Is it ready yet? Is it ready yet? Is it ready yet?

[Obsidian]

Did they cut ok? The partial gel ring will fade a bit with time and has no affect on the soap what so ever. You can turn a box upside down over the mold before you wrap it up or if your mold is heat proof you can do whats called CPOP. After your soap is poured, you heat your over to 170* F then shut it off, place the soap inside and let it gel. It cane be hard to keep the fluffy tops that way though, they have a tendency to flatten out from the heat of gelling.

Alternatively, you can prevent gel by placing your just poured soap into the freezer over night. Soap made this way takes a bit longer to fully saponify and often has to be left in the mold a day or two longer. Soap made like this often looks creamier and they keep their pretty textured tops.

 

[roseb]

Congrats! Great looking soap, nice and creamy! I can't wait either and that is why I mostly HP. I still let it cure for about 2 weeks to make sure all the water is out. But I love to use a fresh bar right away when it's a new recipe. Welcome to the addition!

 

[Hazel]

Your soap looks beautiful! I see you already got some good advice from Obsidian so I won't discuss cutting, etc.

Now a confession - I laughed at your story about your husband mashing the soap; although if it had happened to me, I would have been furious. You need to sit your husband down and explain that textured tops are for aesthetic purposes. Then go out and buy him some Playdoh.

You're welcome for the recipes. There are many other variations you can do with the oils you have and altering percentages of the oils. I just thought those would be easy ones to get you started. The first one is the one I've been using the most often lately. Well, not so lately, I first made a batch of it over a year ago and was pleased with it. It's become one of my favorite recipes and everyone I've given it to have said they liked it, too. You could tweak the percentages and see if you prefer another variation. However, not everyone likes soap with animal fat in it so you'll want to experiment with developing a veg recipe.

 

[MirandaH]

Did they cut ok? The partial gel ring will fade a bit with time and has no affect on the soap what so ever. You can turn a box upside down over the mold before you wrap it up or if your mold is heat proof you can do whats called CPOP. After your soap is poured, you heat your over to 170* F then shut it off, place the soap inside and let it gel. It cane be hard to keep the fluffy tops that way though, they have a tendency to flatten out from the heat of gelling.

Alternatively, you can prevent gel by placing your just poured soap into the freezer over night. Soap made this way takes a bit longer to fully saponify and often has to be left in the mold a day or two longer. Soap made like this often looks creamier and they keep their pretty textured tops.

They cut great! I cut 8 bars from that loaf and when I looked better at both sides, it was the middle four with the circle. Two were perfect on one side and had the ring on the other, so it was just in the very center. I think that when we get back from SC I will make three more batches of the same recipe, since I have three of the exact same mold. Then I will wrap one, put one in the oven and put one in the freezer and see which of the three I like the best. I understand about it taking longer if it doesn't gel, and I think that, just looking at these, I can learn some patience. I really like the lighter color. Overall, I ended up with 8 bars I can use and half of them were perfect (providing no DOS or other issues as it cures). Considering some of the things that I have seen happen in reading, I am going to consider it a decent first batch and the second is already in the freezer. I am going to see what happens with that.

By the way, having spent my entire life using Lou Anne coconut oil in recipes, that Extra Virgin organic stuff that I bought for soap smells SOOO good. You really do get what you pay for, I suppose.

 

[Hegemone's Forest]

If its solid enough to cut into bars and not fall apart then do so. Curing should take 4-6 weeks for most, but OO takes much longer to cure. Cutting into bars is necessary to avoid the mold getting to hard and cracking.

 

[MirandaH]

Your soap looks beautiful! I see you already got some good advice from Obsidian so I won't discuss cutting, etc.

Now a confession - I laughed at your story about your husband mashing the soap; although if it had happened to me, I would have been furious. You need to sit your husband down and explain that textured tops are for aesthetic purposes. Then go out and buy him some Playdoh.

You're welcome for the recipes. There are many other variations you can do with the oils you have and altering percentages of the oils. I just thought those would be easy ones to get you started. The first one is the one I've been using the most often lately. Well, not so lately, I first made a batch of it over a year ago and was pleased with it. It's become one of my favorite recipes and everyone I've given it to have said they liked it, too. You could tweak the percentages and see if you prefer another variation. However, not everyone likes soap with animal fat in it so you'll want to experiment with developing a veg recipe.

