Hot Process question re:additives

[alaskachick]

I've been successful with CP, so I want to try HP (sorry, I'm sort of impatient). I understand that the additives should be more potent since they are not subjected to the saponification reaction and high heat. When you use HP, how do you change your recipes? Do you add any expensive, superfatting oils after the cook? Any other tips on oils or additives I should avoid are appreciated.


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[Hazel]

I don't change my recipes other than using full water. I generally use 33% lye concentration for CP. I mix the essential oils (or FO) in the superfat oil or butter and add after the cook. I think it helps to get everything stirred through better.

I add 2%-3% sodium lactate ppo or 4% sugar dissolved into some of the water ppo (this works out to approximately 1 T sugar ppo). I pour them in after I've added the lye water. This tip about sugar or SL was told to me by another member to help the soap to remain more fluid. However, you don't have to use either one if you're using beer or wine. The sugar content of them help with fluidity. In fact, the last time I made wine soap, it remained so fluid that I let it overcook because it didn't look done. I thought I had done something wrong.

I've read to add fruit puree near the end of the cook but the only puree I've used have been pumpkin and sweet potatoes. I add them in the beginning and blend them in until I see trace. My opinion is if pumpkin and sweet potatoes can remain in a hot oven for an hour; then they're not going to be harmed by cooking them in the crockpot. I do the same with buttermilk powder. I add it to some water to make a slurry and blend it into the batch at the beginning. I may be wrong but I haven't had any problems with these batches. I'm not an expert at HP so you might want to wait to see what other people say about adding these ingredients.

 

[Soaperella]

I have been on a quest for HP info non stop since I decided to try it and I’ll tell ya there’s a lot of tips, ideas, tricks out there! So many I haven’t made a single batch yet, trying to sort all this info out! But one tip I’ve read and seen many places is to add 1 Tbsp. Of plain yogurt ppo after the cook is complete. I tried it out in some rebatch and its an awesome tip. Let it sit for about 5 minutes, while your letting the temp come down a bit before adding your fragrance, and you will have smooth, creamy HP soap! There’s lactic acid in the yogurt (I think thats what it is...) but it acts much like sodium lactate would if you added that. Also a good tip at 1 tsp ppo. People add that at all different stages. And be sure to put Saran Wrap over your crock pot to seal in the moisture. Only stir if your going to overflow (it’s hard not stirring, though!) and hmm...if I think of more I’ll post em somewhere. I can never find what I’m looking for on this site. I realize this was posted some time ago, but best of luck to all the other new HP’ers out there!!

 

[DeeAnna]

Actually the time I experimented with yogurt and/or sodium lactate in HP soap, the yogurt worked much better than SL, so I don't view the two as doing the same thing at all.

 

[Bonnie Zoapo]

I use coconut milk instead of yogurt. I make sure to heat it before adding it so as not to bring the soap temp down too quick.

 

[Bladesmith]

This is a pretty old thread. I will say that I add Sodium Lactate, Yogurt, and a good quantity of some form of sugar (for lather) to all my HP batches. Sodium Lactate and yogurt definitely do different things. Both help to make the soap batter more fluid. Yogurt is more obvious in that regard. My understanding, and I've only been doing this for a few months now, is that the humectant nature of sodium lactate helps to reduce water evaporation while cooking in addition to some other sciency stuff.

I also add some citric acid (and calculate the appropriate amount of NaOH to add) in order to add some sodium citrate (chelator) to my soap. Admittedly, I've not noticed much of a difference since the inclusion of sodium citrate.

It seems like the more "old school" way of doing HP is to put a crockpot on low and let it cook for 1-2 hours while disturbing it only occasionally to stir. I'm not sure why people don't want to stir except maybe they don't want it to cook too fast and cause a volcano? The hotter the batter is and the more you stir the faster the reaction happens. Personally, I don't like to use crockpots as it seems like the sides get really hot and you end up with more "crusties" than using a more gentle heating source like a double boiler which mostly heats from the bottom (I use a double boiler usually).

On the other end of the spectrum, if you cook your soap at 200-215F and stir constantly, you can cook your soap in ~10 minutes or less. Now, I stir a lot but do give it breaks where I cover with plastic and let it cook for a few minutes. If it takes me 15 minutes to cook, that's fine too. And in some cases, I've just used a microwave to heat up oils above 200F and completed the cook in under 10 minutes with fairly constant stirring with no additional heat needed. For that you will need a recipe engineered to react fast (think fast tracing). Note: Any of these "fast" ways of cooking will cause a rapid expansion (volcano) 100% of the time and you must be standing by to stir it down. It's best to have a container 2-3 times bigger than you need for this

I like to make it happen more quickly and I can usually pull out all my soaping stuff, make soap, get it in the mold, clean the kitchen, and put all my soapy stuff back up in under an hour. No right or wrong way to do it... just the way you like to do it.

All of my soap bars have been HP. Though I've been adding embeds to many of my recent bars and, for those, I make soap dough with CP.

 

[Laurabolyard]

Bladesmith, that’s pretty much how I do it, as well. I use yogurt Sodium lactate AND sugar. I often use a large, electric turkey roaster for 5-8 lbs (splatters too much if less) and I’ve recently started using the microwave for smaller batches. Something I’ve learned recently, 100% CO REALLY expands!! WOW!! Anyone doing HP with CO, be careful and make sure that you have at LEAST 3x extra space in your vessel!

 

[Soaperella]

I saw someone else mention making hp in the microwave, they put it in a bag? Is there somewhere that discusses microwave hp soap? I’m new to this and curious about all options and methods out there as I try to find what’s best for me. Thanks!

 

[Dawni]

I saw someone else mention making hp in the microwave, they put it in a bag? Is there somewhere that discusses microwave hp soap? I’m new to this and curious about all options and methods out there as I try to find what’s best for me. Thanks!

Google is your friend...

https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/soooo-microwave-soap-anyone.55014/

https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/hp-in-the-micorwave.47436/

https://www.greatcakessoapworks.com...ow-to-make-hot-process-soap-in-the-microwave/

That being said, I prefer the slow cooker