Acceleration and cracking

[Ugeauxgirl]

I made my first batch of soap in two weeks and it accelerated and I smashed it into the mold. I insulated it as usual and checked it later to find that it cracked. This is the first time this has ever happened to me. When a fragrance accelerates your soap, do you cover and insulate as usual or do you treat it differently?

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I've found when a batch accelerates, aka "soap on a stick", it's best to set a timer for 5 minutes and walk away. When you come back, it's likely going into gel and easy to stir up and mold up. I would not insulate at that point. It's already gone through gel although it may heat up again... not sure about that. I don't have a lot of experience with FOs. Use your best judgment.

 

[Ugeauxgirl]

It wasn't soap on a stick- more like peanut butter. I just wondered that if you've already got a thickening soap, you should keep it cooler rather than hotter. Obviously mine got too hot.

 

[TheGecko]

When a fragrance accelerates your soap, do you cover and insulate as usual or do you treat it differently?

In my experience, an accelerating FO also accelerates the saponification process which means if you cover and insulate as usual, it's going to overheat. I would do as @Zany_in_CO suggests.

 

[AliOop]

I agree with @Zany_in_CO - let it start gelling and then mold it. The only thing I do differently is stay and watch to be sure I catch it at the right time.

The other option is to throw it into heat-safe pot and HP it, whether in a crockpot, on the stove-top, or in the microwave. The extra heat speeds up the gel process, which loosens up the soap for easier/better molding.

Whether it gels on its own or via HP, I wouldn't heat it any further or insulate it after that, to avoid cracking.

 

[KiwiMoose]

I've never had an accelerating FO crack in the mold. I just had one today in fact and I still CPOPped it.
ETA - how big is your mold? Mine is a standard loaf mold with the purple/pink silicone liner. If you mold is bigger then that would cause more heat.

 

[Obsidian]

For me, accelerating FO always heats up more/faster so it's not surprising yours cracked.

If it accelerates beyond a pourable ploppy thickness, I'll wrap my bowl in a towel and wait for it to gel before molding it.
At that point, its more of a HP but its the easiest way to save a batch

 

[Ugeauxgirl]

I've never had an accelerating FO crack in the mold. I just had one today in fact and I still CPOPped it.
ETA - how big is your mold? Mine is a standard loaf mold with the purple/pink silicone liner. If you mold is bigger then that would cause more heat.

It's a tall skinny mold about 12 inches long - about 30 cm