Hot lye method

Sonya-m · Jun 10, 2015

So there's s lot of people talking about this in a FB soap group. I've found the video:

[ame]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=y7yy2LpmEkU[/ame]

Don't think I'll be trying this anytime soon if a volcano as you blend is one of the risks! Not to mention taking the gloves off whilst it's that hot!! The claims on FB are that its fully cured almost as soon as its cut - surely not?

Susie · Jun 10, 2015

There is a difference between "gelled and safe" and "cured". Cure takes time. What she has there is gelled, but NOT cured. I would challenge her to zap test it.(I never trust those drops.)

houseofwool · Jun 10, 2015

I have to think that part of the reason this works for her is her specific recipe. Even soaping at room temp, I hit a light trace in just a minute or two.

galaxyMLP · Jun 10, 2015

It isn't cured after it is finished. But it will definitely be zap free b/c it has gone though full gel. Its just like HP in that regard.

FYI, it takes just as long to do this in the microwave and I find it to be a bit safer. I like crock pot and microwave hot process. I don't think I would try this though. I also think I would get bored/impatient and want to walk away.

I bet this would work with almost any recipe. I do microwave HP with pure OO soap and it really doesn't take more than 10 min.

not_ally · Jun 10, 2015

Her directions in the comments say: "With HP Extreme, you can create a Hot Process soap in approximately 10 minutes using a stick blender. Just make sure your Lye Water is at least 170 degrees Fahrenheit before mixing with your Oils, which should be at least 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Do NOT warm up the Lye Water if you let the liquid cool down too much! As soon as you make your Lye Water, give it a good stir, and simply mix it with your Hot Oils. You want to keep your temperature around 180-200 degrees."

That seems so high! I don't make HP, but what would that do to your EO's/FO's, keeping them at those temps for those long? Also, don't believe that the soap is fully cured instantly. It just seems kind of nutty and scary. Working with regular lye is scary enough for me

galaxyMLP · Jun 10, 2015

You don't put fragrance in until the very end, after saponification is complete. By that point, temp should be down below 160. When I HP, I make sure my temp is below 160 before adding fragrance.

I'm not really sure why so many people are shocked by this. As an HP maker, I don't see this as being much faster than typical HP.

Eta: the soap won't be fully "cured" but it will be zap free. Some people consider that "done-ness" for soap. From experience I know that HP soap benefits from just as long a cure as CP soap.

Is it usable after cook? Yes! Is it the best representation of what the soap will truly be? No. Will it last 3 seconds in the shower? Most definitely!

Eta 2: trying it right now because I can

not_ally · Jun 10, 2015

Let us know what happens, Galaxy, I am really curious about what you think.

snappyllama · Jun 10, 2015

I was just watching this video and was impressed with the fluidity of the pour. I've seen some other HP soapers get similar results by adding a lot of water to the soap. One thing that struck me as weird as someone that only has dabbled with HP... adding the yogurt at the end. Shouldn't that go into the cook and not as a superfat? I'm sure it's my ignorance that's talking, but I've cooked with milks as a replacement for a quantity of my water. I didn't put them in after the cook... Wouldn't that be inviting rancidity?

Here she is using 40% and 1 tablespoon of yogurt ppo. I guess I shouldn't be impressed with the fluidity of the pour after all.

Also, I don't know about y'all, but my stick blender would be complaining if I ran it non-stop for 10 minutes.

Maybe I'm not seeing the point of this other than not having to clean up a crockpot....

galaxyMLP · Jun 10, 2015

Yup, I just tried it. It didn't work... I ended up microwave HP'ing it b/c it cooled down too much and never "volcanoed". I think snappy is right. I may be recipe specific.

I hit trace @8:50 pm and just finished @9:58. It took 50 min to finish cooking. The last 8 min was for me slamming it into the mold b/c it cooled down soooo fast. From start to finish it was 1 hour and 30 min. Not worth it!

I have just as many (if not more) soapy dishes to clean and this took 1+ hour straight of up time. With CP HP I spend about 10-15 min of up time, have a 30 min break and then have another 15-30 min of up time (depending on how fancy I want to get).

My oils to start with:

5% avocado
7% castor
33% oo pomace
40% palm
15% Shea
(No CO b/c I'm very sensitive to it!)

