Gelling is when the soap heats up and becomes almost liquefied or has a translucent appearance similar to a gel. When it finishes saponifying, the soap will have a shinier, less opaque appearance as compared to soap which isn’t gelled. Gelling versus not gelling is personal preference. Everyone has an opinion about it.
Here are some links to pictures which show gel and partial gel. The partial gel is a good comparison to show the difference between gelled and not gelled.
http://www.soapmakingforum.com/f22/my-first-partial-gel-25839/
http://www.soap-making-resource.com/comfrey-soap-making.html (scroll down to section “How will the Gel-Phase Affect the Color Produced by Comfrey Powder?” There is a fantastic picture of a gelled soap below it since the batch is in a clear acrylic mold.)
http://blog.thesage.com/2009/02/25/cold-process-soap-day-three/ (Scroll to the bottom of the page to see soap going through the gel phase. Also, Andee discusses gel and trace in this article so you might find it helps to clarify things for you.)
Just for fun - picture examples of
thicknesses of trace.
I don’t know what to say about your 3 batches. Since you said the one batch felt warm through the towels then I would think it was gelling. Since it did go through the gel phase, I don’t know why it would have taken several days for you to be able to remove it from the mold. The two that you didn’t think gelled may have not been able to keep enough heat because of the plastic container you used as a mold. Did you put them in towels? I’m just guessing now what might have made a difference. What temperature did you combine the oils and lye solution for mixing? If I combine at too low of a temp, I have problems with batches heating up enough for a full gel. Conversely, I let the oils and lye solution cool before blending when I don’t want to gel a batch. There are so many variables with soapmaking that it’s hard to say what could have made a difference.
Fragrances can also make a difference in how quickly soap can thicken. Some EOs and FOs can cause a batch to accelerate or even reverse trace. It’s rare to find a FO which reverses trace but I know people have mentioned it and I’ve experienced it once. I don’t remember what the FO was now but I wrote it down on the notes about the batch for future reference. (eta: Peak's Vanilla Hazelnut is what reversed the trace in my batch.) I don’t know what Soapies FO is so I don’t know how it would affect a batch.
(Off topic – Was the first mold made of metal? It would hold heat more than plastic but you don’t want to use anything made of aluminum in soapmaking. Aluminum reacts with lye and will ruin the soap. Even though you said you lined it with plastic, there is always the risk of the plastic ripping and raw soap coming into contact with the metal.)
Adding coconut milk at trace – yes, you’d discount the water for dissolving the lye. You could use twice the amount of water as compared to the amount of lye and then make up the liquid amount difference with CM. For example, 9 oz of water to dissolve 4.5 oz lye and then add 3 oz CM or whatever the amounts are for your recipe. You can actually use less water but I don’t recommend a steep water discount until you get more experienced with the process.
You can chill or freeze the CM to use it for 100% of the liquid amount. There should be minimal discoloration (if any) as long as you slowly add the lye and don’t allow the solution to get hot. I’ve used chilled 100% CM for a batch and didn’t add the lye in very slowly. I just kept stirring with one hand and sifting the lye into the container. The CM turned an orangy color but didn’t scorch. However, I can’t tell you if doing it this way would have caused discoloration since I used vanilla FO with it and it turned brown.
It’s good that you got home and rescued the FOs.
I don’t think the FOs could have gotten hot enough to explode although I suppose anything’s possible. I know some FOs can’t be shipped by air because they are considered hazardous. I never asked about the reason but I suppose it’s because they could explode. Maybe someone else knows the reason.
Nothing wrong with some store bought soap. I’ll confess that I like the original Lever. I just find it too drying for my skin. I also have a BIL who can only use a specific store bought soap because of psoriasis. Different strokes for different folks. :wink:
I think there was something else I meant to mention but I've just gone brain dead. Maybe I'll remember later.
It’s okay. You didn’t scare her off.
