Hello from NC

[MickeyRat]

Hello from Hickory, NC!

I've only been making soap for a couple months. I'm a hobbyist so I make small batches (18oz fat - 6 bars) but, I'm keeping myself and family supplied trying different things. I'm not the patient type and I don't have space to cure soap for months so, I mostly cold process oven process though I have done some hot process.

I've switched to using shampoo bars and homemade charcoal facial soap so decided to try to make the only soap I'm still using that I don't make - shave soap. I've spent the better part of a week lurking and reading Songbird's awesome thread. I'll be trying it today.

I look forward to learning from people that know what they are doing.

 

[Lin19687]

Welcome.

I hope that you do know that CPOP does NOT make soap that you can use right away, not even HP you can do that.
You can make MP soap that you can use right away if you want.

 

[MickeyRat]

I didn't mean to give the impression that I pop it out of the mold, cut it and use it. I think I might have used my first (horrible) batch the next day. Now I let it cure for at least a week. Two weeks is better. Longer is required if I screw up like the time I put in 15% shea butter. It is fully saponified the next day. I've zap tested and washed my hands with scraps. It works fine but, it needs to harden a bit and some fragrances I've used need some time to really get where they need to be.

At the rate I've been making it, I just don't have the space or the patience to go a month or more which is the kind of time I see recommended for CP. Now if you folks want to tell me my impression of cure times is wrong, that's exactly the kind of thing I need to hear. So feel free to correct me on this.

 

[Lin19687]

"Now if you folks want to tell me my impression of cure times is wrong, that's exactly the kind of thing I need to hear. So feel free to correct me on this."
You are wrong
CP needs 4-6 weeks Min to cure.
I think you need to read a lot more.
There is a ton if info on here and elsewhere.
Your Library might have a book on making soap too.

p.s. you also are not saying what your recipe is and what type of discount you use.

have you read anything on this forum ? There is a Beginners section, go to the very 1st posting in that section and work your way up to today

 

[lenarenee]

Actually, if MickeyRat enjoys the soap after curing for a week or two; doesn't dry the skin or irritate in others ways, there is no harm done.
For my own personal use, I have used 2 week old soaps as long as my skin is comfortable with that.

MickeyRat, just an FYI, curing 4 - 6 weeks allows water to evaporate from the soap (make a longer laster bar). The pH also lowers slightly during that time which makes the bar gentler. However, there is a continual, slow and constant molecular change that also takes place in soap for many months (DeeAnna....was it years?)
So a year old cure is even better than a 6 week cure. If you were to sell soap - a minimum 4 to 6 week cure is highly recommended. But for your own personal use, use what you're comfortable with. If your family find the soap drying ....give them older soap.

Also, test your soap at different lengths of cure time and observe the differences - you may find your tolerance for waiting during a long cure time increasing!

 

[Lin19687]

This post just sounds like so many that we have heard

 

[MickeyRat]

Thanks for the welcome anyway. So far, everyone likes it. No complaints about drying nor have I noticed it.

 

[cmzaha]

MickeyRat. The best to do is hold back at least one bar from the batch so you can test it at different intervals for at least 6 months. I think you will notice a difference in the feel and longevity of the soap

 

[scard]

 

[IrishLass]

Welcome MickeyRat!

Like Lenarenee said, if your skin is happy with your soap after a weeks or 2 of cure, no harm done, but as you have been noticing with some of your batches already (such as your 15% shea soap), soap improves the longer it cures, whether it be made via CP or HP. I liken soap to a fine wine or cheese....they each get better with age. I would do as Carolyn said- hold a bar back from each of your formulas and test it out at different intervals over a period of at least 6 months so that you can experience the difference for yourself.

Whatever you do, don't get confused between 'fully saponified' and 'fully cured'. They are two different animals. 'Saponification' turns your oils and lye into soap, but 'Cure' takes your soap to a whole different level by making it even that much more sudsier, milder and longer-lasting. Fellow member DeeAnna gave us all a wonderful peek of sorts into the inner microscopic workings of soap as it cures here and here that bears looking into.

Through conducting the kind of interval testing Carolyn recommended in her post above, I learned that my CP soap reaches it's 'earliest best' to my satisfaction by 4 weeks, so I make sure no one in the house takes one of my bars off the cure rack until at least 4 weeks have gone by. Of course, they get even better by 6 weeks and beyond, but they all eventually reach a plateau at some point where the differences aren't very noticeable anymore to matter one way or the other. I don't sell, but if I did, no soap would leave my racks until at least 6 to 8 weeks had gone by.

