Keeping the soap warm?

[sunset2burst]

Ok I made a 2nd batch tonight. I'm uber addicted. This time 40% lard, 35% coconut, 20% olive, 5% castor. This is going to be a guess a soap bars for body washing. Besides .5 oz of lemon EO. I added nothing else. Quite plain.

My big question is alot of resources and videos tell you to wrap the mold up to keep it warm/insulated? Whats this for?

By the time I'm done mixing my soap, the "batter" is already cold. Is the soap supposed to be warm when you pour it? Yesterdays batch and todays batch were both roomtemp/cool when I poured it. Both the oil and the lye were 120 degrees when I mixed them together. And for some odd reason I feel like it takes forever for the batch to come to a trace. I must have been mixing tonight for at least 20-30 minutes.

Is mixing supposed to take long?

One more question: I bought little small plastic condiment gladware to mold this batch. Can I put the lid on tightly during saponification? Or put the lids on loosely?

 

[VanessaP]

Interesting. When I mix my oils and lye together, my temperatures go up, not down, due to the chemical reactions.

Anyway, the insulation helps the soap's temperature rise in order to reach the gel stage. Gelling just means that saponification finishes faster than not gelling. You'll see people who don't like to gel their soaps - they like to stick their freshly poured soap into the freezer. I tried that once - my soap came out tri-colored (I used cocoa powder to color the entire batch) and it never did cure out to an uniform color. Gelling also means that colors become more vibrant, in a way. Gelling usually means a week or two less time for curing than the ungelled: 4 to 6 weeks for gelled, 6 to 8 for ungelled generally. Of course, cure time is going to be dependent on the soaper I do 3-4 weeks for my HP, 4-6 weeks for my gelled and I did a full 8 weeks for my one ungelled batch.

You said it seemed to take a long time for you to come to trace. You didn't mention a stick blender so are you using one or are you whisking/stirring with a spoon? The only batch I've ever had it take me more than 5 minutes to come to trace was my castile and that was 10 to 15 minutes with a 40% lye solution. I hate making castile LOL

As far as the lids go, I don't know how airtight they are, so I would just settle the lid down on top of it to help any moisture escape

 

[squigglz]

Ok I made a 2nd batch tonight. I'm uber addicted. This time 40% lard, 35% coconut, 20% olive, 5% castor. This is going to be a guess a soap bars for body washing. Besides .5 oz of lemon EO. I added nothing else. Quite plain.

My big question is alot of resources and videos tell you to wrap the mold up to keep it warm/insulated? Whats this for?

By the time I'm done mixing my soap, the "batter" is already cold. Is the soap supposed to be warm when you pour it? Yesterdays batch and todays batch were both roomtemp/cool when I poured it. Both the oil and the lye were 120 degrees when I mixed them together. And for some odd reason I feel like it takes forever for the batch to come to a trace. I must have been mixing tonight for at least 20-30 minutes.

Is mixing supposed to take long?

One more question: I bought little small plastic condiment gladware to mold this batch. Can I put the lid on tightly during saponification? Or put the lids on loosely?

re: number 1 http://spottedhipposoap.blogspot.com/20 ... -cold.html

re: number 2 it's okay to have room temp soap, and what do you use to mix? Stick blender, whisk? a stick blender will get you to trace faster, in my experience. Mixing can take anywhere from 3 minutes to over a half hour, depending on oils, temperature, and a host of other variables

re: number 3 i've got nothing since I don't use gladware for molding

 

[sunset2burst]

300 Watt Electric Handmixer. Both batches EVENTUALLY did trace, I just felt like it took them forever. And by the time it is at trace the soap is cool.
Whats the highest limit (heatwise) to mix the lye and the oils. Last night I did 120 degrees for both.
Should I get an immersion blender? I'm thinking that if I get a good immersion blender the soap will trace more quickly and stay warm. Thoughts?

 

[lsg]

I use an immersion blender and my soap usually traces fairly fast. I usually don't pay a lot of attention to the temps. of my lye solution and oils unless I am swirling the soap. I mix my lye water first and let it set while I melt the solid oils. I pour the melted solid oils into the liquid oils and blend them together. When the lye water looks fairly clear, I add it to the oils and stick blend.

 

[Hausfrau007]

Your soapy gunk won't stay warm while you mix it, but the warmth comes AFTER when you've poured it into your molds and when the chemical reaction of saponification occurs. Some people enourage the warmth (it's called gelling) by wrapping their soaps/molds in towels etc (sometimes people even put the soap/mold onto a heating pad or into the oven), and some people DIScourage the warmth by putting their soap in the fridge or freezer.

