Successful & failures

[Desirae]

So my 1st real batch has hit its 4 week mark I used color and scent. And it came out perfect, my only problem stupid me can't find the recipe I used that I would love to make my permanent recipe, I got large bubbles smells great so now I have no clue what to do bc I can't find the recipe I do know I used gv shortening, CO, OO but can't remember what else so right now I'm hating myself big time. So I have a few questions of different topics so thought it best to post here in 1 single post and hope you all don't mind.

1. What temp should I use for coop? My oven is both a convection and regular oven, what one should I use and what temp and for how many minutes/hours? I tried it once using convection at 175 bc that's the lowest it will go, and after hAlf hr the top of the soap came out all bubbley like, and rough feeling. To high a temp maybe?

2. I have a batch came out great so far, gelled perfect only problem is the scent is completely gone so I'll never use that scent ever again fyi it was by rustic escentuals called candy cane cupcake, after day 5 of curing the scent was gone, what should I do with the soap, how do I "rebatch" soap?

3. Ive done a few milk instead of water, the 1st time I did it I used goats milk and it stayed liquid like, unfortunately the 2nd time I tired it and 3rd time I used coconut milk, once I got all the lye mixed in and it cooled down to about 90 degrees it went thick on me almost to the point of pudding, why did this happen? I didn't do anything different, will that affect the the quality of the soap if I were to still have used it? I ended up throwing it out wasting both milk and lye

4. Is it OK to use stearic acid in all my recipes to help make the bar harder?

5. Sodium lactate is pricey so can I use white vinegar instead since it's so much cheaper?

6. Bc I have so many scents that have a vanillin in it and the brambleberry vanilla stabilizer is only used with mp is there something else I can use or is there a stabilzer that works best for cp?

7. I've tried different ingredients to play around with on the soapee calc to tried and get the bubbley as high as possible and the longevity a high number, what oils work best for this?

8. Bc of the experience I had with the 1 scent I used, I heard adding kaolin clay will help bind the scent to that after its done curing the scent will stick. Is this true and if so how much do I use?

Sorry for all the questions

 

[Scooter]

I really like that green color. Congrats on what looks like a nice bar of soap.

Scooter

 

[Desirae]

I really like that green color. Congrats on what looks like a nice bar of soap.

Scooter

Thank you, for the compliment however actually the green didn't come close to what I was wanting it to be, the scent is mistletoe and ivy and I was trying for a dark green, the color is called woodland Green and I bought it from bulk apothecary but it didn't come close to the color that's in the bag of powder

 

[shunt2011]

So my 1st real batch has hit its 4 week mark I used color and scent. And it came out perfect, my only problem stupid me can't find the recipe I used that I would love to make my permanent recipe, I got large bubbles smells great so now I have no clue what to do bc I can't find the recipe I do know I used gv shortening, CO, OO but can't remember what else so right now I'm hating myself big time. So I have a few questions of different topics so thought it best to post here in 1 single post and hope you all don't mind.



1. What temp should I use for coop? My oven is both a convection and regular oven, what one should I use and what temp and for how many minutes/hours? I tried it once using convection at 175 bc that's the lowest it will go, and after hAlf hr the top of the soap came out all bubbley like, and rough feeling. To high a temp maybe?



2. I have a batch came out great so far, gelled perfect only problem is the scent is completely gone so I'll never use that scent ever again fyi it was by rustic escentuals called candy cane cupcake, after day 5 of curing the scent was gone, what should I do with the soap, how do I "rebatch" soap?



3. Ive done a few milk instead of water, the 1st time I did it I used goats milk and it stayed liquid like, unfortunately the 2nd time I tired it and 3rd time I used coconut milk, once I got all the lye mixed in and it cooled down to about 90 degrees it went thick on me almost to the point of pudding, why did this happen? I didn't do anything different, will that affect the the quality of the soap if I were to still have used it? I ended up throwing it out wasting both milk and lye



4. Is it OK to use stearic acid in all my recipes to help make the bar harder?



5. Sodium lactate is pricey so can I use white vinegar instead since it's so much cheaper?



6. Bc I have so many scents that have a vanillin in it and the brambleberry vanilla stabilizer is only used with mp is there something else I can use or is there a stabilzer that works best for cp?



