Is HP similar in look to rebatch?

[jenneelk]

I'm curious to try HP but looking at the pictures and explanations, it seems like it will be similar to rebatch and not real smooth?
If you get a faster saponification, what is the downside to HP?
Figure there has to be a few to negate such a positive of quick cure.

 

[CaliChan]

HP has always come out smooth for me
It is similar to rebatching. It basically just forces the soap to gel before you put it in the mold. I only ever do it with my cleaning soap, rebatching (I always add 50% fresh soap to my rebates to he'll smooth out the texture) and castile soaps to help them set up faster. The reason I do it with only those two soaps is because of the downfall to HP soap. Its a lot harder to make swirls and designs .

 

[CaliChan]

And it doesn't speed the cure up. Its not really a short cut. It still takes 4-6 weeks to cure. And it still takes 6 months min. For castile. I'm not really sure why every one says that because I've tried every "shortcut" out there and they weren't short cuts at all. No one says that if you gel by insulating them your soaps cure faster. And that's really all your doing with HP or CPOP. Gelling your soaps. So don't get your hopes to high. There is no short cuts to making soap. Just different methods

 

[jenneelk]

Awe bummer! Some videos and other places say you can use it after a week or so. Figured that might not apply to all recipes but to some.
And I'd wondered what the difference was to cure so fast since it just seemed a quick way to gel which CPOP or blankets could do.
Thanks for the info!

 

[CaliChan]

Yeah. There's a lot of info like that out there. You can technically use any soap using any.method after a week or two, but It won't be any good, it'll dry up your skin and it will go down your drain real fast ;P
I'm glad you asked before making it and using it to soon

 

[CaraCara]

There are some very talented HP'ers on the forum who can do swirls and some fantastic artwork with HP soap. Yes, it's more difficult to create elaborate designs and fancy tops but the upside is the soap is fully cooked and you don't have to worry about excess lye (assuming you ran the recipe through a lye calc and did a zap test). It's still advisable to wait the 4+ weeks so the water evaporates but you can use it before then. I do both HP and CP and love them equally. HP soap is more translucent and you can a) choose your superfatting oils to add at the end and reap the benefits and b) use any FO without worry of seizing because your soap is already cooked.
If you haven't tried it yet then check out some of the threads in this forum and videos on Youtube, give it a go and see how you like it.

ETA to add that I am in agreement with CaliChan regarding using the soap before it is cured in that it will disappear a lot quicker than if you wait. It will but if you're ok with that and impatient like some of us then it's all good.

 

[Marilyna]

Not having to worry about FOs seizing and morphing (and you can use less) is a major advantage, also colorants don't morph in HP. Those are big advantages, but I really don't like the texture and found that my bars needed a lot of trimming and warped sometimes.