Teach Soap

I'm brand spanking new to soap making, (have made lotions from scratch).
I've read about the Room Temperature Method and it reminds me of
learning to knit socks with majic loop and skipping the dpn's.
My questions are:

Is the method of adding fresh mixed lye to solid oils till melted, then adding the liquid oils
as reliable overall as regular cold process?

I'll be using a recipe that has Palm kernal flakes, (plus coconut and a little shea - plus liquids)
Are palm flakes ok with this method?

It seems false trace could be a problem....how do I prevent that?

Thanks so much for any advice.

Welcome!
I would make a 1 lb. batch with just water and no other additives so you can become familiar with the process. Adding hot lye to solid oils is not for a beginner. Especially with any type of milk. You could get false trace, or some of your harder oils/butters might not melt.

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

Thank you so much
I'll just stick with regular cold process to start.
Good to know about the palm kernal flakes

I didn't know you could add fresh lye/water to the oils...aren't the oils and lye suppose to about the same temp before mixing? What would be the benefit to doing that?

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

_________________
www.fostersfields.ca
https://www.facebook.com/FostersFields

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

I've used the room temp cold process for my last 10 batches or so and had no problems at all...I even used lard (which melts at a higher temp) in a few of the recipes to see if it would melt and it did. I use pretty much the same method as thepomseed and it's given me plenty of time to mix up several colors and do some swirlies. I actually prefer this method now over heating my oils first.

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

I did a number of these batches and decided to go back to premelting my oils. Mostly just a preference on my part. I do agree with SB that this is not where a beginner should start. Once you have some experience to know when you have reached trace and have a recipe that you know how it behaves then go ahead and experiment. Like Linda and the pomseed said they actually prefer that method. I will probably do a batch or two a year just to keep the procedure in my head, in case I loose electricity. I would still have to be able to make soap!

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Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!

There's so much to learn here!
I guess I should start with my detailed cold process instructions on paper to begin.
I'm just so anxious to start.....and to use recipes with babassu, goat milk, swirl, etc.
Thanks for the suggestions.
One of the best things I read on here was the formula for mold size (WxHxLX0.4)
which I've used to find the best size.
My kit came with lunch meat tubs for molds

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

I've used Pringles cans as molds. I know read somewhere here that it wasn't a good idea to use them (tho I can't remember why) but I've never had problems. Bonus=you just have to eat the chips...