CafeRacer
Member
Thanks for the compliment, Jenny (my soap thanks you too!).
It's funny you should mention that... after reading up a bit more on gelling, I put my second batch into the oven after pouring last night. I didn't turn the oven on, figuring the heat from the pilot light (which keeps my "cold" oven at a nice 91F) would be comparable to wrapping in blankets and such. I also resisted the urge to peek...well, OK, I only peeked twice yesterday. But that's a far cry from the 5 - 7 times I peeked at batch 1 (3 of which happened in the first 2 hours of filling the mold - lol!).
When I woke up this morning, it looked like this batch had gelled more completely than the first. The color looks almost entirely even throughout the bar, with only the slightest bit of lighter color near the outside surfaces of the bar. I think I'll try your method next time to see what kind of a difference it makes.
That's what I love about soap making so far...it really is a balance of art, craft, and science isn't it? I work in a creative field and I must say it's a really nice change of pace to be using the left side of my brain during this trial and error period.
I'm so addicted, it's not even funny!
It's funny you should mention that... after reading up a bit more on gelling, I put my second batch into the oven after pouring last night. I didn't turn the oven on, figuring the heat from the pilot light (which keeps my "cold" oven at a nice 91F) would be comparable to wrapping in blankets and such. I also resisted the urge to peek...well, OK, I only peeked twice yesterday. But that's a far cry from the 5 - 7 times I peeked at batch 1 (3 of which happened in the first 2 hours of filling the mold - lol!).
When I woke up this morning, it looked like this batch had gelled more completely than the first. The color looks almost entirely even throughout the bar, with only the slightest bit of lighter color near the outside surfaces of the bar. I think I'll try your method next time to see what kind of a difference it makes.
That's what I love about soap making so far...it really is a balance of art, craft, and science isn't it? I work in a creative field and I must say it's a really nice change of pace to be using the left side of my brain during this trial and error period.
I'm so addicted, it's not even funny!
