I had to refrigerate my soap...

[tinycyclops]

I probably should have done it right off the bat. It was quite warm today and I used coconut milk as half my liquid. I went to check on it after a few hours and therea was a small crack in the top. I was heading out of the house so I just threw it in the fridge.

And this brings me to my actual question. I won't be home until tomorrow evening, and I understand that refrigeration can slow the saponification process. If I take to soap out of the fridge tomorrow night, will I be able to cut it right away or should I allow it to sit on the counter overnight and cut it Thursday?

For reference, here is the recipe I used:
26 oz oils
Default settings on soap Calc
50% lard
30% olive oil
15% coconut oil
5% castor
280 gr liquid
101 gr lye
32 gr fragrance (cafe caramel from NG)

 

[dillsandwitch]

You can cut it right away if you want. Or you can wait. saponification should be done by the time you get to it. The only reason to wait is after taking out of the fridge it may sweat some and be difficult to handle till it comes back to room temp

 

[tinycyclops]

To clairfy, if I take it out, let it come to room temp and then cut that would avoid the sweating issue?

 

[dillsandwitch]

while its coming to room temp it still might sweat a little because of the differences in temps. but if you wait till it is at room temp then yes it will be fine

 

[tinycyclops]

I think I'll let it come back to room temp then. Thank you for the help!

 

[shunt2011]

I would let it come to room temp as well. However, I would also wait as it may still be fairly soft if you prevented gel. I would just test it to make sure it's firm enough. Also, wear gloves as it can take up to 72 hours for saponification to complete when no gel is achieved.

 

[dixiedragon]

How do you cut? If you are cutting with a sharp knife, wait until it isn't sweating b/c slippery wet soap log + sharp knife = bad.

 

[tinycyclops]

Shunt - Thank you, I'll definitely check firmness before I unmold.

Dixie - I have one of those wire cheese cutters. I couldn't ever get a straight line with a knife.

 

[vmakkers]

I put all my soaps in the freezer then move them to the fridge. I had an experience with partial gel in just the fridge so now I put it in the freezer. I used to be super impatient and try to unmold as soon as it comes to room temperature but then I would mess up the corners. Now I let the soaps sit for at least a day in the mold after it's come out of the fridge before unmolding. Sometimes I like to pull the sides from the soap to allow some air to get in. I let it sit after it comes out of the mold for a while too just to make sure the sides aren't too soft. I probably cut on day 4 or 5 after the soap has been poured.

I've had a couple of experiences where my cut bars have actually heated up/gelled because I cut before saponification was complete. I figured the freezer temps must have greatly slowed saponification. I've actually stuck a batch of cut goat milk shampoo bars back into the freezer to make sure there was no partial gel. I cut the bars when I got home from work, and within a few hours they all heated up. I could have probably used them as mini hand warmers.

 

[tinycyclops]

Update!
I had my sister take the soap out of the fridge this afternoon and I just checked on it. There was and oily-ish film on it (I think this might be from sweating?), and there was no zap. It unmolded easily, so I'll let it sit overnight and see if I can cut in the morning. Thank you all for the help!

 

[commoncenz]

Update!
I had my sister take the soap out of the fridge this afternoon and I just checked on it. There was and oily-ish film on it (I think this might be from sweating?), and there was no zap. It unmolded easily, so I'll let it sit overnight and see if I can cut in the morning. Thank you all for the help!

Smart idea to let it sit overnight. Those oils will probably reabsorb overnight. However, if they do not, don't cut until they have. Also, if you see this type of film in the future, I wouldn't unmold until the oils have reabsorbed. The oils could be fragrance/essential oils or oils from your superfat.

Basically, if they are on the outside they are not where you wanted them to be when you put together your recipe. Give them time to get to where you wanted them in the first place.

 

[tinycyclops]

Oh, I didn't even think about not unmolding. It was just a thin film on the outside, not even something you could see just looking at it. I thought it would be fine to unmold. :/

 

[commoncenz]

Oh, I didn't even think about not unmolding. It was just a thin film on the outside, not even something you could see just looking at it. I thought it would be fine to unmold. :/

And it probably will be fine. I thought it might have been a little more than a thin film since you described it as oily.

 

[tinycyclops]

Phew! You had me worried for a second.

 

[tinycyclops]

Just went ahead and cut. Everything seems good, just have to wait for it to cure now. Thank you again for all of the help!