Anyone else CPOP?

[Soapy Gurl]

I started using the CPOP technique last year (cold process oven process) after someone told me about it. I tend to get a little impatient waiting for my soap to cure and have had great luck with it. Is anyone else using it?

I keep reading about overheating on here and I don't know what that is. I am purposely heating my soap. It stays hot/warm for about 18 hours and then I un-mold it.

 

[busymakinsoap!]

It depends, I usually gell, so keep an eye on my soap - if its gelling really slowly or its cold here I pop it in the oven just to make sure, I do this instead of wrapping in towels.
If it's heating to quickly I try and cool it.

My soap seems to have a mind of its own these days, which is super frustrating :roll:

 

[Soapy Gurl]

I put it in the oven for 1 hour at warm (175), turn off the oven and just leave the soap in the warm oven til the next day. We have huge temp differences in the seasons, high 90s in the summer and even 20s as the high in the winter. Going from dry to wet, I need to soap more regularly to figure out how everything effects it.

 

[nattynoo]

I like it to get a perfectly even gel.
I leave the oven on the very lowest till it hits a perfectly even gel then turn it off.

 

[Dragonkaz]

In summer I wrap my soap moulds in towels and in winter I put it in the oven for two hours ... a bit under 50 C ... guessing it's more like 47 C or 48 C.

 

[LauraHoosier]

To your questions on over heating is where it can bubble up in the mold, like a volcano, or if in the over it could mean too high oven temp and you get alligator skin like I did so depending on which one they're really both easy to deal with in CPOP.

After hitting some snags myself with just starting to use CPOP I have found out that if I preheat the oven to 170F, my lowest setting, then shutting it off before putting in my molds I don't get alligator skin anymore. Leaving the heat on at 170F was too much and ended up cooking the soap instead of helping along gel so no more leaving on then oven heat.

As for overheating as in the soap gets super hot while gelling you can sometimes tell it might happen when you mold it as it sets up really fast and your bowl is really hot to tough. When that happens I leave it on the counter, I use the Crafter's Choice pink 12 bar mold, crack the oven door to lower the inside temp so I don't make it bubble over the sides then place the soap inside and close the door. I peek in on it more often though.

I've had the volcano-ish bubbling up or heaving in the middle of soap but only in CP and that's not what you mentioned using so I'll skip it unless you want to know anyways

 

[jcandleattic]

To your questions on over heating is where it can bubble up in the mold, like a volcano, or if in the over it could mean too high oven temp and you get alligator skin like I did so depending on which one they're really both easy to deal with in CPOP.

After hitting some snags myself with just starting to use CPOP I have found out that if I preheat the oven to 170F, my lowest setting, then shutting it off before putting in my molds I don't get alligator skin anymore. Leaving the heat on at 170F was too much and ended up cooking the soap instead of helping along gel so no more leaving on then oven heat.

As for overheating as in the soap gets super hot while gelling you can sometimes tell it might happen when you mold it as it sets up really fast and your bowl is really hot to tough. When that happens I leave it on the counter, I use the Crafter's Choice pink 12 bar mold, crack the oven door to lower the inside temp so I don't make it bubble over the sides then place the soap inside and close the door. I peek in on it more often though.

I've had the volcano-ish bubbling up or heaving in the middle of soap but only in CP and that's not what you mentioned using so I'll skip it unless you want to know anyways

In addition to all of this - overheated soap can also separate and be ruined by beoming a mass of floating oils - unless you take it out and then HP it.

 

[carebear]

still benefits greatly from a 4 week cure.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

I do it too. I also do textured tops. Every now and again (depending on recipe and fragrance oil used) the loaf will overheat and the tops will flop or there will be a pool of oil on top. I mainly just turn the oven off when I put the soap in and the residual heat is enough to achieve gel. I still check the soap every 10 minutes for a while and if it gels quickly, it can come out of the oven. :wink:

 

[MissMori]

I do, but not always. I do it more in the winter to insure a gel all the way to the corners of the mold. The soap still needs a 4 week cure.

I have had mine over heat... when I didn't check the temp of the oven prior to putting the soap in. Minor over heat leads to a volcano in the middle of the soap, major over heat and you can get separations, lye pockets, or bubbles.

 

[my2scents]

I always do it & I also do textured tops, I do as the others do & I even do my goats milk soap in the oven. I still usually cure for 3-4 weeks anyway.

 

[LauraHoosier]

In addition to all of this - overheated soap can also separate and be ruined by beoming a mass of floating oils - unless you take it out and then HP it.

Yup that happened with 1 batch and I messed up another on the same day so I get to try rebatching again. I had way too many distractions (people) around and couldn't get away from it (saying "Not now. Soaping" wasn't heard) and instead of setting my hot lye solution into the ice bath I dumped it into my oils. The "UGH!" resulted in apologies and hubby cleared the kitchen out. I was starting to hurt so dragging out the crockpot wasn't an option just then.

I think God's trying to tell me I really need to really learn rebatching That's how I choose to see it lol.

 

[tryanything]

In addition to all of this - overheated soap can also separate and be ruined by beoming a mass of floating oils - unless you take it out and then HP it.

How do you know if this is ruined? I just had a batch of goatsmilk soap overheat. It gelled in about 10 minutes and was pretty much liquid when I took it out of the oven (I shouldn't have even put it in in the first place). I took it down to my basement and left it to cool overnight. It's hard now with the alligator skin but I don't mind. I'm going to try to shave the top off. There is some slight discoloration, darker in the middle than the outside, but I think that might be the FO (vanilla). Other than zap test is there anything I need to look for to see if the soap is ruined?

 

[jcandleattic]

In addition to all of this - overheated soap can also separate and be ruined by beoming a mass of floating oils - unless you take it out and then HP it.

How do you know if this is ruined? I just had a batch of goatsmilk soap overheat. It gelled in about 10 minutes and was pretty much liquid when I took it out of the oven (I shouldn't have even put it in in the first place). I took it down to my basement and left it to cool overnight. It's hard now with the alligator skin but I don't mind. I'm going to try to shave the top off. There is some slight discoloration, darker in the middle than the outside, but I think that might be the FO (vanilla). Other than zap test is there anything I need to look for to see if the soap is ruined?

That sounds like it's going to be okay. What I was talking about is separation due to overheating where it stays a separated mess and the floating oils never saponify with the lye. the only way it would combine again, is by cooking or rebatching it.

 

[Soapy Gurl]

Okay, this makes sense now. I have had one batch crack on top and one separate. Both before I started the CPOP method. I tried making soap with coconut milk, replacing part of the water with it and mixing it directly with the oils. That had separated oils on top. But then it was mostly the fragrance on top, BB's Lettuce (ick). I am still afraid to try coconut milk again!

 

[carebear]

That sounds like it's going to be okay. What I was talking about is separation due to overheating where it stays a separated mess and the floating oils never saponify with the lye. the only way it would combine again, is by cooking or rebatching it.

that level of separation sounds more like it wasn't completely emulsified in the first place. and then yes, absolutely it would need to be rebatched.