Heated in microwave

Then, lye solution was 33% in almond milk. I scented w honey, coconut and vanilla ("coconut cream soap")

It traced instantly (less than 20 seconds!) And turned to taffy super quick. At this point I was pleased b/c it wasn't even 9:00 yet. Then it just didn't change from there. At 9:15 I nuked it for about 25 min on and off until it gelled. This recipe doesn't volcano. Zap free, let cool, fragrance added, glopped in mold.

Sonya-m · Jun 11, 2015

Another soaper on the FB group tried it too and it took her ages too - definitely think it must depend on the recipe.

If I'm gonna HP I'll stick to my crockpot

The Efficacious Gentleman · Jun 11, 2015

Slow cooker! Don't give in to them, Sonya!

navigator9 · Jun 11, 2015

Susie said:
There is a difference between "gelled and safe" and "cured". Cure takes time. What she has there is gelled, but NOT cured. I would challenge her to zap test it.(I never trust those drops.)

No wonder newbies get so confused. Information gets spread so quickly these days over the internet....even when it's wrong. People make statements as if they know what they're talking about. They throw terms around as if they were interchangeable. It's no surprise that newer soapers may believe that "gelled and safe" is the same as "cured."

Sonya-m · Jun 11, 2015

The Efficacious Gentleman said:
Slow cooker! Don't give in to them, Sonya!

OMG, you're right!! I meant slow cooker!!!

DeeAnna · Jun 11, 2015

"...It's no surprise that newer soapers may believe that "gelled and safe" is the same as "cured." ..."

That sweet promise of "instant cure" is so very, very attractive to impatient soapers. I think that's why this myth is so persistent on the 'net -- it's like a "get rich quick" scheme for soapers.

Saponista · Jun 12, 2015

So may people think that curing soap isn't important, especially if they hot process and high water discount. I have given up trying to argue with people.

The lady who made that video has been openly ridiculed though. Someone made a spoof YouTube video poking fun at her. While I wouldn't use her method, I feel that the person who did that went way too far.

I'm so glad that our community is so much more respectful and polite to each other, even though there are disagreements.

I am a member of several Facebook soap groups and don't find the community to be anywhere near as friendly and welcoming as here.

Thank you everyone for being the lovely people that you are.

MagicalMysterySoap · Jun 13, 2015

Wow, that is so cool. As an hp soaper, I am very intrigued. I really want to try it but I'm scared that it will volcano and cause a huge mess.

That is unfortunate that she is getting ridiculed. If it works for her who cares. I understand some people not liking her method but if she can make it work for herself then good for her.

The person who mentioned adding additives after the cook, I hp and always add my milks, yogurt, honey, oats, etc. After the cook and have never had an issue with soaps turning rancid.

JayJay · Jun 13, 2015

DeeAnna said:
"...It's no surprise that newer soapers may believe that "gelled and safe" is the same as "cured." ..."

That sweet promise of "instant cure" is so very, very attractive to impatient soapers. I think that's why this myth is so persistent on the 'net -- it's like a "get rich quick" scheme for soapers.

Before I joined this site, I couldn't tell you how many times I read that HP is ready to use after 24 hours. Every DIY blogger must have used the same source. People copy each other almost verbatim. After I read it so much, I thought it was true.

Now I know better. I an now trying to hold off at least 6-8 weeks, but that is hard for me because I am still very excited to try every new batch.

snappyllama · Jun 13, 2015

That's a shame that people are ridiculing her. Putting yourself out there by making a youtube video demonstrating something takes more guts than I have. Maybe I don't see the point of doing it her way, or disagree with the information about HP not needing a long cure, but to mock someone is just cruel. There are all sorts of ways to make a point. No need to be tacky about it.

I am really glad I found this forum. I read through a few others, but this is the only one I feel comfortable contributing on... I know if I say something stupid, y'all will correct me in a helpful way!

Lion Of Judah · Jun 13, 2015

i would try this method out with a small 1lb batch just to see if it works for me . what got me though about the whole thing is how long it took to trace [i've never had a batch take that long in all of my three years making soap , especially running the EB that long ] . i commend her if she has successful results every time. I concur as well with the general opinion about gel & safe not being the same as cured .
i've not made HP as of yet and if i can get this to work for me it would be great

galaxyMLP · Jun 13, 2015

I am going to try this again soon with much hotter oils (220+) to see if that goes well. I noticed she said AT LEAST 200 F and I was only at 193. That may have been my problem.

Hot lye method

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