HP soap.... why?

[Misschief]

On the weekend, I decided to try my hand at hot process soap making. It was not a success. I mean, the soap is lovely, great lather, feels really nice. However..... this is one ugly soap! I think I'll stick with CP.

 

[dixiedragon]

Looking at it - I think you overcooked it.

The top of HP soap tends to look like that just a bit. I always put my HP in my tall skinny mold, so it's easy to trim off the top if it looks rough.

I really like HP for certain specific things. 1 - naughty FOs. Rather than fight seizing, I HP. Also, discoloring FOs. The HP creates a marbled look that I really like.

 

[GingerL]

That's funny, I did the same thing with much the same result. I use lard in my soap, and heating it in the Crock-Pot, even on low, made the whole house smell piggy. When I make CP soap, I melt it slowly so it doesn't smell as much.

 

[IrishLass]

However..... this is one ugly soap! I think I'll stick with CP.

I can relate! I only HP if I absolutely have to, such as when I'm using a really ornery FO or when I'm making shave soap. I've found that there are a few tricks that help make HP less irksome for me, though: sodium lactate, sugar, and using a full water amount. They all make for a somewhat smoother batter...emphasis on the word 'somewhat'. My tops always look quite bumpy and rustic, but that's what planers are for. I always plane my HP tops off.


IrishLass

 

[Misschief]

I can relate! I only HP if I absolutely have to, such as when I'm using a really ornery FO or when I'm making shave soap. I've found that there are a few tricks that help make HP less irksome for me, though: sodium lactate, sugar, and using a full water amount. They all make for a somewhat smoother batter...emphasis on the word 'somewhat'. My tops always look quite bumpy and rustic, but that's what planers are for. I always plane my HP tops off.


IrishLass

When you say full water, just what does that mean? That's something that has confused me on occasion.

 

[DeeAnna]

"Full water" for a typical blend of fats is about 28% lye concentration.

 

[IrishLass]

What DeeAnna said^^^.


IrishLass

 

[Misschief]

Thanks ladies!

 

[Ivanstein]

I Hot process because that's how my grandma did it. I remember her "cooking" soap. It smelled horrible, probably because she used fat scraps from cooking g and such. But it was great soap when she was done.

Plus hot process is faster...a bit. I made my first cold-ish process last week. It looks all nice, but I have to wait a month and a half to try it out. I'm impatient like that.

 

[shunt2011]

I Hot process because that's how my grandma did it. I remember her "cooking" soap. It smelled horrible, probably because she used fat scraps from cooking g and such. But it was great soap when she was done.

Plus hot process is faster...a bit. I made my first cold-ish process last week. It looks all nice, but I have to wait a month and a half to try it out. I'm impatient like that.

HP takes just as long and sometimes longer. HP does not make it cure faster. Just completes saponification quicker. My CP is read in 4 week though I do like a longer cure.

 

[Ivanstein]

HP takes just as long and sometimes longer. HP does not make it cure faster. Just completes saponification quicker. My CP is read in 4 week though I do like a longer cure.

Ok. So, if the saponification process is completed quicker, how is that not faster?

Yes hot process soap goes through the crystal alignment and dehydration similar to cold process, but the soap is perfectly usable when it cools. I can't say I would like to risk that with cold process...from a chemical content standpoint.

I don't see how hot process could take longer though. Unless I am missing something here...

 

[shunt2011]

I can use my CP in 24 hours. HP generally uses more water therefore it take longer for it to evaporate. I use full water or more when I have to HP. I use 33% concentration with CP. Plus there's more than just the water loss that occurs during the cure. It becomes harder, lasts longer and milder.

 

[Steve85569]

Ok. So, if the saponification process is completed quicker, how is that not faster?

Yes hot process soap goes through the crystal alignment and dehydration similar to cold process, but the soap is perfectly usable when it cools. I can't say I would like to risk that with cold process...from a chemical content standpoint.

I don't see how hot process could take longer though. Unless I am missing something here...

I also thought the same about a year ago.
Wine and soap have some things in common.
You can drink wine as soon as it's done fermenting.
You can use soap as soon as it's done saponifying.
One will taste like rotten fruit and the other will be a rather harsh cleaner.
If wine is allowed to properly cure all the nuances of body and undertones come out and it is so much better than rotten fruit.
When soap is allowed to properly cure - regardless of the process used to make it - many of the same things happen.

Bottom line is simply this:
There is more going on in a bar of soap than lye and oil making soap via saponification.
There is more going on with fruit juice and yeast than making alcohol via zygosis.

Cure time for either isn't absolutely necessary but once you've tried and compared you will never go back.

 

[IrishLass]

Well spoken, Steve- you sad it much better than I ever could.


IrishLass

 

[Ivanstein]

Well, I guess years of being a mechanic and using Naphtha as a hand cleaner must have destroyed my sense of undertones. If it doesn't hurt and my skin is clean, I am happy.

 

[Susie]

There is a difference between safe and cured.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Both hp and cp are usable when the saponification is over. Hp is indeed quicker on that, but cp can even be less than 24 hours although 24 is more usual. So after 24 hours you could use both hp and cp soaps.

The hp will feel nicer straight away, but will last about 5 seconds in the shower! Hp needs a good cure, sometimes longer than cp, to make sure it will last long enough in use.

Being bubbly and so on is not all that a soap should be to be considered ready. A soap that feels great but is gone in 3 uses is not a great soap.

 

[Arimara]

Misschief, that soap looks like how my first few rebatches came out (my last few rebatches have been deliberately melted down to the point it looks like a uniformed HP soap). I don't think it's bad at all.

 

[cherrycoke216]

That's funny, I did the same thing with much the same result. I use lard in my soap, and heating it in the Crock-Pot, even on low, made the whole house smell piggy. When I make CP soap, I melt it slowly so it doesn't smell as much.

May I ask how you achieve this shade of green? It IS lovely!!!

 

[lsg]

You might try adding sodium lactate to your HP soap. It is supposed to give you a smoother product.