1.) with milk soaps if they gel it may effect the color. the milk heats up and turns the soap tan. ever notice the difference in the color of commercial canned milk compared to fresh. the canned has been heated and carmelizes the natural sugars so it's tan compared to the fresh milk that's white.
2/) non gelling cuts down the chance of the soap overheating if it is a milk soap, or contains alot of honey or even some fo can get pretty hot by themselves.
so you are less likely to have soap crawling out of your mold or to burn off the fragrance if it has a low flashpoint.
gelled soaps have a transparent look while ungelled are more opaque/creamy look. even though you can't really see thru either one of them, that is usually how some describe the different looks. it's like the soaping method you use, it's your choice.
i try to ungell all my gm soaps to keep them on the off white side but some fragrances have a mind of their own and will gell no matter what you do. the only time i have had an ammonia smell with my gm soap is when i burnt the milk and soaped everything way to hot. i can unmold them the next day with no zap.
i soap everything room temp to start with and don't insulate my soap molds. this time of the year i can do this on the kitchen counter just set the molds on a couple of soup cans to elevate it. but i have been known to set it out in a snow bank if i know the fo will try to heat things up.
in the summer time i do have to put them in the frig.
