To Gel or not to Gel....that is the question

[Kamela]

I was just curious....I know some soapers don't gel their soap...why is that? I thought soap gelled whether you wanted it to or not....I didn't think you could control that stage of soap making.

 

[judymoody]

You can suppress gel (or attempt to!) by putting your soap in the frig or freezer after it's poured into the mold.

Advantages:

If you do a milk-based soap it will limit discoloration.

Some people prefer the creamy opaque look of ungelled soap to the more translucent look of gelled soap.

If you are using a delicate fragrance, it is less likely to morph. I gel most of my soap except when I use citrus essential oils and then I try to prevent it. It doesn't always work though. I've gotten partial gel in the refrigerator!

 

[Genny]

Some batches I want the colors to be more pastel, so those I stick in the fridge so they don't gel. There's a couple fo's that I use that tend to overheat, so those I stick in the freezer.

 

[SueSoap]

When I use milk in my recipe in place of water - I chill my mold prior to adding the traced soap to it. I do not place it back in the fridge, but I also do not insulate it. This usually avoids gel and leaves my milk soaps more white/creamy-looking.

 

[soapcakes]

Also, if you use honey in your soap, it could develop orange spots if the honey overheats during gelling.

Like the others I only prevent gel sometimes (usually if I use milk, honey or something sugary in the soap). To prevent gel, I put my soaps in the freezer for the first 2 hours and then overnight in the fridge. My ungelled soaps however tend to be softer and need an extra day in the mold before I cut them.

 

[Kamela]

Thank you so much for all the great info! I was always wondering about not gelling but now it does make more sense to me! You guys are all so wonderful to share info with us newbies!

 

[danahuff]

I usually gel, but after my goat milk honey oatmeal soap went awry last weekend, I don't plan to gel that one anymore. I had oil pockets. When I rebatched the soap, it turned out pretty ugly. Yeah, too much aggravation. I made a soap with banana and coconut milk today, so I put it in the fridge. I am also going to put the next baby bastille soap I make in the fridge (I made this one with goat milk, but want to try buttermilk). I let my last one gel, and it came out kind of yellow. It's weird because I let a chocolate milk soap I made with baker's chocolate and whole milk gel, and it came out beautifully. I guess maybe goat milk has more sugar? Not sure.

I know some folks don't gel so that the color stays lighter, as the others have said, but I don't mind the colors that result when I gel.

 

[IrishLass]

I prefer to gel all my batches, even my goat milk batches, which come out nicely off-white in spite of gel (I use the split method of milk soaping, which i believe helps in this regard). The only time my gelled milk batches turn tan is when I add honey to them (or a discoloring FO).

IrishLass

 

[Cosmo]

I agree with irishlass. I gel all of my soaps. If I am making a soap that tends to overheat, I will keep a very close eye on it and throw it in the freezer if it is in danger of getting too hot, but I will still gel.

I don't like the soft texture of ungelled soaps. It feels funky to me, plus I like the more translucent look of gelled soaps.

 

[AngelMomma]

I prefer to gel all my batches, even my goat milk batches, which come out nicely off-white in spite of gel (I use the split method of milk soaping, which i believe helps in this regard). The only time my gelled milk batches turn tan is when I add honey to them (or a discoloring FO).

IrishLass

IrishLass, what do you mean by the "split method of milk soaping"??? I made some goats-milk soap awhile back. After I poured it into the mold I left it uncovered until it was hard the next day. It came out a gorgeous light caramel color. Although it did have a thin layer of ash on it, that was easily trimmed off. I just started using it and it is so NICE! I am trying to be SURE that I know as many ins and outs of the milk based soaps.......I have a Milk and Honey recipe I want to try. I think I am only going to add 1 Tablespoon of the honey though, so I don't have TOO much extra sugar in it. I am going to use a tray, silicone mold. Even though I didn't have any troubles with overheating last time......maybe with the added honey I should refrigerate the mold before pour??? Or just maybe just pour and cover surface with parchment? I want this soap to be FAB

 

[thefarmerdaughter]

I also do milk soaps and I believe what she means by 'split method' is 50/50 milk to h2o in your lye solution. It helps to cut down on the discoloration. I have soaped with goat milk this way, but i prefer 100% goat milk frozen, also helps keep milk soap light in color

 

[AngelMomma]

Ok, makes sense. With my last batch I used straight (almost frozen) goats milk and used an ice bath to keep temperatures down.

 

[danahuff]

OK, I did gel my most recent goat milk batch, and what seemed to work was to add less honey (only 1 T instead of 2) and to use a tray mold. I kept an eye on the temperature the whole time.

I have tried to put a few batches in the fridge, and I keep getting a partial gel. I have come to the conclusion it's better to just let it gel.

 

[Relle]

Are you freezing your GM before you start adding the lye ?

 

[thefarmerdaughter]

I have tried to put a few batches in the fridge, and I keep getting a partial gel. I have come to the conclusion it's better to just let it gel.

the last batch I made part of it went in the fridge, part left out and insulated. Maybe its my untrained eye but Im not noticing a big difference.

Are you freezing your GM before you start adding the lye ?

not sure if that was for me or angelmomma.... but yes thats what I ment

 

[AngelMomma]

I freeze the Goats Milk too.

 

[Dennis]

When I want to prevent gel my mold is placed in the freezer while getting everything ready to make a batch. I take it out just before pouring then put it back in the freezer for 24 hours then transfer to the fridge and keep an eye on how firm it becomes once thawed. Works well for me. Definitely a different feel and look. I have never been able to prevent gel by just putting it in the fridge.

 

[danahuff]

Dennis, that's a good tip. I did not chill my mold. I tried one batch in the freezer, but it was in the door, so I don't think it was cold enough. Maybe I will try it again soon as an experiment.

 

[ClaraSuds]

I made a batch today that looked like it was going to partial gel, the tell tale signs of just a translucent centre with no outward movement after 10 mins. So I put my oven on until it was about 50 degrees celsius and popped the soap in there, turned the oven off. After 30 mins the soap was completey gelled with no overheating. I didn't think this would actually work but was hopeful. Nice to know if you catch it in progress it can be corrected. :wink:

 

[thefarmerdaughter]

When I want to prevent gel my mold is placed in the freezer while getting everything ready to make a batch. I take it out just before pouring then put it back in the freezer for 24 hours

Just wondering are you using a fridge freezer or a deep freezer? I ask cause there's a difference in temps in mine, fridge around 32F deep freeze 0F.

I made a batch today that looked like it was going to partial gel, the tell tale signs of just a translucent centre with no outward movement after 10 mins. So I put my oven on until it was about 50 degrees celsius and popped the soap in there, turned the oven off. After 30 mins the soap was completey gelled with no overheating. I didn't think this would actually work but was hopeful. Nice to know if you catch it in progress it can be corrected.

nice save! good info, thanks