7. I've tried different ingredients to play around with on the soapee calc to tried and get the bubbley as high as possible and the longevity a high number, what oils work best for this?



8. Bc of the experience I had with the 1 scent I used, I heard adding kaolin clay will help bind the scent to that after its done curing the scent will stick. Is this true and if so how much do I use?



Sorry for all the questions

1. Most just turn their oven on when they start making the soap and turn it off when the soap goes n and leave the door shut. I don't CPOP as I can obtain gel without the oven.

2. Some scents just don't stick. Haven't found anything that makes them stick so, I use those for other things. Sometimes the scent will come back after cure or at least when used in the shower.

3. It's the fats in the milk saponifying. Hats mostly why I do the split method and add the milk and powdered milk to my oils and mix my lye with water.

4. I've not used it in anything but shave soap so no help.

5. I use SL it doesn't take much. Salt will help too. 1 tsp ppo added to your water and dissolved before adding lye. I've not used vinegar

6. I haven't found that VS lasts long term so I just work with it. I frequently leave part of my batter unscented and colored then swirl that into my scented batter. Has worked well for me. Plus VS is expensive. WSP carries it.

7. Bubbly is CO, PKO and Babassu. Too much of these can be drying. As for longevity I use lard or Palm. High CO soap will dissolve quicker.

8. I have not found this to be true in my experience. However, I also avoid faders.

 

[Desirae]

1. Most just turn their oven on when they start making the soap and turn it off when the soap goes n and leave the door shut. I don't CPOP as I can obtain gel without the oven.

2. Some scents just don't stick. Haven't found anything that makes them stick so, I use those for other things. Sometimes the scent will come back after cure or at least when used in the shower.

3. It's the fats in the milk saponifying. Hats mostly why I do the split method and add the milk and powdered milk to my oils and mix my lye with water.

4. I've not used it in anything but shave soap so no help.

5. I use SL it doesn't take much. Salt will help too. 1 tsp ppo added to your water and dissolved before adding lye. I've not used vinegar

6. I haven't found that VS lasts long term so I just work with it. I frequently leave part of my batter unscented and colored then swirl that into my scented batter. Has worked well for me. Plus VS is expensive. WSP carries it.

7. Bubbly is CO, PKO and Babassu. Too much of these can be drying. As for longevity I use lard or Palm. High CO soap will dissolve quicker.

8. I have not found this to be true in my experience. However, I also avoid faders.

Ok I'll do that when trying the cpop, for me when I try to get, I end up with it only partially gelling and then I have a batch of soap that looks awful
Thanks for the other tips and what is pko?

Also can you go into a little more detail with how you do your milk based batch? Do u cut back on your water amount since adding the milk also? And do you add the milk before or after trace? Also lastly sorry for the stupid question but if you added only the milk powder to the batter how is that still milk when it's only powder, I know I've read other posts where they say to add 1 or 2 tbs of powder to the powder but my confusion is how is that considered adding milk when it's only a tiny little bit of powder that hasn't even been made into milk. I hope you understand what I'm asking lol

 

[kchaystack]

1. What temp should I use for coop? My oven is both a convection and regular oven, what one should I use and what temp and for how many minutes/hours? I tried it once using convection at 175 bc that's the lowest it will go, and after hAlf hr the top of the soap came out all bubbley like, and rough feeling. To high a temp maybe?

To use your oven to force gel, head the over to its lowest temp. Place your soap and mold into the over and turn the over off and leave it as the over cools. Don't open the door if you can help it - use the light and window to make sure it is not overheating and turning into a volcano. I would put it on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper so if it does, you do not make a huge mess in the oven.

2. I have a batch came out great so far, gelled perfect only problem is the scent is completely gone so I'll never use that scent ever again fyi it was by rustic escentuals called candy cane cupcake, after day 5 of curing the scent was gone, what should I do with the soap, how do I "rebatch" soap?

You could rebatch, or just grate it up with a cheese grater or food processor and use it to make confetti soap.

