Hate making yucky soap

[hiacyntheab]

I've been trying to make CP and HP soap .I'm not liking the way it turns out. Plus I can't find a nice bar that I like. I'm getting very frustrated. I've always done melt and pour and have always enjoyed it. But the cost of the soap is going up and I think CP and Hp would be cheaper and give me more or a challenge. If can just have some success that would be great. Can anyone help me.

 

[dolly777]

I've been trying to make CP and HP soap .I'm not liking the way it turns out. Plus I can't find a nice bar that I like. I'm getting very frustrated. I've always done melt and pour and have always enjoyed it. But the cost of the soap is going up and I think CP and Hp would be cheaper and give me more or a challenge. If can just have some success that would be great. Can anyone help me.

CP & HP are beasts of their own. As you can tell by now they behave very different from MP... May I ask, what type of molds are you using? What's your recipe? and what technique are you trying to use?... This will help us give you better advise.

 

[hiacyntheab]

The mold that I have been using is a silcone loaf pan. It seems to come out easy. My recipe changes. The last one was oo mostly and then co and po. I used hp for this one. The other recipe I have at home and I used cp liked the look of the bar but not the wait until I could use it. Found the bar very hard after using Mp for years. Also I have been using a liquid to test the ph is that the best way to go. Can't remember how to spell the name starts with Ph and it turns pink if the lye is still active and clear if your good to go. I have just been putting drops on the hard bar is that correct.

 

[ToniD]

A couple of thoughts

I know how hard it is to wait for soap to cure--expecially those first several batches. However, it just is not as nice until after it has had a good cure. I know--I read that in books and I still tried the soap after 3 or 4 weeks. But TRULY it will be much nicer if you wait I prefer my soap after about 8 wks of cure. The first few batches I made I thought I did not like, but now I realize it was just that I did not let them cure long enough.

Playing around with different recipes will help you find a texture/firmness you like.

Good luck!

 

[donniej]

I agree with cure time... 1 month is a good number.

I'd also suggest you first work on getting one good recipe, then working from there. If you make too dramatic of changes from batch to batch, you won't know exactly what change made what difference. Just like in science, make one change at a time and document the difference... then try a different change... repeat

 

[rubyslippers]

A couple of thoughts

I know how hard it is to wait for soap to cure--expecially those first several batches. However, it just is not as nice until after it has had a good cure. I know--I read that in books and I still tried the soap after 3 or 4 weeks. But TRULY it will be much nicer if you wait I prefer my soap after about 8 wks of cure. The first few batches I made I thought I did not like, but now I realize it was just that I did not let them cure long enough....

This is SO true! I was very disappointed with one of my early batches of soap and didn't even like the scent of if but couldn't bring myself to toss it so instead, I boxed it up and put it in a closet. Seven months later as I was going through my stash of soap bars with intention of tossing out this particular bar or turning it into laundry soap to my amazement, the scent had mellowed and I thought I'd shower with it just to satisfy myself that it was destined to become laundry soap. This soap was unbelievable! I was so glad that I had not trashed it in its early days and have since made numerous batches using that very same recipe. Funny, I was constantly trying a different recipe to find what I considered the ultimate recipe and all this time I had achieved it and didn't even know. A good curing is so important and I won't even give a bar away until it has had a minimum 8 weeks or preferably 12 weeks of curing.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

Try this recipe as is, without adding anything to it.

Olive Oil 39 %
Palm Oil 28%
Coconut Oil 28%
Castor Oil 5%

Use an 8% lye discount

Use water as your liquid

Make it CP

You'll love it. :wink:

 

[xyxoxy]

Just to reiterate what donniej said because it's IMPORTANT....
Document!
Take notes on every batch.
I make at least some note before I soap of what I hope to accomplish (if this is a new recipe) and I sit down immediately afterwards to document what went right, wrong, or just unexpected.
I also come back every so often to mark any changes during the curing process.

You'll be so happy you did.

 

[honor435]

i dont ever wait 8 wks, but I have tried some that I kinda forgot about and were they nice.
Yes, on the notes, I have notes from 2 yrs, and its very helpful, I will have someone call wanting a certain bar and then I can look up how I made it etc.
dont give up.
I really like the oo, co, po, castor, shea combo.

 

[bodybym]

Remember - recipes with high OO content tend to be softer when you unmold them - but they will harden up with 4-6 weeks of cure time (I find that high OO recipes need a longer cure time than other soaps). Also, depending on how much OO to CO you use you might be finding that you don't get a lot of bubbles - OO doesn't really bring a lot of bubbles to soap.

 

[marchroses]

Thanks for posting this, it's similar to a recipe that I use in porportions except that I put in 5% of shea and lower the coconut a bit. I'm out of shea and was debating soaping this weekend without it or just finding some other way to occupy my time. I think I'll go ahead and soap this recipe.

Try this recipe as is, without adding anything to it.

Olive Oil 39 %
Palm Oil 28%
Coconut Oil 28%
Castor Oil 5%

Use an 8% lye discount

Use water as your liquid

Make it CP

You'll love it. :wink:

 

[rubyslippers]

Try this recipe as is, without adding anything to it.

Olive Oil 39 %
Palm Oil 28%
Coconut Oil 28%
Castor Oil 5%

Use an 8% lye discount

Use water as your liquid

Make it CP

You'll love it. :wink:

Bubbles Galore, I'd like to try this recipe so this may be a dumb question but is 8% lye discount the same as superfat at 8%? Thanking you in advance