Hello disha,
The batch will go through a stage where it looks slightly translucent and is gel-like in appearance. After that stage, you want to start checking it for active lye. You can take a tiny amount out, let it cool and then touch your tongue to it. If your tongue tingles, this means there is still active lye in it so you'd want to cook it a little longer.
I can't really help since you didn't post a recipe so I don't know the amounts of the oils, lye and water or the superfatting. One tip is to make sure the pan or crockpot isn't too large for the batch. The batch can heat up too much and become overly dry or even scorch.
You might find this video helpful since it has good pictures of the stages and she discusses zap testing. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se817ah19fY]
Hot Process Soap Making - You Tube [/ame]
You can also read Ms. Brenda's tutorial for
HP in a crock pot. However, another great tutorial is on
Gracefruit's blog and here's a tutorial for
HP on the stove. However, I'd recommend using a double boiler if you're only doing a small batch on the stove.
I want to mention you can put the batch in a mod without zap testing if you're not comfortable about checking for active lye. You can leave the batch in the mold until the next day and it should be completely saponified. It keeps getting mentioned that you can use HP soap right away but it still will be beneficial to allow a curing period. The soap will become milder and harder if you allow it to cure for 2-3 weeks. I've found HP soap dissolves more quickly if you use it without curing it.
I hope this helps.