3. Ive done a few milk instead of water, the 1st time I did it I used goats milk and it stayed liquid like, unfortunately the 2nd time I tired it and 3rd time I used coconut milk, once I got all the lye mixed in and it cooled down to about 90 degrees it went thick on me almost to the point of pudding, why did this happen? I didn't do anything different, will that affect the the quality of the soap if I were to still have used it? I ended up throwing it out wasting both milk and lye

The milk had more fat in it than the previous ones, so that fat started to saponify. Its normal and you could have used it with no problems.

4. Is it OK to use stearic acid in all my recipes to help make the bar harder?

Stearic acid is very difficult to use in CP soaps. You have to soap hotter and it causes accelerated trace. There are other ways to harden soap - force gelling, adding a teaspoon of salt per pound of oil to your liquid before you add the lye will also help.

5. Sodium lactate is pricey so can I use white vinegar instead since it's so much cheaper?

Here is a thread about using vingar:

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=59148&highlight=vinegar

6. Bc I have so many scents that have a vanillin in it and the brambleberry vanilla stabilizer is only used with mp is there something else I can use or is there a stabilzer that works best for cp?

Not really. Even vanilla stabilizer will only delay the discoloration, not prevent it. Its best to just plan for it in your design and go with it.

7. I've tried different ingredients to play around with on the soapee calc to tried and get the bubbley as high as possible and the longevity a high number, what oils work best for this?

Sigh. I wish the would take the labels off those numbers. There are several threads about them on this forum that go into it.

Basically there are 3 oils that are considered the bubbly oils. Coconut, palm kernal and babassu. But they also can be drying to the skin if you do not balance the fatty acid content of the soap.

You can add 5 -10% castor oil to help stabilize the lather. You can also use some kind of sugar (cane sugar, honey, milk, aloe juice for example) to boost your bubbles. Using sugar can cause acceleration and overheating so you have to watch the soap until you are comfortable with your recipe and FO.

8. Bc of the experience I had with the 1 scent I used, I heard adding kaolin clay will help bind the scent to that after its done curing the scent will stick. Is this true and if so how much do I use?

This is another thing that is very subjective. Most people on the forum have not found that clay anchors scent at all. Some report it works great. No way to tell if it will work for you unless you try.

I add it sometimes for a light exfoliant (I can feel it in my bars). I use a tablespoon per pound of oil.

Sorry for all the questions

No problem. Better to ask than to not.

 

[earlene]

So my 1st real batch has hit its 4 week mark I used color and scent. And it came out perfect, my only problem stupid me can't find the recipe I used that I would love to make my permanent recipe, I got large bubbles smells great so now I have no clue what to do bc I can't find the recipe I do know I used gv shortening, CO, OO but can't remember what else so right now I'm hating myself big time. So I have a few questions of different topics so thought it best to post here in 1 single post and hope you all don't mind.

1. What temp should I use for coop? My oven is both a convection and regular oven, what one should I use and what temp and for how many minutes/hours? I tried it once using convection at 175 bc that's the lowest it will go, and after hAlf hr the top of the soap came out all bubbley like, and rough feeling. To high a temp maybe?

2. I have a batch came out great so far, gelled perfect only problem is the scent is completely gone so I'll never use that scent ever again fyi it was by rustic escentuals called candy cane cupcake, after day 5 of curing the scent was gone, what should I do with the soap, how do I "rebatch" soap?

3. Ive done a few milk instead of water, the 1st time I did it I used goats milk and it stayed liquid like, unfortunately the 2nd time I tired it and 3rd time I used coconut milk, once I got all the lye mixed in and it cooled down to about 90 degrees it went thick on me almost to the point of pudding, why did this happen? I didn't do anything different, will that affect the the quality of the soap if I were to still have used it? I ended up throwing it out wasting both milk and lye

4. Is it OK to use stearic acid in all my recipes to help make the bar harder?

5. Sodium lactate is pricey so can I use white vinegar instead since it's so much cheaper?

6. Bc I have so many scents that have a vanillin in it and the brambleberry vanilla stabilizer is only used with mp is there something else I can use or is there a stabilzer that works best for cp?

7. I've tried different ingredients to play around with on the soapee calc to tried and get the bubbley as high as possible and the longevity a high number, what oils work best for this?

