Teach Soap

As someone who has done both CP and HP now, I figured I'd weigh in on this.

CP soap takes a while, tends to be rough on colorants and scents (many will morph), and if it messes up it'll be at least a day or so before you know if anything went wrong. But, at least with the recipe I use, I prefer the feel of the soap I get from CP compared to HP.

Using my standard recipe, the HP soap I've made feels... greasy is probably the best description I can give. It doesn't lather as well, and I'm very disappointed in the lack of scent in the honey oatmeal I made. Normally the CP honey oatmeal I do has a delicate honey scent that intensifies when the soap is wet. The HP version--while not discolored like my CP soap--just smells like, well, soap... :/

But I'm sure if I fiddled with my recipe and changed the proportions of oils around I could probably come up with something I liked. I just wanted to let you know that, in my experience, CP soap produces a finer product when compared side by side with an identical recipe made HP style.

which do you think is better for natural ingredients?

If you're thinking of adding herbs, essential oils, etc. then HP or rebatching might be a better bet. CP is kind of hit or miss when you're talking about adding natural stuff like plant materials into the mix.

But there's plenty of info out there on what does well or fails miserably in CP soap. I recommend reading The Soapmaker's Companion by Susan Cavitch. In fact, that's pretty much my answer to any CP question now that I think about it.

It's a very useful and comprehensive resource and I, for one, wouldn't have had the guts to try soaping if I hadn't read her book first.

i will try the local library or buy it, thanks for the recommendation

I've been too afraid of the lye and the fumes to try either. I don't have a hood with a fan over my stove, to vent the fumes outside, and my cats feel a need to be in the kitchen with me at all times (I may drop something edible). So until i can figure out a way to vent the fumes outside I'm sticking with M&P

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

Any of you guys out there can tell me what you think about this, because I am really new to soap, too.

I was told by another soaper that CP is better for natural ingredients because hot process would be more prone to boil away the nutrients?

Unless you rebatch and add the herbs after, there is no difference; the lye will take what it wants.

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

Hi I am new in making soap. I find that cold process is more suitable for me than HP because I don't have to stay near the stove for 3 hours and it is less energy consumated. Of course you have to let it cure for at least 4 weeks to use. I am very patient so it isn't problem for me, in addition I don't add perfum or essential oil to it.

My HP takes about an hour. Any longer then that and the soap is too dry.

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

Crock Pot Hot Process (CPHP) is really quick, sometimes less than 30 minutes from start to finish.

As for the danger of lye fumes, I don't want to give anyone false impressions--lye is dangerous stuff and should be treated with caution and respect at all times. However, it's not like there's this huge explosion of toxic gases erupting into the air when you mix the lye and water together. There's some steam and fumes that rise up and as long as you keep away from it, you'll be fine. I normally stir my lye with a long-handled spoon so I can keep at least a few inches back from it for the time it take to dissolve in the water. But as long as you're careful and don't go splashing the stuff around (lye burns HURT!), it's okay to work with.

I mix my lye and water outside, and I usually leave it out there until it drops to temp... If it's a really hot day (haha, in washington?) I set it in the garage or in the shade.

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