Gelling...OOPS!

[crafty86]

OK. So the other day I posed about how I was going to try to not gel by putting it in the fridge just to keep the color I was seeing. Sooooo...I did what I normally do...poured into the mold and popped it in the fridge...no covers just plain open. I took it out this morning and I saw this..

Thought wow looks good still...I'll cut it at lunch.....

Ewwwww! How do i fix this? Will it fix itself? I guess I majorly did something wrong or it didn't cool down quick enough before it had already started? HELP!!!!!!!

 

[soapbuddy]

That's a partial gel. That circle should soften as the soap cures. The soap is fine.

 

[Jezzy]

Yup... Definitely a partial gel. When I *try* to avoid gel I put my mold into the freezer while I am making soap. I soap at room temp or cooler and then after pouring the soap put it in the freezer for a few hours then overnight in the fridge.
If I notice my oils are getting pretty warm when I am stick blending I will let it go ahead and gel.

A partial gel is only a cosmetic issue, like Soapbuddy said the soap will be fine to use. :wink:

 

[TJ]

You know, I have not been able to get any gel at all with my soaps. I'm not sure what it is that I'm doing to achieve this.
I soap my oils around 100 F when I mix my lye into them at about 90 F.
I get a thick trace before I pour.
I use a silicone mold.
I only make 1-2 pound batches.
I leave my mold sitting out on the counter the whole time. No fridge or freezer for me.
And I loosley cover it with some cling wrap. I may as well not even bother to put the cling wrap on it, but I do it to keep kitty hairs and dust and such out of it.
Then I unmold in 18-24 hours and cut it.
Never had a partial gel or a full gel either.
Maybe something I mentioned about my process will help. Not sure though. It surprises me to hear about getting any gel at all when the soap is placed in the freezer. I don't think I could achieve gel even if I tried lol. But I like a non-gelled soap anyway.

 

[PrairieCraft]

I had a loaf in the freezer for almost 24 hours once and still got partial gel on it. I had used honey and milk as my liquid, which heats things up. It seemed crazy that it could have still gelled and makes me wonder if leaving it in the freezer even longer than that would have worked or if the stuff was just determined to gel no matter what. Crazy soap! :roll:

 

[soapbuddy]

I had a loaf in the freezer for almost 24 hours once and still got partial gel on it. I had used honey and milk as my liquid, which heats things up. It seemed crazy that it could have still gelled and makes me wonder if leaving it in the freezer even longer than that would have worked or if the stuff was just determined to gel no matter what. Crazy soap! :roll:

Both have sugar in it. I can see why it would gel, even in the freezer.

 

[Guest]

Soap loaf in freezer

I have read a few soapers referring to putting sugar in their soap, I have not heard of this. What does the sugar do?

 

[soapbuddy]

Re: Soap loaf in freezer

I have read a few soapers referring to putting sugar in their soap, I have not heard of this. What does the sugar do?

It supposedly adds bubbles. I haven't noticed any difference in mine, so I no longer add sugar.

 

[judymoody]

You know, I have not been able to get any gel at all with my soaps. I'm not sure what it is that I'm doing to achieve this.
I soap my oils around 100 F when I mix my lye into them at about 90 F.
I get a thick trace before I pour.
I use a silicone mold.
I only make 1-2 pound batches.
I leave my mold sitting out on the counter the whole time. No fridge or freezer for me.
And I loosley cover it with some cling wrap. I may as well not even bother to put the cling wrap on it, but I do it to keep kitty hairs and dust and such out of it.
Then I unmold in 18-24 hours and cut it.
Never had a partial gel or a full gel either.
Maybe something I mentioned about my process will help. Not sure though. It surprises me to hear about getting any gel at all when the soap is placed in the freezer. I don't think I could achieve gel even if I tried lol. But I like a non-gelled soap anyway.

If you use a silicone mold, you probably will need to insulate heavily or put it in a pre-warmed oven to get gel. The silicone does not insulate enough on its own unless you use heating ingredients like a particular FO known to heat soap batter, or sugars/honey, or milk protein of some sort.

 

[JackiK]

You know, I have not been able to get any gel at all with my soaps. I'm not sure what it is that I'm doing to achieve this.
I soap my oils around 100 F when I mix my lye into them at about 90 F.
I get a thick trace before I pour.
I use a silicone mold.
I only make 1-2 pound batches.
I leave my mold sitting out on the counter the whole time. No fridge or freezer for me.
And I loosley cover it with some cling wrap. I may as well not even bother to put the cling wrap on it, but I do it to keep kitty hairs and dust and such out of it.
Then I unmold in 18-24 hours and cut it.
Never had a partial gel or a full gel either.
Maybe something I mentioned about my process will help. Not sure though. It surprises me to hear about getting any gel at all when the soap is placed in the freezer. I don't think I could achieve gel even if I tried lol. But I like a non-gelled soap anyway.

Smaller batches are able to cool faster, which helps them not to gel. I would imagine that soap made in slab molds gels less often than log molds due to the amount of heat that is able to dissipate.

I gave up on the gel issue. No matter what I try, I get the opposite effect. I just let the soap do whatever it wants to do. The only time I deal with it is with whipped soap, where everything is cold.

Edited to add: I think your soap looks great. Like another poster said, give it a few days. You'll be amazed at the difference.

 

[lovelysuds]

I think that looks kinda cool! Almost like your soaps are framed. Sugar sure can screw up plans for not gelling. Some batches are inevitable depending on recipe. They still look really nice, you made really nice peaks on top!