8. Bc of the experience I had with the 1 scent I used, I heard adding kaolin clay will help bind the scent to that after its done curing the scent will stick. Is this true and if so how much do I use?

Sorry for all the questions

Your green soap is very pretty.

Question #1. Did you turn off the oven after it heated up. The trick is to pre-heat the oven, then turn it off before/when putting in the soap. Cover the soap while in the oven (cardboard top, towel or inverted cardboard box - whatever fits) to keep the heat in the soap so it will gel. LEAVE the soap undisturbed for several hours or overnight. Do Not open the oven door as the heat escapes, until the next morning or several hours later. Leave the oven light on if it produces heat (some do, some don't).
I have no experience with convection oven, although I understand that a continuous hot air flow speeds up the cook process. I don't think you want that if your lowest setting is 170, though.

Question #2. Non-scented soap is still soap and is fine to use. I wouldn't rebatch it all. I'd keep at least one or two bars for testing purposes. You can learn a lot from the soap as it ages.


Question #5. Others have more experience with using white vinegar. I have only just started experimenting with it and am too much of a novice to the inside and outside of vinegar in soap to explain it well.

 

[Desirae]

To use your oven to force gel, head the over to its lowest temp. Place your soap and mold into the over and turn the over off and leave it as the over cools. Don't open the door if you can help it - use the light and window to make sure it is not overheating and turning into a volcano. I would put it on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper so if it does, you do not make a huge mess in the oven.




You could rebatch, or just grate it up with a cheese grater or food processor and use it to make confetti soap.



The milk had more fat in it than the previous ones, so that fat started to saponify. Its normal and you could have used it with no problems.




Stearic acid is very difficult to use in CP soaps. You have to soap hotter and it causes accelerated trace. There are other ways to harden soap - force gelling, adding a teaspoon of salt per pound of oil to your liquid before you add the lye will also help.



Here is a thread about using vingar:

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=59148&highlight=vinegar





Not really. Even vanilla stabilizer will only delay the discoloration, not prevent it. Its best to just plan for it in your design and go with it.



Sigh. I wish the would take the labels off those numbers. There are several threads about them on this forum that go into it.

Basically there are 3 oils that are considered the bubbly oils. Coconut, palm kernal and babassu. But they also can be drying to the skin if you do not balance the fatty acid content of the soap.

You can add 5 -10% castor oil to help stabilize the lather. You can also use some kind of sugar (cane sugar, honey, milk, aloe juice for example) to boost your bubbles. Using sugar can cause acceleration and overheating so you have to watch the soap until you are comfortable with your recipe and FO.



This is another thing that is very subjective. Most people on the forum have not found that clay anchors scent at all. Some report it works great. No way to tell if it will work for you unless you try.

I add it sometimes for a light exfoliant (I can feel it in my bars). I use a tablespoon per pound of oil.




No problem. Better to ask than to not.

Oh my gosh thank you thank you, you are a saint sent to me. I'll just hour for the best and when using titanium dioxide I won't scent that portion of my batter to avoid the ugly browning. I think I'll avoid the sugar but will try the salt idea. As with the stearic is it ok to melt it with my butters and oils ? The recipe I used it in I did that and it called for such a small amount I'm not sure if it even made a difference . It was a 42 oz batch and I used only .4 so less then half an oz, or should I avoid using it all together .
For the milk since you said the fat caused it, if my recipe calls for 12 oz of water will my lye solution be less likely to thicken to pudding if I used 6 oz of water and 6 oz of milk this way I'm still using the milk for the creaminess ? What I find odd with my milks being different fats is that I used powdered goats milk and rather then making it each time and chance it not made right each time I made up a batch big enough to use in 4 different batches, besides measuring water to powder ratio was a pain then mixing it well enough was an even bigger pain in the neck. That's why I was actually considering using p remade no more measuring lol but if I do that should I do half water half milk and will that help it from becoming pudding on me?

Thanks for all your advice

 

[shunt2011]

Ok I'll do that when trying the cpop, for me when I try to get, I end up with it only partially gelling and then I have a batch of soap that looks awful
Thanks for the other tips and what is pko?

