Another disadvantage for a Newbie

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sethkaylyn

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I recently made two batches of CP soap. One has been curing for two weeks and the other only one week.
Just realized I am on my last store bought "Irish spring" bar of soap. I am not too happy about having to purchase more store bought soap when I have about 20 bars in my laundry room. LOL
 
Try the 2 week soap - it will give you an idea of how much better it gets at 4,6,8+ weeks


Thanks Seawolfe!
I did try it a few days ago. I had a small end piece that I used to wash my hands but it felt kind of sticky after so I figured it still has much curing to do.
 
I give my bars a test run WAY before the 4 week cure time. I just cut a 1/4 chunk out of one, and keep cutting chunks out of it until the batch is ready.

I'm not sure of the sticky feeling though. Do you have hard water?
 
I give my bars a test run WAY before the 4 week cure time. I just cut a 1/4 chunk out of one, and keep cutting chunks out of it until the batch is ready.

I'm not sure of the sticky feeling though. Do you have hard water?



I would say that we do have hard water. It may be the reason for the stickiness?
 
can be. or if you're not used to using handmade soap, there could be a bit of an adjustment period.
 
Hard water probably. If you search on the CP soap forum for "Hard Water" you will get a few ideas of the symptoms in regards to how the soap behaves when washing, and what people do.
 
I would start using from the oldest batch. Soap gets milder and harder the longer it cures, but after a couple of weeks, you can use it.
 
Why not try to make a HP soap? Those are the soaps that you can use a day or two after they are made, though they can still benefit from a nice cure.


I actually think that hp soaps are worse to start off with. Yes, you know they are safe from the moment you pour, but you use a lot more water and it shows. If anything, hp needs more of a cure. Water isn't everything, of course, but from the feel at one week old, hp seems to be generally softer than cp.

If I had to choose a week old soap, it would be a cp soap rather than a hp one
 
I am going to agree with the gent here. I learned from a friend who only did hp and I bought the book she used to get started. It wasn't till I found this wonderful forum and tried cp that I saw the difference. I realized I really don't like hp and I have found the cure time is much longer due to all that water. Stick with cp for a while and give a good 4-6 wk cure before really deciding on if you like your recipe.
 
Thanks everyone! I'll give it a try in a few days. I'll let y'all know the results.
 
What about Cold Process-Oven Process? Can't you use that right away too? Is the result closer to CP or HP?
 
What about Cold Process-Oven Process? Can't you use that right away too? Is the result closer to CP or HP?

Good thought, right? But there is a difference between safe to use, and good to use. While CPOP would be safe, it would not necessarily be good. It still needs to cure. And I would hate for a newbie to judge his/her first batch of soap harshly because it is not yet good. Good is after a 6-8 week cure.
 
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