Okay, so I've gotten a couple batches out that I was real happy with the swirls, and others that trace came too fast and my ideas had to go out the window. Lately I've been soaping pretty hot and being lazier about my temps-heating base oils (OO/CO) just enough to melt the coconut, mixing the lye solution until it clears and letting it cool just a few minutes....this works for me in that I always get usable soap, but perhaps isn't the best when I need a thin trace for longer. I thought it would be thin for longer if I soaped hot, but apparently not? Any pointers? I use a very simple base, OO/CO 2:1, trace castor. Thanks for your words of wisdom!
Edit for additional question: How important is temping, just in general? For years before I ever picked up a bottle of lye, I read about soaping voraciously, and in the first book I ever read, and read over and over, temping instructions were VERY exacting. But I have found through my own e perimentation that you can still get great soap without being exact on temps, or even close.
Edit for additional question: How important is temping, just in general? For years before I ever picked up a bottle of lye, I read about soaping voraciously, and in the first book I ever read, and read over and over, temping instructions were VERY exacting. But I have found through my own e perimentation that you can still get great soap without being exact on temps, or even close.