Four Week Cures??

[GreenScene]

I'm curious. Be honest. Who has the patience to wait four weeks to start using their CP? I have to confess, I cheat and usually start using mine much earlier than that. I've cleaned too much day-old soap off dishes and spatulas with bare hands without any irritation to convince myself I should wait longer than a couple of weeks to pop those puppies in the shower. How long do you guys usually resist? And has using it early ever backfired on you? I'm kind of waiting for the day I come out of the shower looking like a lobster or a lizard from too much lye, but I can't seem to help myself sometimes.

 

[ikindred]

Okay, I admit I have cheated a few times because I am such an impatient person! Nothing happened to me but my bar melted so quickly that I didn't really get to enjoy it all. I normally wait 6 weeks for a full cure and that is a long time when you are checking and smelling it every day.

 

[jennikate]

It s not about lye it's about the bar tends to lather better and be milder . As long as you measured correctly it will be safe but maybe not the best it can be. Also longer cure tends to mean bar is firmer and lasts longer in shower. I wait usually 4 weeks before using its just nicer soap after most of the water cures out of it.

 

[newbie]

Once it's saponified and it doesn't zap, it's officially safe to use,as far as I know. It can take a soap a week for FULLY saponify even though it doesn't zap, as I understand it. The last couple weeks of cure are to dry the soap more, so that it is harder and lasts longer in the shower. They also lather better with more time.

I suppose you could use one bar early and make a few notes on the lather and the feel of your skin after showering and then let one go the full 4 weeks and use that, comparing your lather and other notes. If you have a third bar and you can wait, you can test again in a few months and see what's happened then. Then you can post your results!

 

[AmyW]

I couldn't wait. It was driving me mad. So I started making HP LOL Now my CP soaps are safe in my closet, curing for the normal amount of time!

 

[GreenScene]

It s not about lye it's about the bar tends to lather better and be milder . As long as you measured correctly it will be safe but maybe not the best it can be. Also longer cure tends to mean bar is firmer and lasts longer in shower. I wait usually 4 weeks before using its just nicer soap after most of the water cures out of it.

I always thought bars weren't fully saponified until they were a week or so old, and that they'd be more likely to be irritating and/or drying to the skin if you use them early. At least that's what I was taught, though that could be wrong. Obviously that has never stopped me! My skin has never been bothered by young soap, but then I have pretty tough skin. All this time I thought the 4 week cure was more about mildness (i.e., more fully saponfied/less lye present) than hardness and lather (although I know that's a big part of it too, since no one wants half the bar washing down the drain).

 

[GreenScene]

Amy - A closet door wouldn't stop me unless there was a padlock on it. I'm terrible. Can't stay away from the suckers.

 

[soapbuddy]

I make way too many. I wait at least 4 weeks.

 

[margarita]

I'm very good! I always wait at least 4 weeks, sometimes even longer. I really don't want to use it too early and then be disappointed in how they feel.

But it drives me mad too.

 

[Dragonkaz]

I usually wait six weeks ... but I have plenty of bars to keep me testing and most weeks another batch reaches the six week mark ... and is ready for trialing.

I enjoy going back and finding out if one of my older soaps is still performing well!

When I make a new and different type of soap ... I find the wait tough, especially if I'm considering making some more of that kind. So when I cut my bars, I take the two ends and use them a bit earlier than the six weeks ... and that's usually enough to cure my curiosity!

 

[NancyRogers]

At first, I would grab a small end cut at 2 weeks just to try things out. Now, I have so many soaps on the curing rack that are ready, it's no trouble to let the new ones finish a good 6 week cure.

If you've done your measuring correctly, a 2 week bar shouldn't hurt you, but you will not like it nearly as much as a good 6 - 8 week bar.

 

[Lynnz]

I have been known to try them a little earlier that four weeks if they smell real good

 

[carebear]

I'm curious. Be honest. Who has the patience to wait four weeks to start using their CP?

you don't have to wait before you use. you should wait before you make a final decision about a formula's impact on your skin and on lather, and you really should wait before you share/sell. but for yourself - as long as it isn't zapping then go for it.

 

[turnedlight]

I must be patient then as I am happy to wait!

 

[GreenScene]

you don't have to wait before you use. you should wait before you make a final decision about a formula's impact on your skin and on lather, and you really should wait before you share/sell. but for yourself - as long as it isn't zapping then go for it.[/quote]

I don't gift or sell before four weeks. Well, I should say I don't sell, period, but I'm working on it. I'm hoping to do my first show in the fall. But for me? Yeah. I totally cheat on the four week wait. You guys are so patient. I guess once I have a ton curing, it'll be easier to wait, but right now I only have about 60 bars of CP, and most of them are fairly new. I gifted most of my ready soaps during the holidays and still haven't built up again.

 

[LadyM]

I use mine right away, can't resist that soft fresh soap that's just been cut!

I haven't had any problems at all doing that myself, and although I know the soap is "better" cured longer .. I still lean toward the soft bar for personal use.

 

[honor435]

I have tried mine before 4 wks, but I do like the lather better at 4 to 6 wks.
LadyM, really fresh cut soap? yikes.

 

[LadyM]

Why yikes? I've never had any kind of problem using it straight away at all!
Other than faster disintegration, everything about it is lovely ... am I the only one?

 

[agriffin]

I've tried it fresh as long as it gelled and doesn't zap. I usually wait though...just cause I have so much soap!

 

[GreenScene]

I don't use it fresh. I can usually manage to wait a week or so. But I have rolled soap balls with fresh soap, and I don't use gloves for that. It's never bothered my skin.