HP: to stir, or not to stir?

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I stirred mine a little bit - for me it's like cooking anything, and if one does not stir then the parts on the edge will cook more than what is in the middle. I didn't stand there stirring like mad, but just from time to time mixed it through and left it again.

Pirate - to superfat afterwards there are a number of options. As it's usually done to ensure that a particular oil or butter is the majority of the superfat, I would calculate my recipe without this extra stuff but with a superfat of 3% - this gives me room for errors with the measuring and ensures all of my lye is used in the cooking process. I would then add my superfat product after the gel phase and would use it at about 5% of the weight of oils already in there.

 

[seven]

Sodium lactate to hot lye water. After the cook, you can see the batter more fluid. It does makes a big difference. Also, add your sf after the cook, with your scent. Just make a lil note in your recipe about the oils you specifically wanted for sf-ing. For example, let's say you're doing 1000 gr of fats and want to have 5% shea butter as your sf. 1000 x 5% = 50 gr shea to add after the cook.

 

[dixiedragon]

I make HP in a double boiler with lard, so mine takes a while. I stir mine, but not the whole time. Mine doesn't grow like I've read about. I dont' know why. I assume it's b/c I use lard, or b/c I use 38-40% water, b/c that's where I seem to be doing it differently than the tutorial on Zen Soaps.

I usually get impatient and stick blend mine after a while.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I make HP in a double boiler with lard, so mine takes a while. I stir mine, but not the whole time. Mine doesn't grow like I've read about. I dont' know why. I assume it's b/c I use lard, or b/c I use 38-40% water, b/c that's where I seem to be doing it differently than the tutorial on Zen Soaps.

I usually get impatient and stick blend mine after a while.

I also used lard in my first (and only) hp adventure. It was also rather quiet from trace to gel - no climbing or even any real growing to speak of, hence the reason why I felt I needed to stir.

 

[Ktaggard]

I love hp and do it all the time. I usually super fat (6-15%) my recipe and add all oils before the cook. I have not noticed a big difference in SFing after cook? I use 39% water and stir down bubbles every 15 minutes. I usually have a problem with separation when making milk soap, but a whisk usually solves the problem by the end of the cook. Sodium lactate is also great in making soap fluid - love it !! I've been able to make beautiful swirl soaps because of it !!

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

In this instance I only added any oil after the cook to give me a good medium for mixing in the EOs. It was actually just bit of the oil mix that I put to one side just before I added the lye to the main batch, so it wouldn't have any benefits at all other than for mixing in the EOs.

SFing after the cook will allow you to select oil/s that you really want to have in the SF. If your recipe is OO, CO, Lard and Shea Butter, you can make the soap itself with the first 3 and then add the shea after the cook to make sure that none of it is saponified, as an example.

 

[seven]

I often got separation when hp-ing milk soaps as well. It's annoying to be honest, coz i gotta utilize the sb once again. One more extra step for my lazyass to do, grrrrr...

 

[MagicalMysterySoap]

Hi! I was reading this thread and was hoping for some answers...how to you superfat afterwards? Calculate recipe with all the oils you want but wait and add one after trace? Is there a trick to it? Also what does sodium lactate do?

On soapcalc I put the superfat at 0% and then calculate the sf afterwards. I use this method http://curious-soapmaker.com/how-to-calculate-the-hot-process-superfat.html

Sodium lactate helps the soap batter be more fluid and makes your soap bars hard.

I hp exclusively and never stir my soap while it cooks. I set my water lye ratio to 3:1, I put my crock pot on low and once the batter is 1/3 cooked, I turn the cp off and leave it for an hour. The left over heat will cook the rest. Then I stir in my sf and put it in the mold. It's super easy and I never have to worry about my soap overflowing.

 

[PirateGirl686]

I stirred mine a little bit - for me it's like cooking anything, and if one does not stir then the parts on the edge will cook more than what is in the middle. I didn't stand there stirring like mad, but just from time to time mixed it through and left it again.

Pirate - to superfat afterwards there are a number of options. As it's usually done to ensure that a particular oil or butter is the majority of the superfat, I would calculate my recipe without this extra stuff but with a superfat of 3% - this gives me room for errors with the measuring and ensures all of my lye is used in the cooking process. I would then add my superfat product after the gel phase and would use it at about 5% of the weight of oils already in there.

Hi Gentleman! Thank you! Just wanted to clarify though, you calculate your base recipe at a 3% superfat to account for any errors and to ensure all lye is gone but in addition to the base recipe you add an additional 5% of oil to superfat further? For example if your recipe called for 20 oz of oils after trace you then add 1 additional oz of oil (5% of 20) to further superfat? Thanks for your help!

 

[PirateGirl686]

On soapcalc I put the superfat at 0% and then calculate the sf afterwards. I use this method http://curious-soapmaker.com/how-to-calculate-the-hot-process-superfat.html



Sodium lactate helps the soap batter be more fluid and makes your soap bars hard.



I hp exclusively and never stir my soap while it cooks. I set my water lye ratio to 3:1, I put my crock pot on low and once the batter is 1/3 cooked, I turn the cp off and leave it for an hour. The left over heat will cook the rest. Then I stir in my sf and put it in the mold. It's super easy and I never have to worry about my soap overflowing.

Thank you! Very informative! I think I can follow her example! Is it different to superfat cold process?

 

[MagicalMysterySoap]

Thank you! Very informative! I think I can follow her example! Is it different to superfat cold process?

Yes. Hp you can choose your sf because you can add it after your soap has been cooked and there is no lye left to eat your sf. Cp you add all your oils in the beginning, there is no point in adding your sf after mixing your soap batter because the lye is still active.

