Hardness of soap bars

[pecorasfigs]

Hi ladies. Most of my recipes are geared toward conditioning. So they are usually In the 40 range on soap cal. How long should I leave before unmolding. 24 hours is to soon. They are still soft even with LS .5 in 2lb recipe

 

[LuckyStar]

My go to is a little bit lower than yours and i dont have any real problems. If its a pretty swirl recpie and i dont want any drag marks i will wait 3 days if gelled, 5 or so if gelled. If its just a basic solid colour i cut 24 hours after pouring

 

[Obsidian]

Most of my recipes are under 35 hardness and I can usually cut within 12 hours. How much water are you using for a 2lb batch? Reducing the water a bit will help it harden faster.

 

[pecorasfigs]

I usually use soap cal recommendations.Today I use sage calculator. They said 8-12 oz of water. I used 8 and of course soap thicken .

 

[judymoody]

Posting your full recipe will help us to give you better advice about how to change things.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

As I always say - cut when it is ready! Practice with a recipe and of course the first few times might be too soon or too late, but then you'll get a feel for it.

Personally, I put a knife in to the end piece to see how it is and, when I get good feedback, I cut away.

 

[shunt2011]

I generally cut between 18-24 hours. My hardness is usually 35-37 and I do gel all my soaps. I don't If you are using a lot of liquid oils it will take your soap longer to set up. Also depends on if you gel or not. Will also depend on your water/liquid amount. There are a lot of variables.