Teach Soap

I think that is the term I have read on here - and from what I can gather, they are due to partial gelling correct? Is that right? Also, it seems they do not really affect your end product - it's still soap, right? And mine in my first couple of batches seem to be curing out already...the very first batch was "born on 8/24" and it looks like except for the very very tippy edges of it that now it is all one solid color - white-ish creamy soap

I ask because I ALMOST am brave enough to let one gel all the way just to see what I get...ALMOST...but I keep chickening out as soon as I see the "darkness of doom" coming in the middle and I always run it out to the fridge! (Always I say...like a handful of batches = always right?)

Like I said, it would appear that it is curing out of the soap...so I was just wondering and all...

Does anyone have any pointers, thoughts, or opinions on this? I WANT to experiment - but I saw the pics of the overheated soap that made a volcano...I don't know that I want to clean something like that up if I can avoid it...

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Making soap one loaf at a time - it's better than bread 'cause soap doesn't have calories!

If you're not using any ingredients in your recipe that will be likely to cause overheating (sugar, honey, beer, milk, spicy fo, etc), then go ahead and go for a full gel.

Soap that's fully gelled is usually easier to get out of the mold easier and faster, because it's usually harder. Also if you use colorant, the colorants are usually more vibrant in gelled soap.

But there are some colorants I use that I know will morph if I let the soap gel completely, so those are the ones I put in the freezer.

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Genny

I generally let my soaps reach full gel before cooling them, even if I've used milk or something else that may cause them to overheat. I just keep a close eye on them by setting a timer and checking them often. "Power circles" don't bother me, but I hate having soft corners where the soap didn't gel.

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

So some colors can be affected by it and the parts that don't gel can be softer? Is that correct?

Hmmmm....maybe next time I make a batch I won't get nervous and toss it in the freezer so fast LOL...or the fridge! As soon as I see the "darkness of doom" I just go into "Save my Soap" mode and can't let the darkness spread LOL.

What about scents? Can those be affected do you think? I STILL have not gone up to our mail box to gather my shipments (it's 27 miles ONE WAY to town and I have not had the energy to make that drive for the mail, thank goodness my little pack-n-ship place is good at holding my packages, UPS and Fed Ex do NOT come to the house out here!) Anyways...I have stuff waiting on me to experiment with...but curious about it of course....

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Making soap one loaf at a time - it's better than bread 'cause soap doesn't have calories!

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The Soapinatrix! *whip-crack*
- Posting the trials and tribulations of my Soaping Journey!

I think it's confusing because my mind tries so hard to relate soaping to cooking...for example:

You make a soap in the crockpot, HP style right? You get a harder bar faster - BUT - if you cook MEAT in a crockpot you tend to get stuff that is more TENDER slower paced....

Gelling is one my mind can't quite wrap around...it's kinda like the fine line of boiling a pot of water...sometimes you hear that hissing noise and turn around to find it has boiled over and sometimes you don't...

I have to start mentally filing this info as "new category" and not trying to add on to cooking, even though I am in the kitchen I guess

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Making soap one loaf at a time - it's better than bread 'cause soap doesn't have calories!

Most soap isn't going to overheat on you if you gel as long as you don't over-insulate or leave it in a really hot oven for an extended amount of time. Once you know your recipe and how it behaves, you'll learn about how long it takes (on average) for gel to start. Adding milk, honey, or spice FOs and EOs can cause overheating, so you'll pay more attention to those batches. Like anything else, it's a learning curve and it gets easier with experience.

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

There's no danger of my soap ever going in the oven here - I swear the people that built this place put in an easy bake oven that thing is so tiny! I hardly make dinner with it, let alone try to put a soap mold in there LOL!

The only thing that actually worries me, right now at least, is how HOT it is - even with the AC running our little farm house gets oppressively hot in the middle of the day and then stays that way into the night. Once winter gets here it is the opposite and will stay pretty chilly in here...but by then I may not be making much soap as we will be back at kidding season and you can't soap with goat kids in the house OR when you are tired...

I am excited to play some with scents though...may make the drive to town tomorrow to go get my boxes...I ordered a TON of stuff recently (not just soap stuff) so it would be worth the drive for sure

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Making soap one loaf at a time - it's better than bread 'cause soap doesn't have calories!

New toys to play with! Have fun and post pics.

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Linda

I learn so much when I can't leave well enough alone!

It's hot here in the desert too. If I know that a particular recipe will heat up, I either elevate it and put a fan it, put it in the fridge or the freezer.

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

Another ingredient to be careful not to overheat is titanium dioxide, I think it might be what is causing the t.d. to crackle in my soaps.

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Soap Blog:

I just couldnt resist sharing with you in this thread my very first "Power Circles"! This was a new batch for me, while still using my tried and true recipe, I added rose clay because lately I have been experimenting with colors. I called this one pink grapefruit and peppermint, and as you can see, some of the bars really do resemble a grapefruit! This one I took with the flash, so the colors arent quite true



This one is with the flash off and just the natural morning light in my kitchen



When I added the rose clay to the soap pot, it started out a very nice color of pink and I wanted to keep that soft color as much as possible, so I poured it into my 2 lb mold and put it directly into the freezer. I only left it there for a day and a half as I needed the silicone mold to make another test batch. Only the direct center of the soap gelled and as I was cutting closer and closer to the ends of the mold, there were no circles.

I like the center pieces, because they remind me of the dark flesh of the grapefruit, covered by the white-ish pith, and contained in the pink-ish skin of the grapefruit rind.

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Kristen D. Vineyard
visit my blog http://washwithvegetables.blogspot.com

It looks interesting with the partial gel lunasear.

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

I kind of like it.
I wonder if the color will even out as it cures. Some of my power circles do and some of them don't.

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

It has stayed exactly the same, but it has only been curing for 2 months - even the rose clay color has not morphed. Which makes me super excited...however, to stop it from gelling partially in the freezer is another trick I have to master. Ideally I would like this bar to be one even soft pink color.

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Kristen D. Vineyard
visit my blog http://washwithvegetables.blogspot.com