 

[Benjamin]

Hello all,

I CPHP exclusively. FWIW I find I get better results if I set my crock pot to warm (iso low or high) and don't stir until after the cook. It takes a little longer, but my soap never tries to escape, and I avoid the dried out lye heavy chunks that seem to adhere to the side of the crock, and get stuck in the finished soap, at higher temperatures.

I agree with everyone's recommendations re: sodium lactate, and not doing a water discount.

I personally haven't noticed much difference superfatting before/after the cook. If anything, I think superfatting after the cook might interfere with suds/bubble development--but that's just my own subjective observation.

Hope this is helpful,
---Ben

 

[pjdxxxwa]

Getting a harder soap…

To make a hard bar of soap of any kind (without the use of bees wax, or other ingredients that put drag into soap) you need know how to design a recipe well, and then if you want it harder still a little sodium lactate goes a long way.

Go to the library and check out my book (library's can get loans from other libraries if they do not carry it - I have borrowed books here in WA state from California) and you can view photos and and some instructions on the easiest way to do HP soap. ISBN: 1-58180-268-4

I am actually in the investigation stage to (possibly) ePublish the book again without the added stuff North Light put in that I did not want, and put back in my designing your own recipe section I had promised everyone.

Until then, please have fun experimenting and be safe doing so.

Delores (Boone) Kirkwood

I've made one batch of HP by accident because I forgot to add an oil so I dumped it into a pot and stirred to "applesauce" then stirred to "mashed potatoes" and stirred to prevent dry patches and stirred some more because that's what I read to do (longest run-on sentence ever)!! The soap turned out fluffy. Does that make sense? It's like it got aerated and isn't as dense as I wanted it. So tomorrow I'm making my first purposeful HP and am wondering if I stir less or not much at all.. Will that make a harder HP? How much stirring is too much?

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Hi Gentleman! Thank you! Just wanted to clarify though, you calculate your base recipe at a 3% superfat to account for any errors and to ensure all lye is gone but in addition to the base recipe you add an additional 5% of oil to superfat further? For example if your recipe called for 20 oz of oils after trace you then add 1 additional oz of oil (5% of 20) to further superfat? Thanks for your help!

That's the idea - if I make a 20oz batch at 3% SF I would then add 1oz of my specific SF oil after the cook. This is not usually just a mix of the oils that I used in the recipe, but rather a way to ensure that a large % of a certain oil/butter remains unsaponified.

I would NOT suggest doing the cook at 0% SF and then superfatting - there is the risk of mistakes and then a lye heavy soap.

As for adding oils after the cook affecting the qualities of the soap, I don't see it - if you make your recipe in a way that needs, for example, Castor for bubbles, but then you add it only after the cook then of course you won't be getting the bubbles.

But if your recipe before the cook has the properties for a soap that you want, but you want to put in something special to work on the skin such as a butter, adding it after the cook will be much better than before. Adding it before means that your SF will also consist of similar ratios of OO, CO and so on, as well as having a lot of your butter turned in to soap, which might well then be the same quality soap as if you used a cheaper oil and no butter at all.

Adding it after the cook means that you have an oily SF of about 3% plus the butter.

Hope this makes sense

 

[PirateGirl686]

That's the idea - if I make a 20oz batch at 3% SF I would then add 1oz of my specific SF oil after the cook. This is not usually just a mix of the oils that I used in the recipe, but rather a way to ensure that a large % of a certain oil/butter remains unsaponified.

I would NOT suggest doing the cook at 0% SF and then superfatting - there is the risk of mistakes and then a lye heavy soap.

As for adding oils after the cook affecting the qualities of the soap, I don't see it - if you make your recipe in a way that needs, for example, Castor for bubbles, but then you add it only after the cook then of course you won't be getting the bubbles.

But if your recipe before the cook has the properties for a soap that you want, but you want to put in something special to work on the skin such as a butter, adding it after the cook will be much better than before. Adding it before means that your SF will also consist of similar ratios of OO, CO and so on, as well as having a lot of your butter turned in to soap, which might well then be the same quality soap as if you used a cheaper oil and no butter at all.

Adding it after the cook means that you have an oily SF of about 3% plus the butter.

Hope this makes sense

Yes that makes sense! Thank you so much for your help!

 

[Clemmey]

Alright HPers... I have HP question, when adding things like oatmeal when do you add them? I tried a batch with the Oatmeal at the end, but found it didn't incorporate as well as I was hoping. What do you all think?

Thanks in advance!

 

[dryalligator]

There's a good video on you tube. Look up essential soaps. Cant remember her name but she only does hot process. Personally I wouldn't discount water in HP and I only stir twice. Your fragrence won't fade if you follow the flash points. If your scent's flash temp is lower than your HP soap temp at pour it will fade to nothing in a week.

 

[MagicalMysterySoap]

Alright HPers... I have HP question, when adding things like oatmeal when do you add them? I tried a batch with the Oatmeal at the end, but found it didn't incorporate as well as I was hoping. What do you all think?

Thanks in advance!

I add the Oatmeal after the cook. I mix goat's milk powder with a bit of water and after it has dissolved, I mix in the Oatmeal. It incorporates just fine.

 

[pjdxxxwa]

Adding oatmeal to HP soap.

Alright HPers... I have HP question, when adding things like oatmeal when do you add them? I tried a batch with the Oatmeal at the end, but found it didn't incorporate as well as I was hoping. What do you all think?

Thanks in advance!

Depends on what you the oatmeal to do. If it is dryness and ground to a powder, you want to add it before the cook. If you want it to have a bit of a scuba ability, you dampen it with a tiny bit of light weight oil (or glycerin) and add after the cook. It will evenly distribute that way.

I would refrain from wetting it with FO/EO because it may soak up it up and irritate skin.