Please Help With Possible Gel Problem CPOP

[tumbleweeds321]

I made two pounds of soap today. 2 recipes, 1 lb. each.

The first pound I put in to this as a mold:
http://www.sterilite.com/Holiday.html (the picture on top)
They were on clearance at Walmart for 2 bucks ea. so got a couple 'cause I thought they'd make really neat half-sphere molds. Notice the lid, that may come in to play with my problem.

The other batch I poured into some plastic molds I'd picked up at Hobby Lobby. Different shapes in a single 'sheet' of plastic.

After I'd poured the soap in the molds, I put them both in my oven which had been set at 150, then turned the oven off.

I just checked them (it's been about 8 hours now) and the soaps in the plastic 'sheet' mold are coming along fine. Hardening nicely.

The soap in the Sterilite box (link above) is like jelly. Not hardening at all. It's way way looser than when I poured because after I added the fragrance it traced so fast it was like pouring pudding!

Could it be that it's too hot in that box with the lid on it? Should I break the lid off? Will the soap eventually harden or have I totally ruined it? Can or should I pour the jelly-like soap into a different container? Are you allowed to do that after the process has started?

Any help would be much appreciated! I was going to leave them in there until tomorrow morning but after seeing the mess in the Sterilite mold thought I should post here now for a chance of saving it.

Thank you!!

 

[judymoody]

Probably just gelling. Take the lid off and put it on the counter. It should cool off and be fine within several hours. If it gets too hot, it can separate or some of the FO might weep a little on the top of the soap. If that happens, wait a day or two, it may reabsorb. Good luck!

 

[tumbleweeds321]

Thank you. I took the lid off and it's hardening up now. I just kind of freaked out a little because I didn't know why it was doing that. This is just my second and third cp batch, respectively, and the first batch I made also went in to the oven...so didn't really get to see the 'process' and the photos I found of the 'gel' phase didn't really look like mine...but I think you're right and that's what it was and had just gotten too hot with the lid on it.

Thanks for your help and especially for helping such a noob with a silly problem!

 

[judymoody]

Not silly at all. There are no silly questions.

I did CPOP for the first time with my WSP silicone molds because they were sticking and I wanted to force gel. So for one batch I watched the process every 15 minutes or so because I didn't want overheating problems. It was fascinating. And the soap turned out beautifully.

 

[tumbleweeds321]

Well, I just took them out of the oven and all the soaps are fine. The soap I was concerned about did harden, but is a little sweaty, or weepy, like you said it might be, so I'm going to leave them in a box for a while and see if the oil re-absorbs. They all still need to cure a few days anyway, so that works out. Thanks for that advice.

That Christmas ornament holder is going to make a great mold. All the soaps are between 4.5 and 5 oz which, I think, is a good weight and the rounded part fits perfectly in my palm. I read where you know you're getting addicted when you start seeing soap molds in every day objects. So true! And it'll be perfect for a 5 lb batch once I start going larger. Just no lid in the oven!

I'm just testing recipes with small 1 lb batches (which is also why I'm doing the oven part...so I can try them quicker) until I decide on some favorites. One problem I'm seeing with that is it seems it's a lot easier to have problems with smaller batches. I'll know for sure once I actually go larger, but it does sure seem that way.

Thanks again for your help and have a great day!