is CP and CPOP comparable ?

[Emmanuel]

Hello evryone
I'm doing quite a lot of tests to find a good formula with a good lather without too much foreign oils and as you can imagine it's not easy.
So to save some time I use a lot of CPOP. Basically I pour my soap into mold, cover them and put them into a 50°C oven for 24h then unmold them and let them dry at 50°C another 24h. After that I generally have a good bar of soap that is usable right away.
I also tested to let my soap cure for long period of time and it get whiter and harder. However it did not have any notable effect on lather.
From what I know of soap chemistry, there is no reason that a CPOP soap will be very different from a CP soap in terms of lather. But maybe I'm wrong ? Hence my question.

Have a nice day !

 

[TheGecko]

I'm doing quite a lot of tests to find a good formula with a good lather without too much foreign oils and as you can imagine it's not easy.
So to save some time I use a lot of CPOP. Basically I pour my soap into mold, cover them and put them into a 50°C oven for 24h then unmold them and let them dry at 50°C another 24h. After that I generally have a good bar of soap that is usable right away. I also tested to let my soap cure for long period of time and it get whiter and harder. However it did not have any notable effect on lather.
From what I know of soap chemistry, there is no reason that a CPOP soap will be very different from a CP soap in terms of lather. But maybe I'm wrong ? Hence my question.

I am currently doing CPOP right now because it's cold here and my soap won't gel elsewise***. That's all the OP does...speeds up and/or causes gel. Elsewise it has no other effect on your soap...it won't make it lather more, it won't speed up the saponification process, it won't speed up cure time.

*** - Yes I know I can use a heating pad, but my husband is greatly opposed to it and given how supportive he is (finding soap in the oven and soap in the frig, not mention all the soap in the garage), I see no reason to fight him on this.

 

[shunt2011]

It's basically the same thing. I've never had a lot of luck with CPOP so I just insulate my soaps really well and get full gel. Any soap can be used once saponification is complete, however, it needs 4-6 weeks maybe longer depending on the recipe to be at it's best. Lather improves, it becomes harder, a bit more gentle etc.....there's structural changes going on.

 

[Arimara]

Gel is just the sped up process of saponification for CP soaps. That does not mean you soap is ready to use- curing still needs to happen. Curing is a chemical process that can take as little as 4 weeks depending on your soap's recipe. You can't speed that up or do anything to encourage it- it just is.

 

[jcandleattic]

Gel is just the sped up process of saponification for CP soaps. That does not mean you soap is ready to use- curing still needs to happen. Curing is a chemical process that can take as little as 4 weeks depending on your soap's recipe. You can't speed that up or do anything to encourage it- it just is.

Once saponification is complete, and there is no zap, the soap is perfectly safe to use.
However, it will not be at its best until a proper cure is in place.
You are correct that forcing gel via CPOP can speed saponification, but you can use the soap once that is done. Not sure why anyone would want though, because you are also correct in you cannot speed cure.

 

[CatahoulaBubble]

It's pretty much the same thing. The CPOP just ensures the soap goes through gel whereas without the oven it just depends on how hot your soap heats up either covered or uncovered. I don't gel all of my soap because I don't generally care if they gel. Some of them I will CPOP because I want to make sure the soap gels for certain color pops.

 

[szaza]

There's a great article about curing soap on DeeAnna's website. She goes into quite a bit of detail on what happens with the soap while curing.
https://classicbells.com/soap/cure.asp

 

[Arimara]

Once saponification is complete, and there is no zap, the soap is perfectly safe to use.
However, it will not be at its best until a proper cure is in place.
You are correct that forcing gel via CPOP can speed saponification, but you can use the soap once that is done. Not sure why anyone would want though, because you are also correct in you cannot speed cure.

True true. Thanks for clarifying. I was lucky that came out as clear as it did with no other errors.

 

[Steve85569]

Wine and soap CAN be used once the process is complete. ( fermentation or saponification)
Both are much better after a proper cure.
Good wine and good soap improve with age.

 

[TheGecko]

Wine and soap CAN be used once the process is complete. ( fermentation or saponification)
Both are much better after a proper cure.
Good wine and good soap improve with age.

I liken soap making to making whiskey. Do you want moonshine or a nicely aged sipping whiskey?