I will confess that I am laughing about my husband now, but last night I was fit to be tied. I came around that corner and saw him playing with it and I immediately turned back around, went to the bedroom and threw myself face down on our bed. He came in and said "What??" with that South Carolina, super thick country accent and I just groaned at first and just yelled "Don't touch it again!" I didn't want to say anything else until I had calmed down.

 

[MirandaH]

If its solid enough to cut into bars and not fall apart then do so. Curing should take 4-6 weeks for most, but OO takes much longer to cure. Cutting into bars is necessary to avoid the mold getting to hard and cracking.

So, as soon as it will easily come out of the mold, just go ahead and cut?? I think if I had waited until we got home from SC it might not have been so easy to cut, so I am glad I did it today.

 

[Obsidian]

Usually yes, if its firm enough to unmold you can cut. Some times I unmold too soon and the loaf is too soft, its easy to dent. In cases like that I will wait a few hours or overnight. Learning when a loaf is ready to cut was one of the harder things for me. I either cut way too soon making a gooey mess or I waited too long and my bars broke around the edges. After a few batches, you will know by feel when its ready.

 

[heisenberg]

Heisenberg, don't be so uncertain! Go ahead and try the soap, it will just dissolve faster and also may feel more drying than it will when fully cured.

Really? Ok... I've been waiting patiently to try it. I walk over and touch it, smell it, if it had lips I'd kiss it! Lol but ok soap rat. I'll give it a try tomorrow as it will be a shave day!! Oh yeah. I just hope I'm not disappointed. Im trying to get a creamy soap. Thanks to all the veteran soap makers chiming in. Your comments really help.

 

[MirandaH]

Really? Ok... I've been waiting patiently to try it. I walk over and touch it, smell it, if it had lips I'd kiss it! Lol but ok soap rat. I'll give it a try tomorrow as it will be a shave day!! Oh yeah. I just hope I'm not disappointed. Im trying to get a creamy soap. Thanks to all the veteran soap makers chiming in. Your comments really help.

Yes! Really!! I ended up trying the first recipe that Hazel posted on here and it was the batch I said was in the freezer. It came out super white and creamy and beautiful, but it was SO soft, I was worried about cutting it and waited a couple days first. Now that it is out of the mold and cut, I was dying to try it tonight, so I went ahead and used it and I love it!! After I was done, I put it back on the drying rack, but it was so much harder than I thought it would be and it worked great. I feel super clean and my skin feels great! Much better than the commercial soaps that I have been using. The only thing that is dry is the palms of my hands, but they are always dry on the day I wash my soaping stuff. I also cleaned out the fridge and used sprays on that and bleach, so I don't think it is the soap, so much as everything else I did today. And they are not so dry as to bbe driving me crazy. I can just feel it.

Now that I got my Palm oil, I am going to try the other two as soon as we get back from taking his daughter back to SC. I am also going to do another castile loaf, so that I can pop the next one in the freezer to hopefully prevent that darker ring.

 

[cmzaha]

Partial gel is only aesthetic and some people will actually think you did it on purpose and wonder how you did that color oval in your soap!! I make and sell so much soap I really do not worry about a partial gel, although I do usually put mine in the freezer. A "hot" formula will still try to gel in the freezer, since I do not have a deep freezer only my home freezer. But I have had customers wonder how I got the pretty oval in the middle!

 

[Arthur Dent]

Heisenberg, don't be so uncertain!

Am I the only one who got that? :wink:

Great thread by the way.

 

[heisenberg]

I guess you are buddy? Enlighten us. Oh I'm trying to put up a picture of the lather I was able to build up from my very first shave soap. But I can't upload it from my phone. Running iOS 5.something...anyways love the soap I added some sandalwood EO and I really want to thank you guys for your input. Next I will try and make some HP soap with stearic acid and who knows what else.

Thanks again everyone. " we're done when I say we're done"!
Heisenberg. :twisted:

 

[Arthur Dent]

I (and I think Soap_rat) was referencing the "Heisenberg uncertainty principle". No offense intended, just a little friendly silliness.

 

[heisenberg]

I (and I think Soap_rat) was referencing the "Heisenberg uncertainty principle". No offense intended, just a little friendly silliness.

No offense taken Arthur. I don't offend that easy. Anyways that post did get me thinking and so what does any man with Internet and a PC do when he's "uncertain" about a certain subject? :eh: He googles! Jaja.