If you have smaller, plastic molds that you leave out on the counter, there's a good change they won't reach gel (you don't even have to put those in the fridge). Gelling is a personal preference. It changes the look of your soap, but not gelling adds a couple of weeks to the cure time.

I recommend buying a stick blender, for sure. That will speed up your trace if you soap at 120F temperatures. I soap at temperatures much, much lower, and my trace takes 20 to 25 minutes, even with a stick blender.

 

[judymoody]

Just in case it's not clear, a stick blender (also called an immersion blender) is not the same as a hand mixer. SBs can be bought cheaply at Target or Walmart or on line (20-25 dollars) or on ebay or at thrift stores. Hand mixers are more likely to introduce air into your soap batter and possibly spatter.

Glass molds are safe to use but not optimal as the soap can stick to them and make unmolding cleanly difficult. I prefer silicone which does not need to be lined and releases well. Or you could line a wood, cardboard, or plastic box with freezer paper. Pringles cans also make good molds but given the small surface area exposed to air, they are likely to gel in the mold and can possibly overheat.

 

[sunset2burst]

Ideally after you pour cooled soup into a mold, its supposed to star warm because of saponification? I'm pretty sure both my batches did not "warm up" well see. My first batch stung my tongue alittle when I checked it last night. So I'm going to wait another 48 hours, then cut it and cure it.

Yeah I definately need to get a stick blender. The hand mixer i use looks like all it does is "fluff" it up lol, it does eventually trace.

My dad works at a company that can make me plastic and acrylic molds. So I asked him to make me a few.

 

[squigglz]

Ideally after you pour cooled soup into a mold, its supposed to star warm because of saponification? I'm pretty sure both my batches did not "warm up" well see. My first batch stung my tongue alittle when I checked it last night. So I'm going to wait another 48 hours, then cut it and cure it.

Yeah I definately need to get a stick blender. The hand mixer i use looks like all it does is "fluff" it up lol, it does eventually trace.

My dad works at a company that can make me plastic and acrylic molds. So I asked him to make me a few.

Pretty much. Saponification is a chemical reaction, so it should heat up (though not to the point that it's painful to touch or anything like that). Let us know how it all turns out!

That's really awesome that your dad can make those for you! Lucky

 

[sunset2burst]

YEAH they are insanely expensive. hes going to make me 4 acrylic molds with removable sides, two 1lb molds, and two 2lb molds. Right now I'm just doing 1 lb batches until I get the hang of it or find a ratio that I like. I really want to make a bar that is mild enough for face, cleans well, conditions well, and lasts long (hard). Where do most amateur soapers get there oils? I'm getting mine at wally world for the time being, but if I get more serious I may have to buy in bulk.

 

[Genny]

Where do most amateur soapers get there oils? I'm getting mine at wally world for the time being, but if I get more serious I may have to buy in bulk.

Soaper's Choice is wonderful for bulk http://soaperschoice.com/
Essential Wholesale is pretty good too on some things http://www.essentialwholesale.com/

You may have a supplier close to you though, have you checked http://www.suppliersbystate.com

 

[squigglz]

Where do most amateur soapers get there oils? I'm getting mine at wally world for the time being, but if I get more serious I may have to buy in bulk.

Soaper's Choice is wonderful for bulk http://soaperschoice.com/
Essential Wholesale is pretty good too on some things http://www.essentialwholesale.com/

You may have a supplier close to you though, have you checked http://www.suppliersbystate.com

!! Thank you, Genny! I've been looking for a local place, that's a huge help!

 

[Genny]

Thank you, Genny! I've been looking for a local place, that's a huge help!

You are very welcome.

 

[Dennis]

Be careful when ordering oils. I live in Florida and have found that certain suppliers way up north are much cheaper even after shipping charges are added and almost as fast as those much closer to me.

 

[Kansas Farm Girl]

I found that oils I can get at Walmart, Sam's, Costco or the grocery stores can be the best price after I add in shipping charges for ordering anything. I normally only order those I can't get locally. Compare prices of your local stores with anything you find on line and you will figure out what is best for you.

 

[Maythorn]

I only know that the last batch I did that went cold in the pot and didn't warm up in the mold made bars that were covered withn thick ash. I did the same recipe, same fragrance a week later and made it trace faster and there was warmth in the pot and a little in the mold but not enough to gell it and I got good bars.