Curing method - what do you do, how do you do it how long do you allow?

[RogueRose]

I'm trying to figure out why some of my soaps, from the same recipe/batch, behave differently than those in other moulds.

For example, I have a 1 3/4" pvc pipe mould that I usually pour first because the soap is at it most pourable and it flows better into the small enclosed mould. I then pour into the next smallest moulds until I have the largest moulds left to fill. This seems to allow for the thickening of the soap to not be much of an issue.

In between each pouring into a mould, I scrape the sides of the bowl & stir a little with a whisk to ensure mixture.

What is strange is that my first mould or two often get a really "ashy" white top and the soap doesn't seem as uniform as the rest of the latter poured soaps. It seems that the large moulds (final pours) turn out beautifully while the first 1 or 2 are sometimes not as nice a texture. And I will have to say that the mix is VERY well mixed before the first pour and the other mixings after each mould filling are probably 1/100th of the total mixing of the batch, so I don't think it is these final mixings.

When curing I put them in a thick Styrofoam cooler and this really traps the heat in. The problem is that I will need something larger down the road, what do all of you use for large batches?

 

[froggybean37]

Batter at thin trace is far more likely to get ashy than soap at a thick trace

 

[navigator9]

Curing usually refers to what happens after you cut your soaps and put them somewhere with good air circulation for a period of time, usually about 4-6 weeks. I think you're talking about putting your soaps somewhere to encourage gel? I CPOP my soaps, meaning that I put the mold in the oven at it's lowest temperature while I mix the soap, then I pour into the warmed molds, put them back into the oven, turn it off, and leave the soap there overnight. I cut it the next day. I usually don't make more batches at a time than will fit in my oven, so that's been big enough for me. I also have a styrofoam container that I put smaller molds into, that can't stand the oven.

As to why soap from your different molds may have different texture....have some of them gelled, and some not? It's sometimes hard to get soaps in smaller molds to gel.

 

[MarisaJensen]

I agree with navigator. I have a few molds that are quite thin and I find that even with towels the soap just doesn't gel. In my regular molds they gel and feel quite different. If your mold can withstand the oven I would stick them in the oven like navigator suggested.

My molds that I can't use in the oven and usually don't gel my CP soap I reserve for HP batches.