Curing in plastic container

[Lonardlis]

Hi, i'm liz and i am new in soap making. I have a makeup brush cleaner business and I found that soap bar is very effective in cleaning makeup brushes and sponges so i want to make my brush cleaner out of cold process soap. The problem is i need to cure them in a plastic tube. The top layer is exposed to air but the bottom one doesnt. Is it okay if the soap cures only on 1 side?


Thank you and I appreciate your feedback

 

[Zing]

Liz, welcome and keep us posted! Some notes on steps and terms:
- make soap
- pour into a mold
- wait 24-48 hours and UNmold
- cut into bars
- cure in the air for 4-6 weeks, turning each bar once per week

I'm not sure what you are using as a mold. I frequently pour extra batter into small yogurt cups lined with Vaseline. Those take a week in the mold. Then I pop them in the freezer for 20 minutes, stab a hole in the bottom, and do a lot of slamming to remove the soap.

There are folks on here who use PVC pipes so you can do a quick Search for tips on that if applicable.

 

[shunt2011]

They will not cure in the tube. You will need to remove them and slice them to get them to cure. They need air circulation and 4-6 weeks.

 

[GemstonePony]

I'm curious, what would leaving the soap in the tube do for you? To reiterate, you cannot, but I'm wondering what problem you're trying to solve with it.

 

[earlene]

I am guessing the tube is a push-up style tube to make it easy to use for brush cleaning, much like a lipstick or lip balm.

Is that what you are planning? And would the top surface be used, then pushed up and the newly exposed soap would then be open to the air?

Although soap cure does benefit from even air circulation, since it is a chemical process, I am not sure it is accurate to say it will not cure at all inside the tube when at least part of it is exposed to the open air. DeeAnna did mention something that might matter here as it relates to the exposed surface. I don't know for sure, but in this post she talks about case hardening, which may or may not apply in this situation. But it seems to me that the size of the tube, how much soap is inside the tube and the size of the exposed surface, as well as what might speed or slow evaporation from the surface would also play a part in whether or not this soap would be able to cure in the absence of air circulation on all surfaces of the soap.

 

[GemstonePony]

If it's a push- up or twist up tube, maybe it could be poured, twisted or pushed up when it's had a chance to harden, and then allowed to cure before being twisted or pushed back down for use?

 

[Lonardlis]

Thank you so much for the reply and Sorry for the delayed response. Here are the container i was talking about. The small one is 50 gr and the big one is 100gr.

@gemstone it was part of my branding. The container, the label will be dark, earth tone. It is easier to hold it with the container as well when cleaning brush.

I have tried making a few batch in the same container and they look fine even after a monh. But i am just worried it will develop the DOS and will turn smelly.t
Another qs is, When does DOS usually appear? In a few days? Few months?
And a fragrance oil cause ricing, does that mean i cant use that oil for soap making?

 

[KiwiMoose]

I make a cold processed shave soap that I pour directly into a cup such as this - with only the top side exposed to the air, and it seems to cure fine. Because you have such a large surface area it should be fine. Make sure you leave it uncovered though - for at least 8 weeks before sending it anywhere. DOS may never happen - it is recipe/environment dependent and it often can't be pinpointed to directly one cause. I had it once with a lavender EO. You can also get it if your linoleic fatty acid is too high, or if your curing area is too humid.
You can use a ricing FO in soap making, but it can cause little (or big) white spots in your soap which look ugly. It could also lead to oils separating or other problems - so they are best avoided if possible.

 

[Lonardlis]

I make a cold processed shave soap that I pour directly into a cup such as this - with only the top side exposed to the air, and it seems to cure fine. Because you have such a large surface area it should be fine. Make sure you leave it uncovered though - for at least 8 weeks before sending it anywhere. DOS may never happen - it is recipe/environment dependent and it often can't be pinpointed to directly one cause. I had it once with a lavender EO. You can also get it if your linoleic fatty acid is too high, or if your curing area is too humid.
You can use a ricing FO in soap making, but it can cause little (or big) white spots in your soap which look ugly. It could also lead to oils separating or other problems - so they are best avoided if possible.

Thank you so muchh.. this forum sure helps me alot.
Sending virtual hugs and love from Indonesia

 

[KiwiMoose]

Terima kasi!

 

[TheGecko]

Thank you so much for the reply and Sorry for the delayed response. Here are the container i was talking about. The small one is 50 gr and the big one is 100gr.

I have tried making a few batch in the same container and they look fine even after a monh. But i am just worried it will develop the DOS and will turn smelly. Another qs is, When does DOS usually appear? In a few days? Few months?

And a fragrance oil cause ricing, does that mean i cant use that oil for soap making?

I would not use an aluminum tin. Lye and aluminum do not get along. With that said, you could make 'rounds/pucks', cure the soap and then sell them in said tins. Probably a good idea to check with @DeeAnna if it okay to use tins after the soap is cured.

From my understanding, DOS can occur at any time.

Yes, SOME FOs can cause ricing...along with discoloration and acceleration. As such, it is always a good idea to check over the reviews and in lieu of reviews, to do small test batches.