An oven process ... of sorts

[CarmenJean]

Okay - here's a question.

If I make CP soap, it's gotta cure for 4 - 6 weeks before use. But if I do HP, it cures for 2 weeks, mostly for the water to evaporate. Right? ....

So, if I make a CP loaf, let it set, then cut it into bars, then put them into the oven, will that speed up the time it takes to cure? Will it still need 4-6 weeks? or will it be ready in 2 weeks?

Just curious if anyone's tried this. Also - if I do soap cupcakes, it's with whipped soap topping - can I do the same and put it into the oven to cure? Or will it melt? or worse - will there be no effect at all? I have a fan assisted oven of that's any help.

Thanks ladies and gents. xxx

 

[honor435]

well its a loaded topic, many people say to wait the 4-6 wk cure time, but i think if you do oven process you can use sooner, hp you can use after 1 wk for sure, use less water and it will get hard faster. I wonder if theres no "zap" and hard why cant we use it???

 

[Guest]

If you put the soap bars in the oven , they will melt ( there was a video on youtube from someone who tried it ) . I would not put the whipped soap in the oven either , same reason.
You could use a large water discount , but soap really should be allowed to cure to be it's best .imho.
HP would be another option.

HTH

Kitn

 

[Dixie]

Ditto what kitn said.

If you want to do an oven method put the whole mold in the oven right after pouring.

 

[carebear]

well its a loaded topic, many people say to wait the 4-6 wk cure time, but i think if you do oven process you can use sooner, hp you can use after 1 wk for sure, use less water and it will get hard faster. I wonder if theres no "zap" and hard why cant we use it???

you CAN use it any time there is no zap - it' just that the soap seem to improve during the cure period (4 weeks for me, no matter the method) - getting harder, milder, and developing better lather.

 

[CarmenJean]

Cool! Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm still trying to find out how far I can push this soap thing! But I can't see me doing cupcakes etc in HP - did some more the other day, and I can't see how I'd manage to do the icing. Oh well - it'd be a 4 week cure for sure then! :roll: LOL!

 

[vivcarm]

I find that with HP your bar is softer,so you need to let it cure just as long for it to harden up, although you can use it straight away it def doesn't last as long, fine if it's for you, but I wouldn't want to buy a bar that didn't last as long as I know it should. So if you are trying to cut some time with Hp, mmm I'm not so sure.

 

[CarmenJean]

Hm, that's interesting Viv - My HP bars have come out as hard as my CP soaps. I've been using a few HP bars, and they've actually been better than my CP bars. I'm not trying to cut corners - but I would like to be able to make soaps closer to the time of an event, rather than have them sit around for months and months losing their scent. (I can't do loads of events in a year, and I don't know that many people in my area.) HOWEVER ..... having said all of that, I do have some bars of CP that has just finished the 6 week cure, and they smell okay. .......

Like I say, I'm just trying to see how far I can push soaps. I like to know all the corners and boundries of the playing field, rather than just playing in the sandpit. :wink:

 

[vivcarm]

The funny thing is though once they are cured they are fantastic and last for ages, so if you cure them for the normal time you will be on to a winner, I probably put slightly too much water in mine! Might try with less water and see what happens, I am doing more Hp at the mo, as I am finding that I don't need to use as much FO/EO- which is always a bonus!

 

[CarmenJean]

Well, that's what got me wondering... the fragrance for my HP lasts better than my CP - that's why I was wondering.

Oh well - I think I'll stick with plain old HO and CP for now.

I don't discount water for HP, but I do for CP. Might look at that a bit more.

Thanks again hun!

 

[honor435]

I always discount water for hp, about a ounce, it helps cure faster.

 

[Guest]

Maybe it's lack of water, or maybe heat gives more-complete saponification, but....
I make soap CP and it's "so so"
I can melt that soap, without water (in oven bag) and re-cast it, add more fragrance and it's BETTER soap...harder, lathers better.
Strange, but true.

 

[carebear]

not so strange, if you break it down - you are basically accelerating the cure by adding heat which increases the speed of reaction (helping to eliminate any trace amounts of lye) and helps water evaporate (even though you melt in a bag, water is lost from your soap as you work with it and as it cools.

(and if you can easily melt without adding water then you may be using too much in the first place unless your soap is very fresh or stored in an air-tight container)

also known as rebatching, by the way.

 

[Guest]

Hm, that's interesting Viv - My HP bars have come out as hard as my CP soaps. I've been using a few HP bars, and they've actually been better than my CP bars. I'm not trying to cut corners - but I would like to be able to make soaps closer to the time of an event, rather than have them sit around for months and months losing their scent. (I can't do loads of events in a year, and I don't know that many people in my area.) HOWEVER ..... having said all of that, I do have some bars of CP that has just finished the 6 week cure, and they smell okay. .......

Like I say, I'm just trying to see how far I can push soaps. I like to know all the corners and boundries of the playing field, rather than just playing in the sandpit. :wink:

You can put your soap in boxes after they cure . I cure 6 weeks minimum and pop them into 18x4x4" boxes with holes. I can store much more soap very easily with the boxes . Label them and inventory is simple too . I have soap from 9 months ago that has retained it's scent quite nicely using this method .

Kitn

 

[CarmenJean]

OOO! Good plan Kitn! I have some boxes that have holes in. I might get my supplies out of them, and put my soaps in. I don't like the little cupboard where my cured soaps are - I open it up every day to air, but it's faaar from ideal. The boxes will work way better. Thanks! xxx