Question on CPOP

[Loolee]

I've been doing a lot of CPOP lately and have really been happy with the results. However.


Last night the soap separated. Normally, in HP, I'd just stick blend it back together. But this soap has some cool swirls and designs that I don't want to lose.

So, will the oil reabsorb, or will I have to rebatch it?
and is there any way to prevent this from happening?


As an aside.... if the lye saponifies the oil, if it *changes* the oil, then how can it separate?

 

[judymoody]

I guess that it depends how badly it separated. If it's just a little bit greasy on the surface, it will probably reabsorb. If it's one chalky hard layer and one greasy oily layer, then rebatch. If there are pockets weeping fluid, then rebatch.

Somebody else may be able to explain the chemistry behind this better but excessive heat (especially in combination with heating ingredients like milks, beer, and certain FOs or EOs can cause the emulsion of lye and oils to break down and separate back into their constituent parts, either partially or entirely.

Sorry your soap didn't turn out as planned. Disaster always seems to strike when the swirls are at their most perfect!

I don't do much CPOP but when I have, I just preheat the oven at the lowest setting and then turn it off when the soap goes in. It gives the soap a boost towards gel but rarely overheats to the point of being unusable or unsafe.

Hope this helps!

 

[Loolee]

I see! That does make sense... this was a coconut fragrance and I added some coconut cream to it. So maybe that made the difference.

This did completely separate. I rebatched it last night and it seems ok. funny thing was that it was super smooth when I rebatched... so smooth, you almost can't tell its HP.

I'll try it your way and see how that goes.

Thanks!

 

[jiroband]

Lately, I've been doing CPOP for everything except for my recipes with goat milk (GM). (For GM soap, I combine my GM and lye mixture chilled to around 45 degrees with my oils at room temperature. For GM soap, I want to PREVENT the gel stage in order to keep the soap as light as possible.) Sorry for the diversion. Anyway, as it turns out, I’ve been doing exactly as Judymoody suggested – I preheat the oven to its lowest setting (170 degrees for mine – takes about 4 minutes before the buzzer goes off), then put in the soap mold and immediately turn off the oven. I just leave it alone (do not open to check on it) for about 8 hours – until the oven has cooled back down to room temperature. This has worked perfectly for me. Best of luck!