A Hot Gelled Mess

[mom2tyler]

Hello everyone
I hope someone can help me here.
Soaped lye and oils at 110 (I usually do room temp but wanted to try the gel thing)
I use a wooden mold and wrapped it in a beach towl but it still looks like it is in the gel phase. I made it early yesterday.
I wonder if the towel was too much???
TIA [/img]

 

[Soaplady22]

How much water to lye did you use?
Maybe if you post your general recipe someone can help you. But just off the top of my head, using a towel shouldn't have hurt anything. I think it's just too wet.
Maybe someone else will jump in here.

 

[mom2tyler]

Recipe in ounces
Cocoa Butter 3.5
Castor - 2
Coconut Oil - 4
Olive - 4
Palm - 6
Shea - 2

Lye - 2.904
water - 8.17
7% superfat

 

[musiccitysuds]

Is it still hot and mushy or does it just look like it's gel (and is hardened)?

 

[mom2tyler]

It's hard, it looks like a partial gel I guess as the ends look different (they look like when I do room temp)
Maybe I will try higher temps, like 120 or so

 

[musiccitysuds]

When you gel, the soap will definitely be more glossy than a non-gel matte look. That fades as the soap cures. If it only partially gelled, I'd try more insulation or even pop it in a warm oven for a bit. I put mine in a box and then cover it with a big blanket. The gel phase usually takes a few hours to complete, so I usually leave mine like that overnight. Hope this helps.

 

[mom2tyler]

Thanks, it does help. I have always done room temp. What temps do you soap at? I don't really understand the oven thing...how long to leave it in and should you put it in the oven if you soap at 120...I have read so much about this my brain is gelled! Thanks for your advice

 

[Bayougirl]

It depends where you live. I live in SE Louisiana, I don't need towels or blankets at all except for in the winter time. I had one soap (Euphoria) gel within 30 minutes in March!

 

[carebear]

If you are getting partial gel, try warming your mild before you fill it. I can put mine into preheated 170 F oven while soaping.

Or you can they putting your filled old into the warm oven, either leave on for up to 2 hours or what works better for me is turn off the oven when putting the soap in.

 

[busymakinsoap!]

I've been having some trouble with partial gell now that the weather is getting cooler.
There was a post somewhere on here (I think it was from Soapbuddy) about using a polystyrene box to encourage gell. I had a few lying around the house so tried it the other day and it was fantastic. Its amazing how much heat soap generates!

Heres a rough photo of what they look like



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

[musiccitysuds]

I normally soap right around 100. It's getting warmer here in TN so my soaps are gelling a lot more easily. But over the winter I just poured into the mold and insulated really well. I cover the tops of the mold with wax paper, put a box over the top of them (so my blanket doesn't get oily), then cover with a large comforter-style blanket. I use loaf molds, though, which means the mold actually does a lot of the insulating. If you're using tray molds, I would try a more insulated box like Busy suggested.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

If I want full gel in the cold weather, I heat my wooden mould up while I'm making soap and this, plus the residual heat in the oven (I usually turn the oven off when I put the soap in) is enough to ensure full gel in a short period of time. I just leave the soap in the oven overnight. :wink:

 

[judymoody]

I don't think it matters too much whether you soap at 90 or 100 or 110 with respect to gel. Fragrance, additives, your mix of oils, the ambient temperature of your house, how much you insulate, etc. probably have more effect.

In the summer I wrap my wood mold in a towel or just cover it. In winter, I warm the mold in a preheated oven and then turn the oven off.

 

[mom2tyler]

Thanks everyone, I am going to try the oven this weekend.

 

[falldowngobump]

I use a heating pad set on low to insure a full gel. I cover the soap mold with a piece of cardboard and then a towel to hold in the heat. I do peek at it every hour or so when it starts to gel so it doesn't overheat, and i can move the heating pad around if a place doesn't look like it's gelling.

 

[kelleyaynn]

I use a space blanket (a large sheet of silver mylar) to wrap my mold and place a towel on top. I keep my house at 65 degrees F (about 18 degrees C) in the winter, and never had a problem with partial gel.

 

[Jerry S]

Partial cure...

I usually cover my molds with an old blanket or towels and that seems to keep enough heat in to keep me from getting a partial gel, especially in cool weather.

I really like busymakinsoap’s idea of using a polystyrene box. I think I’m going to try that. By the way busy…I noticed that you have lined your molds with what looks like plain kitchen plastic wrap. Is that what it is and if so how does that work out when you un-mold?

Jerry S