Also can you go into a little more detail with how you do your milk based batch? Do u cut back on your water amount since adding the milk also? And do you add the milk before or after trace? Also lastly sorry for the stupid question but if you added only the milk powder to the batter how is that still milk when it's only powder, I know I've read other posts where they say to add 1 or 2 tbs of powder to the powder but my confusion is how is that considered adding milk when it's only a tiny little bit of powder that hasn't even been made into milk. I hope you understand what I'm asking lol

I add enough milk powder to make equal full milk amount. I use the same amount of water as lye to dissolve my lye. Then I use the rest of the required liquid amount in milk. I add my powdered milk to the liquid milk to equal full when added. Then I stickblend that into my oils before adding my cooled lye mixture.

PKO is Palm Kernel Oil (flakes) Have similar property as Coconut. Can be too cleansing in too high amount. I like to use it in conjunction with my Coconut but have recently run out so just using CO.

 

[kchaystack]

Oh my gosh thank you thank you, you are a saint sent to me. I'll just hour for the best and when using titanium dioxide I won't scent that portion of my batter to avoid the ugly browning. I think I'll avoid the sugar but will try the salt idea. As with the stearic is it ok to melt it with my butters and oils ? The recipe I used it in I did that and it called for such a small amount I'm not sure if it even made a difference . It was a 42 oz batch and I used only .4 so less then half an oz, or should I avoid using it all together .

You are welcome.

I don't think the browning is ugly - if you plan for it. We did a challenge on here with discoloring FO's and they were really pretty. Here are the pics of everyone's entries:
http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=56326

I would avoid stearic acid. At least until you are much more comfortable with the process. I only use stearic acid in shave soap, but that is hot process soap and is a different beast.

For the milk since you said the fat caused it, if my recipe calls for 12 oz of water will my lye solution be less likely to thicken to pudding if I used 6 oz of water and 6 oz of milk this way I'm still using the milk for the creaminess ? What I find odd with my milks being different fats is that I used powdered goats milk and rather then making it each time and chance it not made right each time I made up a batch big enough to use in 4 different batches, besides measuring water to powder ratio was a pain then mixing it well enough was an even bigger pain in the neck. That's why I was actually considering using p remade no more measuring lol but if I do that should I do half water half milk and will that help it from becoming pudding on me?

Thanks for all your advice

If your recipe calls for 12 oz of water, you would use 12 oz of milk and no water.

Or, like shunt said, you split your lye solution. Add water = to the weight of your NaOH. Then the rest of your water amount you use milk, add it to your oils and stick blend well before you add your lye.

If you want to fortify your milk with extra powdered milk, you can do that.

This keeps your milk from scorching from the heat of the lye, and you do not have to mess with freezing your milk and using an ice bath when you make your lye. I've done that, it is a pain.

You can also just add enough powdered milk to your oils before you add your lye and mix it well. When you add your lye the water in the lye will hydrate the powdered milk. Again this prevents scorching anything

 

[Desirae]

Your green soap is very pretty.

Question #1. Did you turn off the oven after it heated up. The trick is to pre-heat the oven, then turn it off before/when putting in the soap. Cover the soap while in the oven (cardboard top, towel or inverted cardboard box - whatever fits) to keep the heat in the soap so it will gel. LEAVE the soap undisturbed for several hours or overnight. Do Not open the oven door as the heat escapes, until the next morning or several hours later. Leave the oven light on if it produces heat (some do, some don't).
I have no experience with convection oven, although I understand that a continuous hot air flow speeds up the cook process. I don't think you want that if your lowest setting is 170, though.

Question #2. Non-scented soap is still soap and is fine to use. I wouldn't rebatch it all. I'd keep at least one or two bars for testing purposes. You can learn a lot from the soap as it ages.


Question #5. Others have more experience with using white vinegar. I have only just started experimenting with it and am too much of a novice to the inside and outside of vinegar in soap to explain it well.

I have no problem using the sl I was just hoping that I could use something else that I can find in store rather then ordering online and was cheaper option too.

