Curing Method and place

[Arya_botani]

Hello.

I'm new in soap making. I already made 4 small batches. I live in Bali with high humidity. I stored my soap in open place with good air flow with little bit sun in the morning and bright in day light. While i don't have rack I placed all my soap on tray.
After cutting i know they will gelling but they all fine. The problem is after 3 weeks curing times they still look watery even when i touched i felt it slide on my glove (they harden enough). I used water discount for all my soap.
Anyone know what should i do? So my soap will not feel sticky. Should i use fan? I don't have aircon. (I use only 5% castor oil on my recipe)

 

[shunt2011]

Hello and welcome. Be sure the tray is Lined with paper towel or something and not sitting on the metal directly. Also they need to be kept out of the sunlight. As for the humidity, if you can put a fan on them that will help with the circulation and drying them.

 

[Arya_botani]

Hello and thank you for your reply

I used plastic trays. So i should lining the bottom trays with paper towel, right?
I don't have any place without sunlight in my house :cry: only some part of my kitchen and that is my mom's area haha and very humid. Even the wall getting moldy.

 

[penelopejane]

If possible, would be great if you could find a wooden tray with slats- spaces between the wood so your soap can get airflow all around it.

If not then use paper towels or cotton tea towels to line the trays as they will absorb some of the moisture. Replace regularly.

You could put your soap on top of a cupboard or something high. They must not be in the sun at all. Yes a fan will help but you might always have to use one because if moisture always remains on the soap the might go rancid.

 

[Arya_botani]

Thank you for your advice ^^
I will try to find other dark space.
And these months are a very high rainy season so do the humidity

 

[earlene]

Arya_botani, it might help to put them in a room that you can close off from the rest of the house and put a desiccant packet (see below some examples) to help collect the moisture from the air. They have to be replaced periodically. Better yet, is you can afford it, get a dehumidifier for that room.

I have used the product shown above and it works really well. It's more affordable than a dehumidifier, and doesn't require electricity.

 

[Susie]

Having had to cure/store my soaps in very high humidity environments, I can safely say that your soaps will be fine. They will have condensation on them in the mornings from the cooler temperatures overnight, but they will be fine. Give them good air space and let them cure for 6-8 weeks to allow excess moisture loss. After all, they are going to be used in the bathroom, which is a very humid environment.

 

[snappyllama]

One thing I found after moving from an arid to humid environment... my soaps like to be turned once a week or so to prevent them from curing unevenly. Of course, I could just like the excuse to pick up and hold my precious babies!

 

[Arya_botani]

Arya_botani,

Hello.. thanks for replying
I did use dehumidifier and its full after 6 days :-? That will increase my soap price right? I will try this again and a fan.. thank you~~

Having had to cure/store my soaps in very high humidity environments, I can safely say that your soaps will be fine. They will have condensation on them in the mornings from the cooler temperatures overnight, but they will be fine. Give them good air space and let them cure for 6-8 weeks to allow excess moisture loss. After all, they are going to be used in the bathroom, which is a very humid environment.

Is that okay to get little bit non direct sunlight? The best air space in my house has a non direct sunlight (my room made with 1 and a half glass wall) and the darker room don't have good air flow xD

One thing I found after moving from an arid to humid environment... my soaps like to be turned once a week or so to prevent them from curing unevenly. Of course, I could just like the excuse to pick up and hold my precious babies!

Me too!! I always want to touch them (with hand glove ofcourse xD)
I turned them twice a week^^

 

[earlene]

One of my favorite soaps sweats a lot while curing, but once I start using it in the shower or at the sink for handwashing, it no longer sweats. It's really strange. Somehow being wet at least once a day keeps it dryer! It's the only soap I have made that does that. I've used the recipe since and it doesn't swear, so it was something I did with that particular batch. I'd have to look back at my notes and see if I can figure it out, but there are only a few bars left, so it doesn't really seem to matter much.

 

[kamil_abadi]

Hello everyone. I am also new to soap and I was wondering if there is a rule to curing time? How come sometimes it’s 3 weeks and sometimes it’s 6 weeks ? Am talking about the cold process soap

 

[Kittish]

Hello everyone. I am also new to soap and I was wondering if there is a rule to curing time? How come sometimes it’s 3 weeks and sometimes it’s 6 weeks ? Am talking about the cold process soap

The recipe you use for a soap will effect the curing time. Some soaps, like those very high in olive oil or salt bars, need longer curing times- up to a year in the case of pure olive oil soap (castile). Most recipes that have a balance of hard and soft oils need a 4 to 6 week cure, though even with most of those letting it cure even longer makes for better soap.

 

[kamil_abadi]

Thank you Kittish

 

[shunt2011]

That should be fine. I would also lightly cover them to protect them a bit more.

 

[Susie]

Is that okay to get little bit non direct sunlight? The best air space in my house has a non direct sunlight (my room made with 1 and a half glass wall) and the darker room don't have good air flow xD

Non-direct sunlight is just light, and will be fine. When we say air flow, we mean for you not to put it into a closed closet or drawer. So in any open room is fine. With truly high humidity, covering with any cloth is a bad idea. The cloth holds the moisture next to the soap. If you want to make some sort of plastic mesh lid, that's fine, but not necessary. I turned my soap weekly as I had them on freezer paper (shiny side up), or in plastic baskets with solid bottoms, not on any open mesh bottom.