First CPOP

[Angezzz]

I made a batch today using a caramel colour and a chocolate brown. I have never tried CPOP but I have always wanted to....It looked great going in but all my colours and swirls are all gone. The whole thing is chocolate brown with bubbles on top. I put it in at 170 for 1 hour and plan to leave it in the oven overnight. I thought the force gel would bring out my colours but its all one colour now .

I don't think I will be using the oven anymore....

 

[shunt2011]

You're not supposed to leave the oven on. I pre heat it when I'm making my soap then turn it off. When I'm done making my soap I put it in the oven and leave it alone. That way the oven has cooled some before pitting the soap in. 170 is too hot.

Did you use fragrance? If it has a high vanilla content it will turn brown but not generally super fast.

 

[dixiedragon]

Yeah, 170 is too hot. I do sometimes leave the oven on, but I have it set at 125 or under.

 

[gemsupthepoley]

You're not supposed to leave the oven on.

That post stopped my swearing!!! I just did a CPOP yesterday and thought I'd done it wrong.

 

[IrishLass]

I agree with Shari^^^. 170 degreesF is way too hot, and it's not recommended to leave the oven on.

The trick to successful CPOPing is using the least amount of heat for your particular formula that will cause the soap to gel with no ill-effects.

Keep in mind that every formula is different and that there is no such thing as a one-temp-fits-all when it comes to CPOPing (in spite of what one might read or watch on the internet).

For example, this is how I do CPOP with my 2 main formulas which are soaped at 110F with a 33% lye concentration: I pre-heat my oven to 110F by turning my oven on for a bare 3 minutes before putting my soap inside of it and closing the door, then I immediately turn the oven off and leave my soap inside of it overnight (turned off that whole time). This provides just the right amount of heat to nudge these 2 formulas into going through full gel without causing any negative effects in my soap. When I remove my soap the next day (usually sometime between 18 to 24 hours after pour), I have a fully gelled soap that has fully cooled off and is ready to unmold and cut.

For other formulas, such as my 100% coconut formula- I don't have to CPOP at all. It goes through full gel right on my counter.

I would not give upon CPOPing just yet. You'll have to experiment with your own batches to find the sweet spot temp for your formulas, but I would definitely try using a much lower oven temp and turn it off after the soap is inside of it.


IrishLass

 

[navigator9]

Not to disagree with the wise soapers above, but I don't think 170 is necessarily too hot. That's the lowest setting on my oven, and it's what I use all the time, with no problems. But I turn the oven off when I put the soap in. I think there are a lot of variables, including your recipe, the temp your soap is at when you put it in the oven, the size of your batch, etc. I think CPOP is one of those things you need to experiment with, to see what works for you. But the idea is definitely NOT to cook the soap, just to encourage it gently to gel all the way through.

 

[dillsandwitch]

I turn my oven onto 75c it does go as low as 50 but i have these full tray racks and 50 just isnt quite warm enough. I generally turn the oven on when i get started with making the soaps and then only turn it off once all the soaps are in and the last dishes are wiped off and in the dishwasher. Most of the time i make 6 or 8 500g batches in one go. I haven't experienced any negative effects from doing it this way. But in saying that each oven will be different as well as each recipe will be

 

[CTAnton]

I as well oven process everything that needs it. I wonder about the variable of temperature outside the oven. This time of year I basically take the "chill" out of the oven.I hit my pizza stone with my thermometer gun and it registered over 100 degrees F in record time the other day. In the winter I bring the oven up to 170 degrees , let the temperature stabilize and shut the oven off when I put the soap in. I picked up a used pizza stone for free, and being its got a lot of mass to it, I'd like to think that helps stabilize the temperature in the oven.

 

[Angezzz]

Oh boy...My ovens lowest setting is 170 but I diid not turn the oven off for an HOUR! what will happen? It is still too soft to unmold but it is getting harder. Is it garbage?

 

[dixiedragon]

Oh boy...My ovens lowest setting is 170 but I diid not turn the oven off for an HOUR! what will happen? It is still too soft to unmold but it is getting harder. Is it garbage?