As for the oven, I read a few didn't places and it was mixed, I tried 1 of them which is the one I probably shouldn't have done, it said to turn on the oven to 175 degrees preheat then put the loaf in the oven with the oven on and 1 hr per lb, so I did that, nothing about covering it up. So I'll try it the way you told me to, my light bulb does not put off any heat. I only turn on my oven to preheat once it reaches temp put my loaf in with it covered up then turn off the oven and then leave it be for 24hrs, I got that right? And I could use that now unscented batch a few as gifts a few to make confetti out of, it was my 1 st try at making half the loaf 1 color and the other half another color so that I could attempt to swirl them a little bit, problem was it was too thick by the time I pulled out the cardboard that the soap actually would swirl together so half of it is white and other half is red, hence the candy cane cupcake fo I chose, I'll take it as a learning curve and next time be sure to use a lighter trace

 

[navigator9]

One extra tip for CPOP...if you're using a silicone mold, preheat the mold too. Here's what I do. When I start soaping, I turn the oven on to it's lowest temp, and place the mold in there to warm up. Just before I'm ready to pour, I take the mold out, (now, it's nice and toasty) close the oven door, pour the soap into the mold, pop it into the oven, close the door again, and turn the oven off. Leave it in there, til the next morning, and I don't open the door. My soap gels all the way to the edges every time. I think it's possible that when people's soap doesn't gel all the way, they may not have pre heated the mold, too. Hope this helps.

P.S. I looooove the color of your soap. It may not be what you were aiming for, but it's a beautiful color for a bar of soap.

 

[Desirae]

You are welcome.

I don't think the browning is ugly - if you plan for it. We did a challenge on here with discoloring FO's and they were really pretty. Here are the pics of everyone's entries:
http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=56326

I would avoid stearic acid. At least until you are much more comfortable with the process. I only use stearic acid in shave soap, but that is hot process soap and is a different beast.





If your recipe calls for 12 oz of water, you would use 12 oz of milk and no water.

Or, like shunt said, you split your lye solution. Add water = to the weight of your NaOH. Then the rest of your water amount you use milk, add it to your oils and stick blend well before you add your lye.

If you want to fortify your milk with extra powdered milk, you can do that.

This keeps your milk from scorching from the heat of the lye, and you do not have to mess with freezing your milk and using an ice bath when you make your lye. I've done that, it is a pain.

You can also just add enough powdered milk to your oils before you add your lye and mix it well. When you add your lye the water in the lye will hydrate the powdered milk. Again this prevents scorching anything

Wow that's a good idea, idk why I never thought of that, we'll heck I'll just do that for now on when I use milk rather then water, thank you for that . With the other idea about adding water equal to lye, you mean that by if I need 4 oz lye then use 4 oz water and the rest milk?

 

[Desirae]

One extra tip for CPOP...if you're using a silicone mold, preheat the mold too. Here's what I do. When I start soaping, I turn the oven on to it's lowest temp, and place the mold in there to warm up. Just before I'm ready to pour, I take the mold out, (now, it's nice and toasty) close the oven door, pour the soap into the mold, pop it into the oven, close the door again, and turn the oven off. Leave it in there, til the next morning, and I don't open the door. My soap gels all the way to the edges every time. I think it's possible that when people's soap doesn't gel all the way, they may not have pre heated the mold, too. Hope this helps.

P.S. I looooove the color of your soap. It may not be what you were aiming for, but it's a beautiful color for a bar of soap.

Thank you for the compliment I appreciate that. So for my mold when I preheat it, which all my mold are silicone bc after I saw the $$ amount for the regular mold I almost spit my drink out every where $80 for a small 2lbs loaf in my book is way too much besides i tried to line a loaf lets just say it had wrinkles all over the place bc i couldnt get the freezer paper to lay flate in the corners, they wanted to overlap, especially when I can use that to buy stuff that I run out of, but my silicone molds are held in wood so will that be ok to put in the oven also or do I need to take out the silicone then after its time to use it have to use oven mittens to get it back in the wood so I don't burn my hands

 

[shunt2011]

Wow that's a good idea, idk why I never thought of that, we'll heck I'll just do that for now on when I use milk rather then water, thank you for that . With the other idea about adding water equal to lye, you mean that by if I need 4 oz lye then use 4 oz water and the rest milk?

Yes, that's what I do.

