Temps

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maggiemarieoc

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While making my first batch of CP soap today I got to the point where I was supposed to mix the oils and lye water and right before that I had panicked because I forgot to get my mold ready. So when I tested the temps of my oils and lye they were right around 117 F. Could this cause a problem. I've been told 130-140 F is optimal temp.
 
maggiemarieoc said:
While making my first batch of CP soap today I got to the point where I was supposed to mix the oils and lye water and right before that I had panicked because I forgot to get my mold ready. So when I tested the temps of my oils and lye they were right around 117 F. Could this cause a problem. I've been told 130-140 F is optimal temp.
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130-140 is quite hot. You actually did it at roughly the optimal temperature.
 
Really? Maybe I either wrote it down wrong or I was watching a tutorial that for some reason hotter was better. Well wish me luck? Will I be able to get a rough idea when unmold and set out to cure if I got it right for the most part? Or is there a chance it may seem perfectly fine and I won't know for 6 weeks?
 
As long as the soap is holding together and looking soap-like, it's fine. Temps are only really given so that there is at least an indication of where a newbie should aim for - you can soap very hot or very cold, depending on your recipe and requirements. For a newbie, it's easier to aim for a middle-of-the-road area rather than be faced with a huge open range of temperatures.

As to when it is able to cut, my stock answer is "When it is ready" - no meanness intended, but there are a lot of variables and so the best answer is to keep an eye on it and see. Some recipes and conditions need a very short time (salt bars need only a few hours!) whereas some can take a few days to be ready to be cut. Most will be about 12-24 hours, but I would suggest that you keep an eye on it so that you can find the best time for you and your recipe.
 
There is actually a technique called "room temp soaping" that many of us use. It's where your lye solution is at room temp, and your oils are just warm enough to prevent the hard oils from solidifying. This helps things move more slowly, so you have more time to work. With hotter temps, things will move faster. As for when to cut, if your soap gels, you can cut the following day. If it doesn't, it will take several days, I would keep zap testing until there's no more zap, and then cut. I think your soap is going to be just fine.
 
I room temp always. The only time I didn't was my first batch when my sneaky friend teaching me made me heat up and cool down (she was really making a point about lye safety - that stuff gets hot!)

My first few bars were in cavity molds just to make it easy to get a feel for unmolding time. I cut at 15 hours if I use sodium lactate and gel or at 24 hours if I just gel (forgetting the SL is a struggle). I have one fo that makes a sticky loaf so I have to wait an extra 12 hours to cut that one.
 
I too soap at room temp. It just seems to give me the time to work with my soap with little to no issues.

I can generally unmold between 8-15 hours. Sometimes it takes a bit longer as it takes longer for the gel process to get going especially when it's cold in the house.

You'll get a groove that will work best for you. Just takes time and good notes.
 

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