Another HP vs CP thread

[BrewerGeorge]

I do not worry about temperatures of the oil. As long as they are fluid and not cloudy, and not too hot to touch the bowl, I soap. If I'm making plain soap, I just mix the fats and the lye solution, pour it in the mold, and leave it alone. It only gets complicated if I want to add a swirl.

When making the CP to HP comparisons, it is important to compare apples to apples. That is compare the CP process that will produce an outcome similar to the HP process. That means no swirls or a very simple design.

For CP with one solid color, temperature isn't really that important. Anywhere above around 100F up to 150F (which is about the hottest temp most people can stand to touch) will work fine. The advice you'll often hear to have the lye and oil temps close together is also not especially necessary for simple CP.

 

[jcandleattic]

Here's my question. Why does CP seem to be the default way to make soap? For those of you who make soap using cold process, why that over hot process? Is it because you can make larger batches to sell?

Thanks!

For me it's because I like the way it looks, it's easier to control the coloring/swirls in CP vs HP, I don't have to 'babysit' the soap once it's traced like I feel I do with HP, it's a quicker method for me, and I like the way it looks so much better than HP.

I mean, you have to worry about temperatures of the oil and of the lye solution.

Thanks for all of the replies so far. I appreciate it.

I stopped worrying about temps my second batch of making soap, and now masterbatch both my oils and lye, and soap at RT.

I have heard that with HP it allows you to use the soap almost immediately or the next day because cooking to soap expedites the saponification process.

Yes, HP will expedite the saponifiation process, but as you've heard with the other replies it will not speed cure. Cure and Saponification are completely separate things, and are not synonymous with each other.

For me, it's not that I "hate" the HP method, but it is by far my least favorite.

 

[Seawolfe]

So, just a quick note. If I like the amount of smell I get in a hp recipe, I’ll need to use more EO in the equivalent CP recipe. Is that correct?

That is my experience.

 

[SunRiseArts]

"...The first time I made CP, I used it within 4 weeks and it was not ready as my skin got itchy and red, but 3 more weeks the soap was ok. That stuff usually does not happen with HP...."

Honestly, that should not happen with properly made CP soap either. CP soap should be skin safe within a few days after making.

it never happened again. I guess I was a newbie at CP. :headbanging:


what do you think happened? At the time I followed a recipe from WSP. Which I seldom do, as I usually make my own recipes.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

For those of you who make soap using cold process, why that over hot process? Is it because you can make larger batches to sell?

For me, yes. :mrgreen:

 

[DeeAnna]

it never happened again. I guess I was a newbie at CP. :headbanging:

what do you think happened? At the time I followed a recipe from WSP. Which I seldom do, as I usually make my own recipes.

I have no idea. Could just be an honest mistake or something simple. Just because one follows a recipe doesn't mean the soap turns out perfectly, especially for beginners who stumble around a bit as they learn. In looking back at my very first few batches, I think I had at least one that was a bit on the lye heavy side too.

 

[SunRiseArts]

Thanks DeeAnna. Don't know why I follow a recipe exactly, I always like to run it through the calculator. Guess I was trying to make it just like the picture!

 

[Primrose]

I am new, but HP seems like an unnecessary hassle to me, all that cooking, when I can simply combine and melt oils, combine water and lye (or in my case milk and lye) and mix the two together. Pour into the mould and I'm done

 

[CaraBou]

For me there's a real look hook in rustic HP bars too, tho I make it only a fraction of the time. I keep thinking I should make more tho.