cp soap stuck in wooden mold

[cece_em]

I am posting this for future reference to newbie soapers like me, and to share my experience as well.

So, this is my cp soap at 34% lye concentration (water only), with castor, coconut 76 degrees, cocoa butter, olive oil, rice bran and sunflower oils, scented with essential oil blend, colored with titanium dioxide and activated charcoal. The soap batter itself stayed liquid when i poured it in the mold.

I attempted to unmold this 34 hours from molding. As you can see, i used a wooden mold with collapsible sides, and the 2 narrow sides are already removed, but some of the soap stuck to the sides so the exposed sides had some cracks from pulling. I was able to use this soap mold at least two times before this batch (cp and rebatcbed), but there were no sticking incidents.

So, i put this stuck soap in the fridge for 2 hours. It has been 6 hours since i removed the mold from the fridge. The soap is still stuck to the sides.

Attached is a photo of the soap, taken 2 hours from the time the mold is removed from the fridge. Right now, the soap is sweaty.

I want to turn the mold upside down in the hopes that the soap will slide down from the mold. But i dont want to risk the top from being squished. No, the soap is not soft to the touch. It is actually firm enough to be cut cleanly.

Thoughts and advice are very much appreciated.

 

[Balloons]

Your soap look great even though it's stuck. Hopefully someone will come along and help you. I'm new to co soaping and don't have any of the wooden molds. All of mine are silicone. Maybe take a knife very easily in between the mold and sides of the soap. Sorry I'm no help.

 

[shunt2011]

I can't tell from your pictured but did you line your mold? Freezer paper makes unmolding from wood molds so easy. Very pretty soap though. You could run a thin knife around the edges or just let it sit a bit longer.

 

[cece_em]

I can't tell from your pictured but did you line your mold? Freezer paper makes unmolding from wood molds so easy. Very pretty soap though. You could run a thin knife around the edges or just let it sit a bit longer.

I did not line my mold because the supplier said this is a no-line mold. Which is true because the first two batches (cp and rebatched) did not stick to the mold...

 

[shunt2011]

Then I would probably just give it some more time and hopefully it will release.

 

[cece_em]

And i will start using petroleum jelly on my molds.. I cannot afford having stuck soap.

 

[Seawolfe]

What material is that against the soap? Is that HDPE / Plastic? Or more like a laminate?

I only ask because when you say "wooden mold" to most soapers, they immediately assume you are lining the mold with parchment paper or freezer paper.

If you are not in a rush, just leave the soap. It will shrink and come out eventually. I have had some soaps that really needed up to 4-5 full days in the mold.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

You can afford some time, I'm sure - looks like this soap would be worth the wait!

The mould looks to be a pre-lined wooden mould. Was it very clean when you used it this time? Maybe there is some kind of build up that is causing the sticking? Was there a recipe change between the two? I saw a video where beeswax was causing a sticking issue whereas a recipe with no wax had no sticking issue

 

[cece_em]

This just happened now. So, the soap just maybe a bit wet, thus it was stuck. I will give this until friday to try the other side which is still stuck in the mold.

Gosh, i have dispersed the black color into the white thus the gray parts.

 

[cece_em]

What material is that against the soap? Is that HDPE / Plastic? Or more like a laminate?

I only ask because when you say "wooden mold" to most soapers, they immediately assume you are lining the mold with parchment paper or freezer paper.

If you are not in a rush, just leave the soap. It will shrink and come out eventually. I have had some soaps that really needed up to 4-5 full days in the mold.

Apparently i did not wait. it looks like a laminate... I will wait until friday or saturday... Since i could not wait and forced the other side, i will trim that side

 

[cece_em]

Yes it was very clean. I wiped it off with damp cloth. And i think i also wiped the lining with vinegar.

Regarding the build up, do you mean oily film kind of build-up or soap batter residue?

 

[cmzaha]

Sometimes it is just better to line the mold with freezer paper, shiny side out. I sit down and line my 12 molds so I always have some ready to go. Usually I precut my roll of freezer paper to the size I need so when I un-mold I get the paper and line my mold. I hate mineral oil or vaseline because it is gooey and you cannot wash it off if you have a mold with exposed wood. I can wash my hdpe molds and do after each use but it is even hard to get vaseline off them. It really does not take a lot of time to line a mold, even faster if you only make a slip liner and not line the ends.

 

[cece_em]

I haven't seen freezer papers here in the Philippines. And wax paper isnt good enough because sometimes the batter leaks maybe next batch will be line with wax paper just to prevent soap sticking..

 

[LBussy]

I can't imagine any surface that would be "no liner needed" that was not flexible in some way. The soap may not "stick" but it will be "sticky" so that unmolding would result in the issues you have. I'd imagine the vendor (where did they come from by the way?) probably used some mold release on the surfaces, or that it came that way from the maker of the material.

When I started not long ago my desire was to not mess with lining a mold because it seemed like a PIA. I have gone from buying silicone mold liners to starting to build some plain wood molds which I will line. You may get there too. I think you will find that learning to use a liner is far easier than messing with stuck linerless molds. Take that from a guy still learning a good/quick way to line molds.

 

[dixiedragon]

If you repeatedly freeze and thaw it, you will get some condensation and that might create enough slipperiness so it will slip out.

 

[cece_em]

If you repeatedly freeze and thaw it, you will get some condensation and that might create enough slipperiness so it will slip out.

I tried to slice a part of the soap. It is still sticky! I wonder when this soap will be unmolded. Getting frustrated

 

[kchaystack]

Not sure what your ratios were, but if you used mostly soft oils, it could be sticky for a while. My soap is usually a bit tacky when I cut. But it all hardens up in a few weeks.

 

[cece_em]

Not sure what your ratios were, but if you used mostly soft oils, it could be sticky for a while. My soap is usually a bit tacky when I cut. But it all hardens up in a few weeks.

Yes majority were soft oils. I should have used a liner despite the fact that i didnt have trouble unmolding previous batches with the same mold. The soap is stuck on the side really good.

 

[newbie]

Did you try to remove the sides immediately after removing it from the refrigerator? The soap should be more firm when it's cold and that's the time to try to remove a side. Waiting for 6 hours after refrigeration just lets the soap soften again and probably defeats the purpose of chilling it. You said your soap was still sticky so that's the problem, I would say. The other part of the problem is that without some air on it, it will stay sticky for longer.

If you have a long sharp thin-bladed knife, I would take it and run it along the sides, making certain to keep the edge of the blade on the mold surface. Once you run it around the sides and bottom, you can get it out of there and be done. You loaf/individual bars may need trimming but at least you will have the danged thing out and be able to move on! It would be driving me crazy!!!

 

[galaxyMLP]

I find that for my HP, I place it in the freezer for a few hours to overnight if I forgot to line it. Sometimes this will cause enough shrinking to push it out of the mold. It also sweats some when it comes back to room temp. So even if I don't get it out right after pulling it out of the freezer, I usually get it out withing the hour. My "no line" mold is a hdpe mold and has to be lined at least on the long sides. The short sides don't need to be lined. That means only one piece of freezer/wax paper is necessary. Its very easy!