Bar vs Loaf in CP

[traderbren]

You will still need a 4 week cure with OP. Same with Hot Process. The soap might be *safe to use* sooner with CPOP or HP, but all soap benefits from a good cure. Oven Processing only encourages soap to go through the gel phase which speeds up saponification. It does not change the need for a minimum 4 week cure.

Edit: kchaystack types faster than me and beat me to it!

 

[MySoapyHeart]

I'm excited about the oven process/ no 4 week cure part.

Perhaps I am misunderstanding you here, but do you mean that since you CPOP your soap you think you don`t need the soap to cure at least 4 weeks?
Because it really does.

But if I misunderstood you I apologize.

ETA: someone answered just as I was typing my reply, lol

 

[ferret]

Nooooooooo. Crap. I guess that was wishful thinking. :cry:

 

[kchaystack]

Nooooooooo. Crap. I guess that was wishful thinking. :cry:

Nothing reduces the cure time except waiting.

 

[Seawolfe]

I'm excited about the oven process/ no 4 week cure part.

Just like with HP, Oven Processing does not negate the need for a good cure at all.

I have had overheating and separating in the past but I'm not worried about the oven. My dh has our "old" oven in the garage for a hotbox, so I don't have to worry about the oven spill part- I will put foil in the bottom to catch anything that might overflow.

Noooooo NEVER use foil or any aluminum around lye - nasty reaction

I'm thinking that my recipe may have had too much water. My lye beads are starting to clump in the bottle and I live in a very humid climate- southern us. Is there a way I can adjust the water content of my recipe to account for the lye clumping? I'd hate to have to throw out the three bottles of lye I have left and buy new ones.
Thanks.

Its not the water that needs adjusting for, but the weakening of the lye, and the only way you can adjust for that is to know exactly how much water has been absorbed and reacted with the lye. While you could lower your superfat from say 5% to 3%, it makes more sense to buy more lye and keep it well sealed.

 

[dixiedragon]

While there is a nasty reaction between lye, are toxic fumes produced? IMO, that would be the only concern.

I have occasionally splashed soap batter onto an aluminum cookie sheet. There was some grayish foam and a super shiny like new spot on the cookie sheet.

RE: your lye. I hate throwing stuff away, so my personal choice would be to keep using it. Is it all clumps? Some clumps? Are the clumps easy to break? I store my lye in the basement in large plastic jars. The jars I am not using are sealed with duct tape. The other jar hangs around for months and months unsealed and the lye is fine. I screw the top in (it's a giant Helman's mayo jar), but that's it. I'd look at a lot of other stuff before I'd assume weak lye.

 

[Arimara]

I have 2 6-bar molds that I constantly use. I love them and the are easier for me to manage (especially since I can't find my loaf mold). When gelling, I use a heating pad and a small, empty storage container. I set the heating pad on the lid and place my mold on the lid or I place the mold on the heating pad in the container, place a towel over the the soaps (you can line the top of the mold with plastic wrap) and place the lid over the container. I'm not able to CPOP so I'm glad I can do this with no worries.

 

[joy.]

Lye melts aluminum foil, so it will just leave you with a bigger mess. I use a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Since I use goat milk and EOs and they don't really like heat, I usually keep the oven temp below 150, watch it and pull it out as soon as it's gelled all the way so it doesn't overheat.

 

[ferret]

While there is a nasty reaction between lye, are toxic fumes produced? IMO, that would be the only concern.

I have occasionally splashed soap batter onto an aluminum cookie sheet. There was some grayish foam and a super shiny like new spot on the cookie sheet.

RE: your lye. I hate throwing stuff away, so my personal choice would be to keep using it. Is it all clumps? Some clumps? Are the clumps easy to break? I store my lye in the basement in large plastic jars. The jars I am not using are sealed with duct tape. The other jar hangs around for months and months unsealed and the lye is fine. I screw the top in (it's a giant Helman's mayo jar), but that's it. I'd look at a lot of other stuff before I'd assume weak lye.

It is not all in clumps and they do seem easy to break. I think I will try a few more times with this lye but try to find something to put the lye in and seal it.


Also, thanks for the info about the foil...