gel phase

[gymstud]

What do ppl mean they day gel phase

 

[CorinaDragonfly]

It is the phase of soap making that usually (hopefully) happens after you pour the soap into your mold when the chemical reaction continues to heat up the soap batter, appearing as an almost translucent spot in the middle (the hottest part of the soap) that eventually moves outward to the edge of the soap. Insulating the soap with towels or putting it in the oven at a low temperature helps ensure a full gel.

My problem has been overheating, so I get nervous about it and keep checking on my mold. I tend not to insulate, but that has meant that some of my soaps have almost a two-toned effect because the heat generated by the chemical reaction did not continue through the whole soap.

 

[dixiedragon]

If you google it, you will find pictures. I would find some for you, but my computer is old and bogs down if I use the Google image search. The soap gets hot and a dark, transluscent spot will form in the middle. That is gel. Ideally, this will spread until the entire loaf is dark and transluscent looking. At this point the soap is very hot and also very liquidy, so I don't recommend moving the mold around!

I, personally, always try to gel. Some soapers try to never gel. Gelling is a chemical reaction. If you gel, your soap will get harder faster. But I wonder if a month or two down the road if there would be a difference in gelled and ungelled soap?

 

[shunt2011]

I too always gel my soaps. I use silicone lined loaf molds. I RTCP, once I put my soap in the mold I cover it with the lid and will lay a towel over the top of it. Because I RTCP it usually takes a 2-3 hours before it actually starts to gel even using milks and sugar in my recipes. I just check on it periodically to make sure they don't overheat which can happen once in awhile. I'll just crack the lid if it looks like it's getting too hot or starting to crack.

 

[TVivian]

I find that gelled soaps stay harder than non gelled. Gelled soaps take on a more "rubbery" texture (if that makes sense) whereas non gelled are creamier and stay that way. I prefer gelled vs non and I also think gelled soaps last longer in the shower.

 

[ilovesoap2]

I know I would prefer the creaminess of the soap but not gelling just sounds like I would be missing some fancy chemical reaction :eh:

 

[soap_rat]

When I started soaping, we'd read 3 or 4 soaping books, and not one of them talked about gel. This was before awesome internet soap forums existed, so we just kept wondering why we had a dark patch in the soap sometimes. Sigh.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

The saponification process produces heat - the heat causes the gelling. If you keep your soap cold it will still saponify but may not get hot enough to cause gelling.

You won't be missing out on anything from a reaction point of view, just the cosmetic and hardness points discussed above

 

[gymstud]

Ok thanks people
That all makes sence
#casesolved