Four weeks or six weeks?

[SunRiseArts]

I made my second ever CP soap a month ago. I so want to try it. Do I have to wait the 6 weeks, or is it safe to use now?

Thanks in advance!
:bunny:

 

[penelopejane]

I made my second ever CP soap a month ago. I so want to try it. Do I have to wait the 6 weeks, or is it safe to use now?

Thanks in advance!

It is safe to use the day it stops zapping - about the 2nd day after it was taken out of the mold.

Use it and discover its characteristics. Those characteristics will only get better over time.

 

[mx5inpenn]

It should be safe to use. Did you zap test it? That is always the determining factor for safe to use as far as lye. So long as it isn't lye heavy, go for it! Just remember that it will continue to get better with more time. I prefer 3 months or older for my recipes.

 

[IrishLass]

Yep- it's safe to use as long as it doesn't zap, but don't let any probable underwhelming performance at that time fool you into thinking that that's the best it will ever be or that your recipe sucks or anything like that. As I always like to say- 'safe-to-use' is not the same as 'cured/optimum-time-to-use'. My soap normally reaches what I consider to be its 'earliest best' at 4 weeks, but longer is even better, of course.


IrishLass

 

[Seawolfe]

I find undercured soaps kind of harsh and drying. Feel free to use them now - see if and how they get better as they age

 

[TwystedPryncess]

Definitely cut a strip or save an ugly end and test it every few weeks or even every week. If you can have someone with you to take pictures of your hands as you lather it will help a lot, especially if your brain (doesn't )function, as mine tends to. Add these with Notes in a notebook under the recipe where you made the batch. It will help to keep track of not only the recipe itself but the particular batch. My twin girls loved playing photographer or even being the guinea pig. I guess I will have to draft my old man now that we ran off from all the kids! Haha!

 

[BrewerGeorge]

I almost always sneak a bar at four weeks if it's a new scent. I consider that bare minimum, but it's most likely not as good as it's going to be. Try a bar about every four weeks if you can stand the wait.

 

[SunRiseArts]

Thank you all for the answers! I does not zap, so I guess I can try it
I did not know that the more you wait, the better it gets. That is going to be a challenge for me, as I am not the patient kind!

 

[Seawolfe]

Thank you all for the answers! I does not zap, so I guess I can try it
I did not know that the more you wait, the better it gets. That is going to be a challenge for me, as I am not the patient kind!

This is why you have to make a new batch or two every week. That way you have so much soap to use that patience becomes easier

 

[BrewerGeorge]

This is why you have to make a new batch or two every week. That way you have so much soap to use that patience becomes easier

Yep!

 

[Susie]

My larger mold yields 9 bars and 1 sample size. My smaller mold yields 7 bars and 1 sample size. Guess what I use starting at 4 weeks?

But when you are learning, my advice is to test starting at week 1, then once a week thereafter. Write yourself notes on how that lather feels. Then you will understand why a good long cure is good for the soap.

 

[dixiedragon]

Try it, but reserve your final judgment.

Also, pics please.

 

[IrishLass]

I did not know that the more you wait, the better it gets. That is going to be a challenge for me, as I am not the patient kind!

Here's an excellent abbreviated post by our DeeAnna on what happens during cure and why it's definitely worth the wait: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showpost.php?p=548993&postcount=11

....and here's her more recent, in-depth, vastly more detailed explanation (keep reading through each of her posts from #51 to #55): http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=35831&page=6


IrishLass

 

[Arimara]

This is why you have to make a new batch or two every week. That way you have so much soap to use that patience becomes easier

I'm still suffering from the aftermath of doing that. So much soap to use and I have nerve enough to make more for thw challenge too.

 

[SunRiseArts]

I can relate to having too much soap!

Well I tried on the shower today, and it felt amazing!

 

[TeresaT]

I did not know that the more you wait, the better it gets.

Yes. Oh my gosh YES! I found some old soap in the back of my closet that I had completely forgotten about. I pulled out my notes and discovered it was three batches of rebatched soap that was 16 months old. Some were 100% olive oil, some were my standard recipe and some were my standard recipe with shea butter added. All of them were hard as a rock, produced an incredible lather and last longer than a younger bar. However, the incredible feeling my skin had getting out of the shower when using one of those bars cannot be compared to any other soap. The mildness of a well-cured bar of soap cannot be beat. Because of that unexpected discovery, I've decided to allow my soaps to cure for a year. I usually wait 3 to 6 months, but I'm going for a full year now. Since I have soooooo much soap on hand, that shouldn't be too much of a problem.

 

[LunaSkye]

I'm still suffering from the aftermath of doing that. So much soap to use and I have nerve enough to make more for thw challenge too.

I had to stop making soap for over a year because I made so much. I never had to buy any from the store, but I couldn't use them fast enough. Luckily I was able to give most of my soaps to a friend so I can now start on some new recipes.

SunRiseArts: I hope you graduate to HP soap-making. It is trickier to pull off at times than a CP soap, but you can use it sooner.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

CAN yes, but it still needs a cure or it a) won't be the best and b) will go to mush and disappear in the shower much faster than if you leave it for 4 weeks like you would cp

 

[Arimara]

I had to stop making soap for over a year because I made so much. I never had to buy any from the store, but I couldn't use them fast enough. Luckily I was able to give most of my soaps to a friend so I can now start on some new recipes.

SunRiseArts: I hope you graduate to HP soap-making. It is trickier to pull off at times than a CP soap, but you can use it sooner.

Technically yes but a gelled CP soap isn't much different.

 

[LunaSkye]

Technically yes but a gelled CP soap isn't much different.

That much is true. Just a matter of if you want a specific oil for the SF, but I will admit that gelled CP soaps look nicer.