difference between gelled and non-gelled soap

I'm really embarrassed by not knowing this but what is the difference between gelled and non- gelled soap please? I want to amass as much info' as possible before I start making soaps, so I can make informed decisions.
Thanks-Trish

When the saponification reaction gets going, it generates heat. Some oils, FOs, recipes, molds, and batch sizes encourage this to happen. When it gets hot enough, the soap goes through a gel phase, and the end resulting soap looks darker and just a touch translucent. Non-gelled soaps are lighter and opaque. Here is a link to a picture I took of two bars of the same soap, from the same batch, that gelled and didn't. The bar on the left didn't gel, the one on the right did. I used two different molds, and encouraged gel on the one mold.



The reason to encourage gel is it is often hard to prevent gel from happening, yet soap often will not gel through to the edges, leaving you with a soap that is darker in the middle and lighter and opaque at the edges. You can encourage gel by warming the oven (I think to about 170 degrees F), then turning it off and putting your freshly poured soap in the oven. I encourage gel by wrapping my mold with a space blanket (which is really just a sheet of mylar), and then with a towel. To try to prevent gel, you can put the mold in the refridgerator or freezer and leave it there for a few hours (or in the fridge overnight). That won't guarantee you'll prevent gel. I've done that and ended up with a partially gelled soap.

Many thanks kelleyaynn, ...That's one more question answered.

So why would I or why wouldn't I want to let my soap gel? I don't quite understand why one would or wouldn't want their soap to gel or not. Guess I am thick headed here!!

It's a matter of personal preference. I prefer not to gel. My fragrances morph less and the soap comes out lighter.

alabama49 said:

So why would I or why wouldn't I want to let my soap gel? I don't quite understand why one would or wouldn't want their soap to gel or not. Guess I am thick headed here!!

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As soapbuddy said, it's a matter of aesthetic preference. Do you prefer the look of the lighter, opaque non-gelled soap enough to do what you can to inhibit gelling?

Personally, I like the looks of both, but unless I'm doing a really small batch (like 1 lb), I just encourage gel because for me I like the gelled look enough that it isn't worth the hassle of trying to make sure it doesn't gel. I've never had a problem with ensuring soap gelled, but I have had soap partially gel even though I tried to prevent it.

Photos

I tried to click on the photos of your gel and non gel soap however the photos only have the blue box with question mark. Please help. Thank you for the well thought out article.

alabama49 said:

So why would I or why wouldn't I want to let my soap gel? I don't quite understand why one would or wouldn't want their soap to gel or not. Guess I am thick headed here!!

Click to expand...

It's a personal preference. For example, some people can get gorgeous creamy off-white milk soaps by preventing gel. (Not me, milk soaps are NOT my strong point!) Some people prefer a darker tan of gelled milk soaps.

I prefer to gel b/c the soap is harder sooner and I'm able to unmold sooner.

alabama49 said:

So why would I or why wouldn't I want to let my soap gel? I don't quite understand why one would or wouldn't want their soap to gel or not. Guess I am thick headed here!!

Click to expand...

Hello! Some recipes, like mine, tend to heat-up quickly in the mold. Since I have very little room in a fridge or freezer I let the soap batter do it's gel thing. If you have room in your freezer give it a try and see what you like. I never tried it for I am very happy how my soap turns out. (Part of that "if it aint broke don't fix it" oldtime philosophy.)

As for being thick headed.... fear not, there are plenty of us here (including me!) There's no fun in being soft headed.