Post a pic. If it looks okay, it's probably okay. The soap being too hot doesn't cause some sort of invisible damage...it is very very visible!

In your case, I would unmold the soap into a large plastic container, so that if you had some issue that is not visible from the top of the soap - such as tunneling or separation underneath - all of the stuff is contained in the plastic container and you can put it in a crockpot.

Here's a thread I posted where my soap gelled for 10 hours but it turned out fine.

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=61077

 

[shunt2011]

I would do what dixiedragon suggests. My ovens lowest is 170 also. I just turn it on when I start making my soap once it beeps that it's preheated I turn it off. I put my soap in the oven once done molding it. By then it's had a bit of time to cool down a littlen. I just leave it in the oven with the door closed.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

You might well have essentially hot processed the soap in the mould. It might not look great, but should still be soap

 

[Angezzz]

I will post pics when I unmold it...crossing my fingers

 

[FNG]

Not to disagree with the wise soapers above, but I don't think 170 is necessarily too hot. That's the lowest setting on my oven, and it's what I use all the time, with no problems. But I turn the oven off when I put the soap in. I think there are a lot of variables, including your recipe, the temp your soap is at when you put it in the oven, the size of your batch, etc. I think CPOP is one of those things you need to experiment with, to see what works for you. But the idea is definitely NOT to cook the soap, just to encourage it gently to gel all the way through.

I agree... but it does really depend on the recipe/EOs/FOs. I've set my oven to 170 degrees for 30 minutes on my CPOP batches and they have all come out perfectly gelled without any adverse side effects.

More likely than not, you just have a normal gelled soap. Bubbles can happen if you didn't whack your mold against the counter a few times after pouring the batter in.

As to why the swirls "went bye bye", that's a bit of a mystery :think:

Shunt asked a pretty relevant question possibly - What fragrances did you use? The recipe used might give us some other indications. I highly doubt 170 degrees for an hour would cause bubbling and missing swirls on it's own.

 

[Soapmaker145]

I made a batch today using a caramel colour and a chocolate brown. I have never tried CPOP but I have always wanted to....It looked great going in but all my colours and swirls are all gone. The whole thing is chocolate brown with bubbles on top. I put it in at 170 for 1 hour and plan to leave it in the oven overnight. I thought the force gel would bring out my colours but its all one colour now .

I don't think I will be using the oven anymore....

Have you tried those colors before with the same FO? Soap can change the mica colors with or without OP.

 

[Angezzz]

I just noticed the colours are coming back!

 

[penelopejane]

I made a batch today using a caramel colour and a chocolate brown. I have never tried CPOP but I have always wanted to....It looked great going in but all my colours and swirls are all gone. The whole thing is chocolate brown with bubbles on top. I put it in at 170 for 1 hour and plan to leave it in the oven. .

I did that once at 175*F and the soap smelt musty. I'd cooked it. Even after it had cured the confetti smelt bad and I had to turf it.

I use a thermometer to test my oven now or you can use your hand to see if the oven is the temp of a very hot day. My CPOP temp is 40*c (100*F) I cover my soap, wrap it in a blanket and leave it without opening the oven overnight. It works or me and my recipe.

I do the same for GM soap. Only high salt bars don't go in the oven.

 

[Steve85569]

I just noticed the colours are coming back!

Amazing, this soap making thing is, yes?
Magic happens from time to time.

If your soap gelled ( and it should have unless it was 1.5 water to lye) you should see some difference in the coloration.
I use a high and a low water split in the same batch so only part of the soap gels. It's a neat effect.

Soap on!
Pictures are a must. we all love soap por ... er pictures.

 

[Angezzz]

Here it is!!! It turned out great... Just a little tough to cut. Also, I am not good at swirling as you can see. I am hoping I get better at that or may contemplate quitting. Has this came easy to anyone? I watch soap queen and it looks so easy! My soap goes from light trace to thick trace and I panic and make a terrible mess.

 

[shunt2011]

I think they turned out okay. It takes time to get the hang of your recipes and how they react. Even then, there are so many things that can change it up, FO's, additives, etc. It gets easier over time...I think because we are less anxious once familiar with the process and we don't stress as much. Fear of the unknown.