I let my HP cure even longer....about 1.5 to 2 times longer than my CP (because of the extra water needed for HP).


IrishLass

 

[MickeyRat]

Guys I appreciate the advice and the welcomes but, I'm not quite there yet. Understand I'm not trying to make money here. At least not yet. I've only been making soap for 2 months. Making soap is not a routine process for me. I'm trying to get there but, right now, I'm still trying to find a favorite base recipe (almost there), experimenting with fragrances, controlling trace, swirling techniques, different coloring techniques and substances, etc. To learn about that kind of thing, you have to make a lot of soap. Reading isn't enough. Even with 6 bar batches, it's a lot more than I can keep separate and turning it every couple days for 6 weeks. After a couple weeks, I toss it in open boxes and hand it out as seems appropriate.

My saving grace with my family is my competition and the fact that they aren't that discerning. You have to compete with other expert soap makers. I'm competing with Dial, Dove or Irish Spring and at free there's no price competition. A 30% CO 30% Lard 30% OO 10% Castor with 5% superfat and a decent scent CPOP cured a week beats it. Cured 2 weeks it beats it by a lot. Throw in some cool color swirls and they love you.

That said, I'm pretty sure most of my soap gets used more than 6 weeks after I make it. I usually don't use it or give it to anyone before it's cured separate and turning for at least a week and usually 2 weeks. After that, it's in an open box and I'm pretty sure that slow saponification is still going on. Lets say I send 6 bars to my aunt in Austin or my niece in Boston (I ask for postage only and they beg me for it.) . Some of that soap has cured 2 weeks some of it has cured longer. They take a couple bars and put it in bathrooms. By the time they get to the next bar, it's been another 3 or 4 weeks. If it's a neighbor, I usually grab a couple bars from the older batches. For my daughters that live a couple hours away, I'll tell them which bars need to sit a while longer.

If I was selling it, I'd have to be a lot more picky but, that's not what I'm doing.

Sorry for the long post but, I felt that I needed to let everyone know where I'm coming from. I hope to learn a lot on this forum.

BTW I did try my hand at some shave soap today. It was an interesting experience first use of KOH and stearic acid but, I think it turned out well.

 

[Lin19687]

I turn my bars once a week If I am lucky to remember.

 

[MickeyRat]

I turn my bars once a week If I am lucky to remember.

I do it every 2 or three days, if I remember.

 

[cjisler]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[lsg]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

 

[lyschelw]

Welcome MickeyRat There is definitely a different way of thinking when making to sell vs making to use yourself (friends and family). I know with candle making I do things that I would NEVER sell. And when I talk to customers I need to figure out what they want. I have so many people that come into my store and just want to stick a wick in some wax. If they don't want to sell I just give them a wick that is unlabeled for free. If they want to sell I put them through heck Welcome aboard. I am useless when it comes to soap. I am learning from these find folks.

 

[earlene]

Welcome to the forum, Mickey. It sounds like you and your family are really happy with your soap.

It's really nice that you are making small batches at a time because it allows for more experimentation with different techniques, colors, fragrances, etc. Storage space is certainly an issue and I often wonder what effect it would have on my soapmaking hobby if we were to move to a small place (such as after my husband retires). I think it would be a huge adjustment to downsize.

 

[MickeyRat]

Welcome to the forum, Mickey. It sounds like you and your family are really happy with your soap.

It's really nice that you are making small batches at a time because it allows for more experimentation with different techniques, colors, fragrances, etc. Storage space is certainly an issue and I often wonder what effect it would have on my soapmaking hobby if we were to move to a small place (such as after my husband retires). I think it would be a huge adjustment to downsize.

That's correct before I can figure out how to make perfect soap, I need some experience with how different things affect the outcome. Yes, there's information in books and on the web but, until you try it, it's difficult to gauge the meaning in what you read. So, I make small batches trying different things. There's no way I can use it all. So, I give it to friends and family. Right now, all my soap is experimental and I don't tell anyone different.

 

[cmzaha]

Just want to mention that I never turn my soaps and they cure out just fine. I now admit I only keep approx 550 bars curing at a time, but it used to be anywhere from 700- 1000, no way am I going to turn that many soaps. Nope, not me... less markets now so less soap being made