 

[shunt2011]

I have silicone molds that fit in wood boxes. You can put the whole thing in the oven. And I've yes, if it calls doe 4 oz of lye I dissolve it in 4 oz of water the rest is milk.

 

[kchaystack]

Wow that's a good idea, idk why I never thought of that, we'll heck I'll just do that for now on when I use milk rather then water, thank you for that . With the other idea about adding water equal to lye, you mean that by if I need 4 oz lye then use 4 oz water and the rest milk?

Yes, that is right.

Here is what I do. I would not suggest trying this until you are pretty comfortable with making soap.

I master batch my lye at 50% concentration and usually make 1kg (so 500 g NaOH and 500 g water) at a time. I keep it stored in a well washed laundry detergent bottle. This means my lye is always at room temp.

When I make soap, I pour out twice what the calculator says is my amount of lye ( since it is a 50% concentration you need 2 times as much solution to get the right amount of lye) and then I add the lye weight of aloe juice. This makes a 33% lye solution - which is what I like to soap at.

Adding the aloe does make the lye heat up a bit - but never as much as mixing it fresh.

All my other additives (if I add any) go into my oils and get a good blast with my stick blender. I will sometimes add kaolin clay, powdered goat milk, sodium lactate. I don't usually use sugar or honey.

 

[penelopejane]

I follow shunts post 9 for milk soap. It's easy and works well.

For CPOP I would personally not preheat my silicone mold. A lot of people have had problems with silicone molds being overheated and getting blisters that never go away.

I put my mold in a cardboard box that fits it (would love a wooden one!) then wrap it in a blanket and put it in the oven (which is turned off) and leave it overnight.

I put it in when the oven is 40* C (102* F). It does not matter what temp you preheat any oven to. You let it cool until it gets to this temp. You can be a micro manager like me and use a thermometer or you can use your hand - it is the temp of a very hot day.

If you overheat your soap it will be leathery and a funky smell forever ie: ruined.

 

[navigator9]

Thank you for the compliment I appreciate that. So for my mold when I preheat it, which all my mold are silicone bc after I saw the $$ amount for the regular mold I almost spit my drink out every where $80 for a small 2lbs loaf in my book is way too much besides i tried to line a loaf lets just say it had wrinkles all over the place bc i couldnt get the freezer paper to lay flate in the corners, they wanted to overlap, especially when I can use that to buy stuff that I run out of, but my silicone molds are held in wood so will that be ok to put in the oven also or do I need to take out the silicone then after its time to use it have to use oven mittens to get it back in the wood so I don't burn my hands

I can only give you my personal experience...I have molds from several different suppliers, Upland, Nurture Soaps, Ebay, Aliexpress, and I preheat them all in the oven in their wooden boxes. I've not had a problem with the boxes or the silicone molds. The lowest setting on my oven is 170 degrees. I don't need to use potholders when I move them, in their boxes. And I have never gotten blisters or pock marks on my soap. Ever. The sides of my soap that touch the silicone come out smooth as glass. I'd say try it with one of your molds and see how it works for you. That's the only way you'll be able to tell for sure.

 

[Desirae]

I can only give you my personal experience...I have molds from several different suppliers, Upland, Nurture Soaps, Ebay, Aliexpress, and I preheat them all in the oven in their wooden boxes. I've not had a problem with the boxes or the silicone molds. The lowest setting on my oven is 170 degrees. I don't need to use potholders when I move them, in their boxes. And I have never gotten blisters or pock marks on my soap. Ever. The sides of my soap that touch the silicone come out smooth as glass. I'd say try it with one of your molds and see how it works for you. That's the only way you'll be able to tell for sure.

Most of my molds I've bought from amazon, I did buy 1 from wholesale supplies, I am making a batch tonight and will definitely use your method for sure. Out of curiosity, since 2 of my mold are silicone with the wooden box, can the box itself be used as a mold itself as long as I line it with freezer paper? Just wondering since it would allow more batter for my batch. My mold is made to fit 42 oz and when I make my batter I always always have extra left over to put in another mold that I have that will hold up to 16oz as there individual pockets, I'd like to try and make all the batter fit one 1 mold so I only have 1 mold to clean rather then 2