Sharon Johnson E book worth it?

[DeeAnna]

I think there are people who cook their hot process soap for hours 'n hours, just like people cook liquid soap paste for ridiculously long times (days, even!) But I'm honestly not sure why. Even though I don't make a lot of HP, I've done enough to know saponification is finished a lot sooner than most people think. I can see the higher temperature HP methods as searching for ways to reduce or eliminate the time and energy used for cooking the soap.

...The "baggie" method is holding much promise as far as doing fancier swirls and such in HP...I have to play with that more....

I also think the baggie (sous vide) method also disproves the idea that HP methods require extra water-based liquid in order to stay fluid. I can see where higher temperature HP methods can realistically use about the same amount of water-based liquid as for cold process soap making. That would be nice -- less shrinkage and deformation.

 

[NsMar42111]

I think there are people who cook their hot process soap for hours 'n hours,

Ah, gotcha...oof it would be soap chunks if you do that! At least how I make it! As soon as I see the vaseline stage start up (usually right after the greasy applesauce "this isn't cooperating" stage), I turn the heat off and prepare to mold. I have left it in longer because I was doing something else but ended up with a lot of dried soap white chunks, whoops!

You reminded me I need to keep an eye on the baggie soaps. I haven't noticed any difference in their cure so far compared to my non baggie soaps.

 

[Lin19687]

Ok I will edit to say that it isn't "ALL DAY" Sorry.

Also want to say that these were NOT the videos I watched this morning, except for the 1st one. And I do have to say that that one seemed like she talked more about her blog/FB page then what was going on with the video. Like the part were it looked like it was starting to separate but she was talking about her 'group' I mean it's all good, just not MY cup of tea. I had to keep hitting the forward button to speed up. Everyone has different tastes which is fine.

I have watched a ton of videos, some I just stop watching after 1-2 minutes because something bothered me so much that I just couldn't watch it anymore.
i do watch Valerie's videos, some I like, some I don't.

I agree the baggie method you all were doing on here was interesting, but also not my cup of tea at the moment.

If someone is 'scared off of HP' because I said "All Day" they shouldn't be listening to only 1 person and have a lot more to learn.

 

[Rune]

If you watch Youtube videos with both low-temperature HP (slow) and high-temperature HP (fast), you will see one big difference.

Most that does the slow method will have tons of crispy bits stuck to the edges that keeps getting stirred in, more and more each time, and the finished bar has white chunks all over from that crispy edges of dehydrated overcooked soap. Kim at EssentialSoap is a master of getting tons of white chunks stirred in.

Most if not all that does the fast method will have no crispy chunks around the edges that ends up in their finished bars of soap.

Now I see someone mention the chunks, before I commented. I wonder when I will learn to comment after I have read all the comments and after I have seen the whole video, not before as I most always do?

 

[DeeAnna]

I think most of us are in the same boat with you, Rune!

 

[NsMar42111]

You all reminded me, I noticed I didn't get the "dried around the edges" issue anywhere near as bad when using plastic wrap as a lid...and not at all with the baggie method... .

My first batch I didn't scraped the sides enough and half of it was white chunks LOL. Can be a good design element if used right ...I just thought it was me!

 

[psfred]

I wouldn't buy the book, all the information is readily available here and on YouTube.

I've tried her method from the video, and here's my take on the whole thing!

Unless you add sugar or some other "heating" substance, you won't get the fast, fluid process, I think the added heating from the sugar is required to speed things up. More CO or other "fast" tracing oils helps too.

Use full water, extra glycerine within reason (too much makes for sticky soap) and add yogurt or sodium lactate for extra fluidity.

Extra BOILING water at the end will add some fluidity, but be careful, too much water and the soap shrinks a lot during cure, almost always warping as it dries. Doesn't affect the quality, but it is unsightly. Cold water will harden up the soap pretty fast, it has to stay HOT.

Don't wait too long to start coloring, dividing, etc -- as soon as it's uniform (not applesauce) it will work OK for everything else.

