Freezing

[Dean]

I freeze one hour after pouring to prevent partial gel. Someone advised here to freeze 24 hrs. If its frozen that long, can it be unmolded from the a silicone cavity mold while still frozen?

 

[Lin19687]

yes

 

[Dean]

Freezing overnight was a bad idea. Condensation made the soap rough when it dried.

 

[penelopejane]

Forcing gel is a lot easier.

 

[Dean]

Forcing gel is a lot easier.

I tried that but gelling makes my soap soft for whatever reason.

Freezing a long time also causes ash..even with dbl alcohol spray.

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

what I have done to prevent gel is to freeze and keep checking the temp--and pull it out when it cools to around 50 but still keep checking the temp and if it starts going up at all I throw it back in. its time consuming but it works and the soap doesn't freeze. and when its ready I check the temps to figure out when I can cut--sometimes I have to wait a little longer to cut

 

[penelopejane]

I tried that but gelling makes my soap soft for whatever reason.

That would not be the cause.
How did you force gel?
What temp were you soaping at?
What was the process after pouring the soap?

 

[Andrew]

freezing causes soap to contract so it is much easier to get out of a mold such as a PVC pipe (if you are doing round bars). When soaped at 100˚, poured, let set 24 hrs, frozen, then demolded, my bars have always come out great. Freezing too long really slows down saponification so that is why it causes soda ash.

 

[Obsidian]

That would not be the cause.
How did you force gel?
What temp were you soaping at?
What was the process after pouring the soap?

My gelled soaps are usually a bit softer or even spongy but only if forced. If they gel on their own, its a nice hard soap.

 

[penelopejane]

My gelled soaps are usually a bit softer or even spongy but only if forced. If they gel on their own, its a nice hard soap.

Thanks obsidian, I have never noticed that. I will pay a bit more attention! One of my recipes has lately produced 2 softer soaps. I thought it might be the coconut milk but now I'm not sure.
So do you consider insulating a mix is forcing gel or just when you put it in the oven at a high temp?
I have produced a soft, spongy soap (which never recovered) by "cooking" it in the oven at 175*C which is why I always say don't put the oven on higher than 110*C if doing CPOP.

 

[Obsidian]

Yes, insulating is forcing gel to me but I have the most problems with cpop. When I insulate, I rarely get full gel so I gave up on that method.
Now I just let my soap sit at room temp and do what it wants. Most of the time it does not gel.

 

[penelopejane]

Yes, insulating is forcing gel to me but I have the most problems with cpop. When I insulate, I rarely get full gel so I gave up on that method.
Now I just let my soap sit at room temp and do what it wants. Most of the time it does not gel.

Partial gel drives me mad so I insulate but just to the point of making the soap cozy. I try not to overheat it as I've found that has led to problems for me too.

 

[Lin19687]

Partial gel drives me mad so I insulate but just to the point of making the soap cozy. I try not to overheat it as I've found that has led to problems for me too.

Curious what problems happens if it over heats. Do you mean you wrap it and it gets the 'brains' or cracks ?
I too hate 1/2 gel, but depends on the color of the soap if it is really shows up a lot.
Since I just changed recipe and they have not gelled like the old one I have to figure it out.
I didn't wrap one, no gel... wrapped another, no gel... but they didn't have any FO in them so that may monkey wrench it.

Oh how I LOVE playing with soap !!

 

[penelopejane]

Curious what problems happens if it over heats. Do you mean you wrap it and it gets the 'brains' or cracks ?
I too hate 1/2 gel, but depends on the color of the soap if it is really shows up a lot.
Since I just changed recipe and they have not gelled like the old one I have to figure it out.
I didn't wrap one, no gel... wrapped another, no gel... but they didn't have any FO in them so that may monkey wrench it.

Oh how I LOVE playing with soap !!

No if you CPOP at too high a temp (175* for 10 mins) you can turn the soap soft and you can also make it smell. It comes out with a weird rubber like smell that fades a bit but the soap remains sort of spongy and rubbery. It never cured out.

The two parts of a partial gel soap will wear away at a different rates.
Maybe you didn't wrap it enough?
I soap at 42*C so it is warm to start and doesn't need much insulating to get it over the line. I also have it in a thick silicone mold inside a wooden mold with a lid and inside a polystyrene box. In summer I put one blanket over the box. In winter I put two blankets over the box. If I was soaping cooler I would put a heated wheat bag in the box, especially in winter.

 

[Lin19687]

@penelopejane Ahhh, I have not really cpop so I didn't know that.
Good to know ! My mold doesn't fit in the oven anyway.

I also soap around 42c TO 45c

 

[Carolyne Thrasher]

I only have to refrigerate if I soap at 90 or higher. I have never put soap in the freezer. I use 50/50 water/coconut milk. As long as I am at room temp and no other additives like sugar my soap won’t gel at all and it cures just fine. One caveat I’m using the smaller standalone silicone loaf molds so I’m not sure if this will work when I get my bigger wood molds. My guess is I will need to setup a fan or something. I have gotten tired of waiting for my lye water to cool completely to room temp (76 degrees in our house which is setup for dual living for my parents but not dual heat sources so it’s always “tropical” here) so this weekend I’m experimenting with masterbatching. I have to soap between 9 am and 2:30 pm (kids in school) and sometimes my parents have appointments so I need to be able to just whip out a batch when I can. I’m super excited to move into the masterbatch phase.