At what temperature do YOU soap at?

[spicyjem]

Ok, I know this is probably debated, so I am curious.

At what temperature do you soap at? I only have one batch under my belt, but I waited until my oils were about 93 degrees before I poured in my water and lye solution (which had dropped down into the low-80 degree range).

Of course, after I poured the two together, it heated up to over 100 degrees again.

But I just read another thread where someone said they soaped at 110 degrees, so I wanted to know:
'
1. What temp do YOU soap at and WHY?

2. Is there any disadvantage to soaping at a lower temp? For example, so lower temps mean that it won't trace as fast? Does it discourage gelling more?

 

[NancyRogers]

I don't take temps. I just feel the sides of my containers. I usually soap warm to the touch. If it's a floral or trouble FO, I'll wait until everything cools off more before beginning. I do find that I get partial gel or no gel if I let my oils get too cool and the FO is not speedy. Again, if the FO is speedy, it usually will gel no matter the temps. YMMV.

 

[Finchen]

The first batch which I made had the highest temperatures (oils 110 and lye more than 120) and it gelled immediately and for a very long time. My second batch had the lowest temperatures (oils 80 and lye 90) and it began to gel only after some hours and didnt heat up so much like the first batch.

At batch no. 3-5 I soaped at 95-100 degrees (for oils and lye) and the gelling was quite "normal" I would say (not too long and didnt heat up extremely).

 

[TJ]

I've soaped my only two batches at lower temps just because I'm not sure what flash point my FO's have. So around 100F is where my oils have gotten to and my lye usually gets lower than that by the time my oils cool down to the 100F.

 

[krissy]

i soap hot usually. my hard oils are warm but not totally liquid and my lye water is around 150 or higher. i use the heat to melt the oils the rest of the way. unless it is a floral FO then i soap around 100. ( i forgot once, and it literally HP'd itself)

 

[Bukawww]

Room temp, I guess...I have a premixed batch of lye (no way to properly thank the ladies on this board for that trick - THANK YOU!!!!) that sits on a top shelf in a closet in a liquid fabric softener bottle...I will load my oils in the pot, melt them on the stove and then let them hang out till I'm ready to mix it up.

I'd prefer my soaps stay ungelled, but since I use coconut milk in most of my batches, I still get partial gels quite often.

 

[busymakinsoap!]

I soap at 110 for oils and lye. I used to saop really hot (wrong information on the net) and always got ashy sweaty soap more prone to ricing.

My soap always fully gells - would love it not too, so might experiment with yet lower temps

 

[Chay]

I soap at Room Temp.

 

[IrishLass]

I soap my oils/fats at 120 degreesF, and my lye solution at around 100 degreesF. I discovered through trial and error that this works out best for me with the specific combo of fats that I use.

IrishLass

 

[foresthome]

I usually soap around 100 for oils and lye. I soap a little higher if I want it to gel, and a little lower if I am trying to not gel. Today I did a batch of each and soaped the first at 115 and put it in a warm oven, and the second at 95 and put it in the freezer.

 

[soapbuddy]

At about 110. I touch the oil pot and the lye pitcher and know when I'm good to go.

 

[Dragonkaz]

I usually soap somewhere between 35 and 40 C ... which I think is 95 and 105 C.

 

[LadyM]

I soap between 95-98 which for years I thought was a rule not to be messed with. After joining this forum and reading about all of the differences in temps that people go by, I've been wanting to experiment.
I'm not sure what the effect would be if I bumped up to 110 but I'll be giving it a try at some point.

 

[Elly]

I soap at room temp as I always try to avoid gelling to get a lighter colored soap, I've never used a thermometer just go by touching the side of the lye and oil pots (lukewarm only)

 

[spicyjem]

Thanks to all who are responding. I think it's clear from this thread that there is a wide diversity of soaping preferences with regards to temperature! Some like it hot, others not!

 

[LadyM]

After reading all of these posts, I'm wondering if the temp actually matters that much?
I thought that if I didn't stay within the 3 degree span my recipe dictated that the soap wouldn't come out! I'm wondering now how anyone is coming up with the heat they settle on.

 

[Soaplady22]

I changed to lower temps because of seizing. I read that the lower the temp the better - but not TOO low!! SO I soap at about 110 for both oils and lye water. Sometimes closer to 100. Works for me!!

 

[cthylla]

I don't take temps. I just feel the sides of my containers. I usually soap warm to the touch. If it's a floral or trouble FO, I'll wait until everything cools off more before beginning. I do find that I get partial gel or no gel if I let my oils get too cool and the FO is not speedy. Again, if the FO is speedy, it usually will gel no matter the temps. YMMV.

Okay, I feel dumb asking this...but what is gel? Why does that matter? What's the difference?

 

[IrishLass]

After reading all of these posts, I'm wondering if the temp actually matters that much?
I thought that if I didn't stay within the 3 degree span my recipe dictated that the soap wouldn't come out! I'm wondering now how anyone is coming up with the heat they settle on.

For me, it was trial and error. I use a goodly amount of hydrogenated PKO plus some of the more brittle butters in the majority of my soap formulas and noticed that whenever I soaped these particular formulas hotter, the problems that I was experiencing with instant trace and/or ricing went away. I later found out that what was happening was that my soap batter wasn't actually being allowed to come to a true trace, but a 'pseudo-trace' instead, i.e. the cooler temp that I was soaping them at was causing my PKO and brittle butters to come out of their melted liquid suspension and resolidify or revert back to their natural solid states before saponification could really get going into full swing. Also- my finished soaps that went through pseudo-trace always ended up with a smattering of annoying and unsightly stearic spots throughout the bars. Soaping these particular formulas at a hotter temp solved both problems for me.

When I make 100% Castiles, 100% CO soaps, or 70 - 80% olive oil soaps, I soap at room temp or body temp.


IrishLass

 

[busymakinsoap!]

I left my lye in the fridge for ages once, and it was 9 deg, and I soaped it with room temp oils to make whipped soap - still worked perfectly.

Ive also used frozen goats milk lye solution that was around the same temp, it also worked.

Maybe its fine to temp under but not so good to temp over?