And I agree, it's not particularly new, it's not really a good process for beginning soapers, and it's far from ideal for intricate soap designs. Works great for "plain" soap, and I prefer it myself simply because I can make and cut a batch of soap in an evening after supper

 

[gsc]

I understand your point -- some videos are tedious beyond belief. But having made a few videos, I realize shooting and starring in a video is far harder than it seems, and video editing is difficult and incredibly time consuming. So I do my best to be patient and understanding when I view less-than-perfect videos that otherwise contain good content. I use the VLC media player and often run videos at 1.5 or 2.0 speed.

I watched the first Moenck and Mosher videos listed, and I did not perceive that they added "...1/2 the liquid AFTER the cook..." I agree that some of the fluid HP makers do add a lot of liquid, however, so perhaps what you watched different videos than I did. Dunno.

The Moenck video showed only yogurt and colorant being added at the end. She said she uses "full water" but she also warns about not adding lots of liquid. (edit: She does add sodium lactate and sugar to her lye water, however.) Mosher added other liquids at the end in addition to yogurt (sodium lactate and sugar syrup, if I remember right), but the amounts of these fluids seemed relatively small.

I came away from both videos with these key concepts:

Start with all ingredients that are all very warm but not scorching hot​

Use a stick blender in moderation (pretty much like you would with any other soap making method)​

Keep the soap as warm as possible throughout the process (but lots of extra heat is not required)​

Minimize water evaporation​

Add yogurt after the cook for added fluidity​

Adding other liquids such as sugar syrup and sodium lactate seem to be more the preference of the soaper than strictly necessary. In the batches I did for the April Sous Vide HP challenge, I thought adding 1 tablespoon of yogurt ppo was truly helpful, compared with not adding it, but I didn't see any particular benefit to adding sodium lactate.

I also realized these "fluid HP" techniques cannot possibly be the intellectual property of one person. With the exception of adding yogurt, the "fluid HP" method is very similar to the method I've come up with on my own to make no-cook liquid soap paste, especially when I don't add extra glycerin. Adding milk products has been around for awhile too -- for example, Ponte Vedra Soap has had a nice rebatch method on their website for years that adds powdered milk for added fluidity. (Which makes me wonder if it's less about the yogurt in particular and more about dairy in general.)

DeeAnna - do you have a link to the rebatching method by Ponte Vedra Soap

 

[DeeAnna]

Here ya go -- Re-Batch or Hand-Milled Soap Instructions - pvsoap.com - Ponte Vedra Naturals

 

[msunnerstood]

I HTHP and never bought an eBook. As many have said, there are lots of videos out there. I would not recommend HTHP until you are fully comfortable with HP and then gradually work the temps up.

 

[AliOop]

^^^what @msunnerstood said. As someone who purchased both Sharon's e-book and Ashlee's e-book (UltimateHPSoap.com), I can say unequivocally that Ashlee's book gives you far, far more for the money.

Sharon's method does work, but she wants you to follow exactly her specific process with specific ingredients that are slightly varied over a couple of recipes. Despite being repetitive, it is still thin on pages. There is no general information about soaping, fatty acid properties, or recipe formulation.

Ashlee's book provides lots of scientific information, an explanation of how soap is made, a full run-down on fatty acids (including self-tests that you can take to see if you retained the lessons), a good number of recipes, various options for achieving fluidity, general principles for formulating your own recipes, and how to combine the parts you want to use into a process that works for you. Although much of the info she offers is available for free online, not all of it is. And sometimes it is just nicer to have it in book form (I printed mine) where it can be referenced easily.

Both ladies offer FB groups where they are pretty responsive. Ashlee also offers a student-area on her website, and direct email support from her or others who work for her.

 

[gsc]

Here ya go -- Re-Batch or Hand-Milled Soap Instructions - pvsoap.com - Ponte Vedra Naturals

Thank you DeeAnna.