CP vs HP cure time question

[dcsharpe]

I just have a question that may be silly but I can't find the answer to. In hot process soap, you "can" use the soap as soon as it is cut. (Actually I use the soap from the pot I cook it in to test out the scent and bubbles!) I know that it needs to really harden up and that still takes a week or two if you want it to last very long. In CP, the cure time is recommended at 4-6 weeks typically but if the soap actually saponifies in the mold, doesn't this mean the lye is all converted by the time you cut it? In theory, (mine anyway) wouldn't the cure time be the same after that and just letting it dry out the excess water? So 1-2 weeks would be plenty long enough if you aren't waiting on the lye, right?

What is it that I am not figuring in here? Just curious soapers!

Donna

 

[sistrum]

Not sure what you searched for but there should be plenty of posts that talk about this not very far back.

To answer your question I guess it would depend on your definition of "cure". All soaps get better with age. Both CP and HP will benifit from a cure of a couple of months at least. Both HP and Cp that have gone thru a full gel will be safe to use as soon as they are cool, as long as they have been made correctly.
You could just do your own test and try a bar once a week, take good notes and decide what you think.
Just remember your ability to judge a "good" soap will depend on your experience. A lot of new soapers think their first batches are just the best until they go back and try them after a year or so of practice and improved formulation.

 

[dcsharpe]

Thanks, for what it's worth. I just had a question. Not a request for critique on my searching ability. Also, there is nothing wrong with a "new soaper" loving their soap. They wouldn't continue to make it if they didn't like it. I "judge a good soap" by using it. I didn't ask about good soap. I asked about the chemical reaction or process. Please don't be so critical. Your "This IS me being NICE........" siggy is sadly appropriate. Preach your "holier than thou" soaper sermon elsewhere. It wasn't helpful here.

 

[jenneelk]

DC I don't think she was trying to do that.. Sistrum is extremely helpful to everyone on this board and takes a lot of time to help people out all the time.
I actually think you're being rude in your comments to her.. she really didn't say anything other than some helpful advice in case you were newer and also to answer your question.
Being newer on here it isn't quite nice to jump on someone if you don't know them or what they are about. You asked for help and she gave it. Her reply was not a sermon, it was a reply to your question and it seems accurate.

In answer also, I think HP only speeds up the whole process by a few days, even less if you gel. With gel it's about 2 days or so from what I know and if you put to fridge its about 4 days for saponification. Then you have the usual weeks of drying, the same for all after that. Hope that makes sense. In my head it does. lol

 

[sistrum]

WOW! You took that post totally wrong!!! This forum is sometimes hard to search and I was asking what words you used. I also have no idea if you are a new soaper or not. And as i read it you didn't say you we're looking for "technical information". And "your" in most post means "ones" as in everybody.

 

[dcsharpe]

I am sorry I took that reply wrong sistrum.