difference?

[younglivingmargo]

difference

Sure, you can use any mold you wish. I personally like my wooden molds lined with freezer paper but use any mold you like and make sure it is suitable for CP soap....eg: no aluminum....silicone is nice to work with

I usually allow my soaps to sit for 48 hours minimum since some of my soaps are on the softer side at first. Then I have plastic stacking racks that I use to cure the soaps for 4-6 weeks.

Castile will need to cure for 4-6 months. It is a real patience tester!

Is that right debbism, if you make castille soap it needs 4 - 6 months before i can use it ?

 

[Dragonkaz]

Re: difference

Sure, you can use any mold you wish. I personally like my wooden molds lined with freezer paper but use any mold you like and make sure it is suitable for CP soap....eg: no aluminum....silicone is nice to work with

I usually allow my soaps to sit for 48 hours minimum since some of my soaps are on the softer side at first. Then I have plastic stacking racks that I use to cure the soaps for 4-6 weeks.

Castile will need to cure for 4-6 months. It is a real patience tester!

Is that right debbism, if you make castille soap it needs 4 - 6 months before i can use it ?

That is right ... I won't sell my castile soap until it's 6 months old.

Margo there's a lot of fantastic topics on this forum for you to research. Use the Search icon under the heading (on the right) ... this will help you find answers to many of your questions.

 

[Dragonkaz]

So are supposed to measure in ounces or in pounds because i only see people on youtube measuring in ounces but some people on here talk about things in pounds and percents????

It's always best to measure in the smallest amount, due to the level of accuracy needed.

We talk about amounts of things to the larger amounts (kg and pounds), when we're referring to things that don't require that same accuracy.

% is a great way to express things, as this is an international forum and many of us work in grams, while others work in ounces.

 

[Dennis]

I've found grams easier to work with. Also, when entering specs into soapcalc you can go back and forth between ounces and grams after the calculations are done. Easier than punching a calculator.

 

[carebear]

Re: difference

Is that right debbism, if you make castille soap it needs 4 - 6 months before i can use it ?

Technically you can use a soap at any time that it's not "zapping", but soaps improve during a cure period. Castile soap, in particular, improves very dramatically over time, and while you can (and really should) try it at different time points, you probably won't like it when it's fresh.

 

[dieSpinne]

I do set them out on freezer paper... or silicone parchment.
Usually I will line a shallow cardboard box with the paper of choice, fold the flaps inside to hold the paper in place and lay out the filled molds in the the box and put a looseweave muslin cloth over the top and secure it (this keeps out dust and foreign matter) then put it on a shelf somewhere and forget about it for a few days.
I go back, unmold and lay out the soaps in the same box to cure...re-secure the muslin and forget the box for a few more weeks.

ETA: WOW this thread is moving fast.

 

[carebear]

So are supposed to measure in ounces or in pounds because i only see people on youtube measuring in ounces but some people on here talk about things in pounds and percents????

We talk about things in pounds (PPO) because that's just the language of soaping (historically) but we measure in much smaller increments. If the approach was historically more scientific than housewifely (historically, I say) then our terminology would be different. But the history of soapmaking, in the US at least, started with the good wife keeping her family clean.

Percentages are to give relative amounts of the components - so you can make any batch size that suits you.

 

[crazdcrafter]

thanks! so in order to make a small batch ( i would like to start small just to try it, and because i have small molds) you just type ingredients into some sort of soap calculator thats located online and then it will give you the measurements???

 

[Dennis]

Try this one. There are others but I most often use this one.

http://www.soapcalc.net/calc/SoapCalcWP.asp

 

[BakingNana]

oh okay i just googled the wilton cake molds and was wondering about that. so you dont use the silver shaped ones? And you can just sit them out on the covered cookie sheets...

No - you can't use metal. Silicone is fool proof. If you use plastic, be sure the plastic is designed to handle hot temperatures and not so rigid that you can't get the soap out after it's hard.

Sounds like you need a couple of good books. Try The Everything Soapmaking Book by Alicia Grosso; the Soapmaker's Companion by Susan Miller Cavitch; or Soap Maker's Workshop by Dr. Robert S. and Katherine J. McDaniel. All of these have excellent explanations of the entire process(es). Even after 700+ batches, I still refer to these from time to time. I also liked Soapmaking for Dummies, but I loaned that one out and can't remember the authors' names right now.

Curl up with a good book!

 

[BakingNana]

Oh...and to confuse you further...

While strictly speaking castile soap is 100% olive oil, the word "castile" in the U.S. has been used to refer to just about any all-vegetable unfragranced soap. Depending on where you're getting your information, the word "castile" may be confusing you as a recipe description.

edited to add: Sometimes the soaps that are other than 100% olive oil are referred to as "bastile" -- just in case you run across that word in your reading! It's the bastardization of castile, you see. :shock:

 

[kbuska]

Those books help a ton to learn all the little acroynms and Terms. Good luck.

 

[crazdcrafter]

thanks!!