Questions about Zap/ Tongue Test

[NameThatCandy]

it looks very nice!!

 

[Birdie]

And it doesn't gel?? I am so paranoid that the saponification process won't be 100% complete without a full, hot gel. My sister is a chemist and when she saw how I made soap, (I didn't gel then to protect my FO's and oil qualities...) she told me that heat is required for a proper chemical reaction...

Hence my quote...To gel or not to gel....

...

Lane, this has long been a debate amoung soapers, both old and new. I tend to agree with your sister. A complete gel (the result of the "self-generated" heat) is a part of the chemical reaction and without it you lose something. The soap will reach a particular degree of heat, which depends on the oils it contains, and then stop. If there were no stopping point I might feel differently.

But there is the other camp that disagrees and is content to keep that gel from happening. I am not sure that one is better than the other because I am not a chemist, but I like much better the result I get in a gel vs un-gel soap.

 

[Lane]

Birdie- My main selling point on Gelling is that you get a nice hard bar right away...Plus it makes my colors SOOOO much more vibrant!

 

[Guest]

I got home late tonight, and so after the kids were tucked into bed, and I tied up some loose ends, I went to work.

Well today while at a dollar store, I picked up a package of blades for a hacksaw. I was thinking outside the box and thought they might work nice for slicing soaps. Much thinner than the kitchen knife I had been using. And yes they worked great just to use the blade alone after I measured and marked my cutting line.

So I sliced off a bar of my soap. I did a quick tongue test and no zap but I didn't like the taste of peach soap. LOL

And I snuck into the bathroom to lather up. The bar wasn't super soft (like cheese) as it was this morning. It was more firm. So I slowly turned on the tap, waited for the warm water.....

And OMG the bubbles, I couldn't believe the bubbles..... and my hands were clean.

Yep I'm hooked on the RTCP soaps. !!!!!

This weekend I'm going to go out and show my mum how to do it as well. She has been making all her own soaps as well since I started doing it. It has always been on her list of things to do again, but she never got around to doing it. So she was glad that I gave her a push into doing it and a little advice on how to do it. And now my dad won't even go near a store bought bar anymore. LOL her's are all unscented just because it's 'cheaper' and she's being thrifty ya know. She just want's functional soap, that cleans.

Then I also just ran her recipe through the calculator and tweaked it a bit for her so the numbers were a bit better as well.

Her recipe went from these numbers
Hardness 30
Cleansing 11
Conditioning 65
Bubbly 21
Creamy 29

To now this....
Hardness 40
Cleansing 20
Conditioning 53
Bubbly 26
Creamy 25

And all her recipe consists of is Lard, Crisco, Coconut Oil, Canola Oil, and Castor Oil.

And i'm getting her started with using goats milk as well.

Anywho...... just wanted to share on this soap that I made yesterday. My first attempt at RTCP soap. It's awesome and if you haven't tried it, it's worth a second look.

 

[Lane]

faithy- You have me all excited to try RTCP now! ...and peach FO.. I havent been able to find a good peach because my gels' high temps, peach FOs don't usually make it through...

I'm gonna give it a try.

I really really want to try some of YOUR peach RTCP soap... The lather factor just pushed me over the edge!

 

[Guest]

That soap looks like Vanilla Icing or something! I want to put my finger in it and steal a taste! I would be so fat if I were a baker instead of a soaper.

I use RTCP all the time - and I don't think it effects the lather at all. It's mostly for convenience but should not effect the properties of your bar.

Look to your recipe to find where your lathering properties may have changed.

Marr

 

[Zenobiah]

It looks like delicious soap! (well, not the taste... :x )

I am hoping to be able to make a batch soon again and will use cream of coconut to superfat and RTCP.

 

[Guest]

I think i was so impressed with the lather amounts because it was the first time I used my soap recipe that contained both coconut oil and castor oil.


I'm just easy to please.......
LOL

 

[Guest]

Oh - you're right Faithy - castor adds so much to the lather. I really overdid it recently and the end result was a bit sticky. DOH! I really love it though and can't soap without it anymore. It adds to the conditioning of your soap too.

Marr

 

[Lane]

Oh - you're right Faithy - castor adds so much to the lather. I really overdid it recently and the end result was a bit sticky. DOH! I really love it though and can't soap without it anymore. It adds to the conditioning of your soap too.

Marr

I use about 11% castor...WAAAAAAY over what the recommended amount is... the first couple of days mine are sticky too, but after a good four weeks drying, they are nice and hard, no sticky-ness!

 

[Laurie]

Would you cover the RTCP after you poured it in the mold. I guess I can't quite grasp it. I live in a very cold climate and usually my soaps have had layers of white on the top or bottom. (It was not ash) I was told that I might want to mix my lye/oils at a higher temperature and keep it warmer for the 24 hour period following for complete gel. So I guess that makes it hard for me to understand this process.

All I can do is experiment. Your soap looks so creamy white.

 

[Guest]

I live in a cold climate in ND we are about 30-40 miles from the Canadian Border the way the crow flies.

but I really don't get ash, never have and I don't cover mine. But that's just me, and this includes the summer time as well.

 

[Laurie]

Faithy, I am probably only about 6 or 7 hours north of you as the crow flies, maybe a little more.

I think I am going to give that RTCP a try. I'm just not sure when.

 

[leansoapqueen]

Faith- no cover for your soap and it looks like that wow! I always cover mine to the point where its obnoxious- LOL. Anyway, seems to me that RTCP or at least my version which is similar to your Faith- basically exactly with insulation- seems creamier which I know has to do with the recipe but really RTCP seems creamier and more lather..I love making soap this way and the "gel stress" is gone..I was thinking of popping it in a warmed oven but not sure that it needs I guess...Nice soap!

 

[Lane]

I just did m y first RTCP yesterday and cut it this morning...Faithy inspired me!! I agree with the creamy factor and WOW what a difference it made not worrying about temp!!

 

[leansoapqueen]

Did you insulate like I do or not insulate? Faith didn't but I do just wondering if maybe I can skip a step...

 

[Lane]

In my mind, I had the idea for it not to gel...but my mold is a wooden box and without thinking, I just tossed the lid on, not tightly, and it still had airflow...about 6 hours later it had gelled, but not nearly like my other soaps do, when I TRY to make them gel...I'd say pour it in the mold and put it on a shelf...

I'm going to post about my RTCP process, with pictures later tonight...

 

[Guest]

I'm going to post about my RTCP process, with pictures later tonight...

whispers : I'll be watching for them......

 

[leansoapqueen]

By the way, faith- I liked your mold- I was wondering if those pm boxes would work- all of my bigger molds are pretty old and need replacing and I want to make a bigger batch so I'll have to check out the pm box

 

[Lane]

I finally got it up!