HP lovers, please reply here

[dixiedragon]

I do something like what Psfred does - I use one of the Reynold's silicone coated baking sheets and put it on top of the soap, then gently mush and smooth to get a less bumpy top. It's no where near as smooth as CP, but then I use a cheese slicer and peel off the top of the whole log before I slice. By smoothing it with the baking sheet, it doesn't have those mountains, valleys and cracks so I have to trim off much less.

 

[Laurabolyard]

Anyway, I personally would advise against using the 38% water as per oils and use a 28% lye concentration instead (which is considered to be a 'full water' amount, which is what I and many others use for HP).


IrishLass

Thank you! This will be my rule of thumb for now!!

Sharon Johnsons 10 min. HP recipe. Anyone try/use it? Why or why not?

Edit to note that it's not necessarily her method, but she is the one who has capitalized on it

 

[NsMar42111]

Friend of mine did (and I watched). Nope. Unsafe! Scary volcano etc...and it wasn't actually 10 min...and it was way too much stickblending. I have more time than skin to spare thanks...

 

[psfred]

It works if you use a water discount, add sugar, and don't mind stick blending a lot. Add more hot water at the end, the yogurt, and some glycerine and it's fluid enough to do swirls, etc.

I couldn't get it to work without adding sugar, and I suspect you can do your swirls, etc before it goes to vaseline stage if you want.

The way I usually do HP takes longer (more water, less heat) but is still maybe half an hour. A splash of glycerine and some hot water keeps my soap fluid enough to get nice top surfaces, and that's all I want (no swirls, colors, etc). If I get started early enough I can cut the soap before I go to bed, which is nice.

 

[scard]

I just want to say thanks. After reading this thread I decided to try to HP with an FO that I really liked, but was not impressed with in CP. It just kinda lost something.
I had done HP once before but was not thrilled with the result using the crock pot. The scent stayed beautifully, but it was not so hot in the looks department. So I did the oven method mentioned and the soap is rustic but nice looking and smells amazing. I think I will mix it up and do a bit of both especially when trying out new FO's.
:clap:

 

[Laurabolyard]

Yay!! I am a teacher, and school is back in. I won't have much time for playing and experimenting, sadly! Post some pics!!

These are the things that I've found to really help make my HP batter more fluid (I use all of them together when I HP):

1) I use a 28% lye concentration
2) I use 3% sodium lactate ppo (I should mention the type of SL I use is the prepared kind in a 60% solution)
3) I use sugar at 5% ppo
4) I use my oven, not a crockpot.

IrishLass

the yogurt, and some glycerine

I'm SO EXCITED!! Wow!! Encouraged!! I DID use the crock on low. I was a totally ready to try (for the first time) swirl in the pot, but it was SO fluid that I couldn't!! I had to quickly switch gears and mix my colors in containers rather than scoop my colors into the pot! Thank you SO much IrishLass and Psfred!! Between you, I think I have something I'm excited about!! I hadn't intended to be able to swirl, so I didn't have a plan (and I really haven't done that!), but I made it work!!

 

[psfred]

Those look great, especially for HP. glad it worked for you!

 

[Laurabolyard]

Those look great, especially for HP. glad it worked for you!

Thanx, I'm thrilled! too much black, not enough of the darker purple and I forgot about the white until the end, but I wasn't expecting to be able to swirl, so I hadn't planned on it, but I'm very encouraged!! I will do it again, exactly, and be prepared. Thank you so much for your advice!

 

[SunRiseArts]

Those are gorgeous!

 

[Laurabolyard]

Those are gorgeous!

Thank you, I'm encouraged! I got some great tips here! I do need to ask irishlass though, should I have dissolved the sugar in the water before the lye? It was a lot of sugar, I had difficulty getting it all to dissolve!

 

[Zany_in_CO]

 

[Laurabolyard]

Next batch, same recipe as the previous pic. Different fragrance oil. I turned my back for 30 seconds to buzz my SB and had my first 'out of the pot' volcano!! What a mess!!!! I'm not sure what that does to the integrity of the soap, as it seemed that more solids came out and more liquids stayed in. It seemed very watery for awhile, so I kept the lid off for a time, to compensate.

The 'camo' soap came out OK, in spite of it all!! I had done everything the same, wondering why the immediate volcano. So many variables, I'm guessing that heat would have been the only thing. I'm still trying to get a 'constant' so that I can compare!

The pic is way too dark, but they look good-ish. Fluidity was NOt a problem!

 

[SunRiseArts]

oh oh, I know people say not to stir your HP, but I stir mine every 10 minutes or so to avoid volcanos ...

It looks very pretty though!

 

[Laurabolyard]

oh oh, I know people say not to stir your HP, but I stir mine every 10 minutes or so to avoid volcanos ...

It looks very pretty though!

It literally came out of the pot less than 2 minutes after thick traced and covered!

Leads me to my next question... benefit/drawback. Thin trace/thick trace in HP? A variable might have been the difference between leaving at thick/thin trace. ???????

 

[SunRiseArts]

mmm Not to sure, I always pour my HP when my batter looks like pudding. But I think is more of a temperature thing, than a trace thing. Was the pot on high? Did you have anything in your ingredients that can cause the batter to overheat? Any sugars? I often use baby puree or food in mine, and that can make it volcano.

However, in my personal experience, the soap can volcano in less than a minute, which is why I stir mine. I read of some people that cover with Sarah wrap the top when they are cooking it.

I think if you got all the mess back in the pot, and stir well, your soap will be ok.

 

[earlene]

They do look great. Yeah, turning your back on HP soap while it is still heating up is risky. I have also had a volcano out of the pot and boy oh boy what a mess! But the soap has already saponified, so it's still soap. I wouldn't worry about it's integrity.

The High Heat Hot Process techniques warn to never turn your back on HP while it is still heating. Volcano happens so fast, but if you stir as soon as it starts, you can beat it down, but you have to be ready for it. I agree with SunRiseArts, the volcano is about heat and not thickness of trace.

 

[Laurabolyard]

Thanx! Soooo... what IS the benefit, or not of thin vs. thick trace?

 

[gloopygloop]

I do need to ask irishlass though, should I have dissolved the sugar in the water before the lye? It was a lot of sugar, I had difficulty getting it all to dissolve!

You do need to dissolve the sugar in the water before the lye otherwise you can get boiled sweets syndrome! it takes a bit of stirring but it will dissolve if you use 5% keep stirring until dissolved.

Your volcano sounded a nightmare, have been there and done that also! it is why I like the OPHP, no stirring or looking until time is up, helps to keep in moisture and no volcano if you have your oven no more than 100c maximum but preferably 70 to 80c.

Soap looks good well done.

 

[Laurabolyard]

Your volcano sounded a nightmare, have been there and done that also! it is why I like the OPHP, no stirring or looking until time is up, helps to keep in moisture and no volcano if you have your oven no more than 100c maximum but preferably 70 to 80c.

Soap looks good well done.

Now that I've gotten 2 fluid batches, I'm going to try the same recipe again, but in the oven. I'm hoping to have the same results, without the anxiety!!

 

[earlene]

Thanx! Soooo... what IS the benefit, or not of thin vs. thick trace?

For HP, I don't know if there is one. For CP, that's a different story.