How to ensure gelling

[Luckyone80]

Anyone have directions on how to ensure your soap goes through gelling?

 

[dalewaite48]

For me I found what works best is after pouring into my mold, I surround the mold with a nice big towel. I used to cover the top also but I have found that it makes the soap get too hot, so I just leave it open on the top.

 

[Moody Glenn]

For me I found what works best is after pouring into my mold, I surround the mold with a nice big towel. I used to cover the top also but I have found that it makes the soap get too hot, so I just leave it open on the top.

Hello! I do this also but have my wooden mold on a heating mat. While making the soap batter I leave the mold on the mat so it warms up, pour in the soap batter, cover with the wood top lid and insulate the sides with towels. I leave the mat on for about 15 minutes then turn it off and wait about 12 to 18 hours later to cut the soap into bars. The batter does get "some-what" hot but not overly so. I have noticed it greatly prevents ash from forming if the batter remains hot for awhile during gel. This technique works nicely for me BUT I make sure I have no interruptions and also have a timer with an alarm to signal when to turn off the heating mat. I guess it is like baking a cake.

 

[Susie]

I soap hot, so I just put a beach towel under the bottom of the molds, then loosely thrown over the top. Then I keep a relatively close eye on it for the first couple of hours to avoid volcano.

 

[smeetree]

I've only made 12 batches of soap so I am far from an expert, but I haven't had any problems yet and all my soap has gelled and been useable. What I do is wrap it with cellophane over the top of the mold, then wrap the entire mold in a dish towel. Let it sit overnight.

 

[shunt2011]

My silicone lined wooden loaf molds have lids so I just put the lid on and lay a towel over the top. I get full gel every time. Sometimes you need to check on them depending on additives. If you use sugar, honey, milks and even some FO's can cause soap to get pretty hot. I also spray the top with 91% alcohol before covering. You can also lay a piece of cardboard over the top if you don't have a lid or put the mold in a box and cover with towels. Totally depends on what kind of mold.

 

[AMyers]

How do you tell if you got gel or not?

 

[Jstar]

I dont cover mine, I use a thick wooden mold and I wrap a towel around it.

As for how to tell if a soap has gelled or not..I just watch mine...it will start in the middle and work its way out towards the sides and then it'll go back when its done..looks kinda like Vaseline in full gel..mine usually is done within a couple of hours or less

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Unless you do something to prevent it (another thread, not for here!) then the centre of the soap will most likely gel. The best way to tell if it has all gelled is to look at the top - that is the part that is hardest to gel. So if that has gelled, all is gelled.

 

[pamielynn]

I don't like the "crop circle" of a partially gelled soap, so I cover and insulate my molds - especially my HDPE molds. If I'm soaping with honey, I do NOT put a lid on them, though. In the winter, I use a heating pad underneath because my "gelling" room gets a little chilly. When I don't want gelled soap (when using TD for instance), I put the mold in the freezer for 30 minutes, then the fridge for the night.

 

[navigator9]

I'm a geller. I like all of my soap to gel, and to insure that it will, I CPOP. I use silicone liners in a wooden mold. While I'm soaping, I have them in the oven at it's lowest setting to get them nice and toasty. After I take them out and pour the soap, I put them back in the oven and turn it off, and close the door. Full gel every time.

 

[Luckyone80]

How do you tell if you got gel or not?

See how the middle is darker than the edges? Its gelling in the middle, most people prefer the whole thing gels so they insulate the mold with towels, etc so it goes all the way to the edges.

 

[AMyers]

Sure Luckyone80, I see the partial gel pics, and have observed one of my batches gelling by obsessively checking every 15 minutes or so, but is there a way to tell if you don't catch it gelling, or have a partial gel? The one I observed gelling didn't look much different (once the gel was completed) from one I put in the refrigerator to prevent gelling. (I tried a batch where I split it up, put some in fridge, some in freezer, some insulated on counter. I wanted to see what gelling did for my soap.)

 

[Luckyone80]

Sure Luckyone80, I see the partial gel pics, and have observed one of my batches gelling by obsessively checking every 15 minutes or so, but is there a way to tell if you don't catch it gelling, or have a partial gel? The one I observed gelling didn't look much different (once the gel was completed) from one I put in the refrigerator to prevent gelling. (I tried a batch where I split it up, put some in fridge, some in freezer, some insulated on counter. I wanted to see what gelling did for my soap.)

Oh I don't know how to tell if it gelled if you don't check on it after you pour. Unless it only does a partial gel then you can tell after you cut it.

 

[Dahila]

I am new in this too, but I prefer not gelled, they have a kind of rustic look

 

[CaraBou]

Sometimes it's hard to tell, but usually ungelled soaps look more opaque or creamy, whereas gelled look more translucent. Colors may be more or less vibrant too, depending on the specific colorants used.

This forum has a lot of pics comparing gel/no gel, if you do some searching you will find many examples. One way is to explore the "Similar Threads" listed at the bottom of this page, and another is to plug in variations of "gel vs. non gel pics" search terms at this Sitecomber page: http://sitecomber.com/cu/wwwq9zsoapmakingforumq9zcomq3zforumdisplayq9zphp?f=4

 

[DWinMadison]

Anyone have directions on how to ensure your soap goes through gelling?

I find that pouring a soap I DON'T want to go through gel generally does the trick. :wink: