I guess before I can offer an opinion, or share experiences with you, I'd need to know what your definition of an experienced soaper is.

Quote midnightscream""Since I'm just now learning how to gel CP soap in the oven, I'm curious as to whether there are any drawbacks so I'd love to hear from your experienced soapers on this".

Well, I guess anyone who's been soaping longer than me (2 months) is an experienced soaper in my book

I thought of another question (for experienced or inexperienced soapers ), my wooden loaf mold came with a lid. Should I leave that off if I'm gelling in the oven?

Try it with the lid on, then with the lid off. See which way works better for you. I don't use a lid, but that's me.

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

Midnight, I'm a newbie too...been soaping since last August. The DH made my log molds (he make lids for them which I don't bother with), and I never put them in the oven. I soap at about 110-120 degree and when I pour into the molds, I just cover the tops with saran-wrap to prevent ash, and wrap them up in a beach towel. So far, so good...they have all reached complete gel on their own! I did experiment with non-gel by putting a fresh batch in our keeping-room which was freezing-cold at the time with no insulation...I didn't like the crumbly texture of the soap, but it was far more opaque and whiter than my gelled soaps. As soapbuddy said, it's just a matter of personal preference.

Thanks for that info! That'll be helpful to remember if I want to make some more white or light-colored soaps. Do you do layers in your non-gelled soap? I've had some trouble with layers separating and I'm still trying to narrow it down to the exact problem.