A little confused about gel phase

[Catscankim]

I live in florida so i keep my ac on the morgue setting most of the time lol.

I was concerned that my soaps wouldnt go into gel phase with standard wrapping with a towel. I have one loaf mold with a wooden box, and one without. The wooden box one makes smaller bars so i prefer to use the unboxed one...for now until i get all my experiments done and my orders in which are taking extremely long. Master soaper here with four soap loaves under my belt lol.

So far i have put the new soap on top of a pizza stone, with a pizza stone on top and THEN wrapped in a towel. Seems to have worked out nicely i think. my first loaf was 80/20, lard/CO. My other ones were pure castile. They do get super-hot. Like the room warms up.

Is there a reason i shouldnt do it that way?

My other question, aside from milk soap, why wouldnt you want gel phase? I am really confused. Maybe I should experiment with the same recipes and prevent gel and see what happens...

Kim

 

[KiwiMoose]

Was the pizza stone warmed first? Or is it just acting as extra insulation from the cold? I see no reason why it shouldn't be ok aside from weight.

i prefer gel, but some others prefer non-gel. It's just personal preference.

 

[Ford]

If one were better than the other. That would be the norm. There are many threads talking bout "gel". All make good points and all have pro's and con's. Now that I have seen the top of the mountain. I like it! So it is a personal choice.
It could be looked at as a tool. Some soap designs/recipes may look better one way or the other.

 

[shunt2011]

If your system is working for you then I would stick with it. Some use heating pads, some coolers and some stick it in a warmed oven. I have silicone lined wood molds with lids. I generally just have to put a couple towels over the top to achieve gel. I'm one who gels all my soaps as I want to get them out of the mold and cut as soon as I can. I also find that when using micas to color they are more vibrant when gelled. Overall it's a personal choice.

 

[Susie]

I keep my A/C on "Morgue" setting also here in TX, especially since my hubby is from Alaska. I like gelled soap, and I don't want to wait days until I cut. So, I use a heating pad under my molds and a couple of folded beach towels on top. I watch my soap like a hawk the first four hours for volcano, and as soon as I see full gel, I remove the heating pad and the towels. As soon as it is firm enough (usually before bedtime if I made that soap in the morning), I cut it. But I am an impatient sort, so you use whatever method works for you.

People who make soap with milk must not gel. The soap gets stinky if you do.

 

[AliOop]

People who make soap with milk must not gel. The soap gets stinky if you do.

I gel my goat milk soaps and don’t have that problem. But I also use powdered milk, so maybe it’s different for those using liquid milks?

 

[Catscankim]

Thanks guys! Your replies are all very helpful!

 

[shunt2011]

@Susie I make mostly all milk soaps and always gel and have never had stinky soap, well, except the one time years ago it way overheated and burned badly. I've learned a lot since then though.

 

[SPowers]

I have used homemade coconut milk in a few recipes recently and haven't noticed a stinky smell... I gel my soaps also.

 

[Susie]

I stand corrected. I only made a few milk soaps before everyone decided they liked lard better. Which was a blessing to me, because I hated the fiddliness of making a milk soap. Too many steps, too many rules.

 

[AliOop]

I stand corrected. I only made a few milk soaps before everyone decided they liked lard better. Which was a blessing to me, because I hated the fiddliness of making a milk soap. Too many steps, too many rules.

@Susie that's how I felt about using milks, as well. I have small windows of time to soap, and rarely get to plan ahead to freeze the milk, or have time to slowly stir in the lye.

That all changed when I tried powdered goat milk that is mixed with the oils before blending in the lye solution. All the benefits of goat milk, and none of the hassles: no scorching, no ammonia smell, no messing with ice cubes, etc. It's also less expensive and takes less room to store! Have you tried any powdered milks yet? If not, I encourage you to try it!

My lard + (powdered) goat milk is the most-requested soap from family and friends. It's also the only soap I've ever been able to use on my face. I don't sell, so my only way to determine whether something works is my own skin, and the reports from family and friends.

 

[Susie]

I did try it, and sent out test bars that were not labeled to friends and family. Everyone liked the basic lard soaps best.

Thanks for the suggestion, though!

 

[shunt2011]

@Susie that's how I felt about using milks, as well. I have small windows of time to soap, and rarely get to plan ahead to freeze the milk, or have time to slowly stir in the lye.

That all changed when I tried powdered goat milk that is mixed with the oils before blending in the lye solution. All the benefits of goat milk, and none of the hassles: no scorching, no ammonia smell, no messing with ice cubes, etc. It's also less expensive and takes less room to store! Have you tried any powdered milks yet? If not, I encourage you to try it!

My lard + (powdered) goat milk is the most-requested soap from family and friends. It's also the only soap I've ever been able to use on my face. I don't sell, so my only way to determine whether something works is my own skin, and the reports from family and friends.

I do the split method. Never have froze a liquid to make soap. I masterbatch my lye and add the difference in milk to my oils with powdered to make it full milk. Blend well and add lye mixture. But your way works perfect too.

 

[IrishLass]

I live in a hot desert climate and have our AC set to the 'morgue' setting, too. lol

I gel all my soaps, including my milk soaps. My molds are lined wooden molds with lids. I use a 33% lye concentration, which means my soaps need an extra bit of encouragement in order to go through a full, complete gel. I achieve full/complete gel by soaping warm (110F to 120F) and placing my covered mold in a pre-heated oven......i.e, I turn my oven on for a mere 3 minutes tops and then immediately turn it off and then put my soap inside. The temp inside my oven after heating it up for 3 minutes is 110F according to my oven's internal thermostat. Then I just leave my soap in there (covered with the lid and draped over with a few cotton diapers) and forget about for the next 12 to 18 hours. I always get a full gel with this method.

When I make milk soaps, I use the split method like Shunt. It's so much easier and much less fussy for me than dissolving lye into the milk, whether frozen or slushy (been there, done that, refuse to ever do it again, lol). I soap as warm with them as I do my non-milk soaps and fully gel them, and they come out a nice off-white/ivory color. I've never experienced any stinky off-smells with them......at least not with my goat milk soaps and coconut milk soaps. It was a different story, however with the batch I made with heavy cream (from a cow). That one eventually took on an unpleasant sour, somewhat vomit-like smell after cure.


IrishLass

 

[AliOop]

@shunt2011 and @IrishLass thank you both for sharing your techniques. I may try this since I'm also toying with the idea of master-batching some lye.

I did have to laugh however at the use of a diaper to cover your soap mold. My weird mind went to the fact that FB almost always auto-corrects "soaper" to "diaper." But my mind reversed that, and for a second I wondered, "Does she really cover her mold with diapers, or did she mean soapers? Oh wait, she really meant diapers!"

Yup, I'm a weirdo!

 

[IrishLass]

LOL Yes, cotton diapers....... but only clean ones.


IrishLass

 

[AliOop]

Diapers or soapers... clean is always best

 

[LilianNoir]

We keep the house at 77 here (Florida too!) and I put my soaps in the garage, with a piece of plastic wrap laid lightly overtop. Soap gels and no soda ash that I could tell. The temps in the garage are high 80's so that helps.