Hot Process and Superfatting

[jcandleattic]

Then why hot process at all? Does it at least cut down on cure time?

No, HP will have the same or more of a cure time than CP - as pointed out by dixiedragon, however, even though milder sooner than CP, HP IMO even when I use my 33% lye solution (same as with CP) I get an even milder at a 4 week cure than at a 1-2 week cure. I think every soap benefits from a nice long cure, but also understand people who do this for a living, may not have the 8-12 weeks I like to give ALL of my soaps, but again, I dont' do this for a living so can wait that long for my soaps to cure.
I also agree that some oils and fragrances just lend themselves to be better suited for HP.

 

[IrishLass]

Then why hot process at all?

I'm a CP girl at heart that hates to HP, but I find HP to be very useful for certain situations..... such as when I'm working with a very ornery FO that causes my CP batter to seize up, or when I'm making my shave soap that includes a goodly amount of straight-up stearic acid (which is impossible to soap via CP). Other than those kind of situations, you'll never catch me HPing. lol

Does it at least cut down on cure time?

My HP actually benefits from a longer cure time than my CP, because of all that excess water used in HP.


IrishLass

 

[dixiedragon]

I like my soaps heavily scented, so I don't use less FO. I used to follow the "rule" of using 1/2 as much FO as I would for CP but didn't like how light the scent was.

 

[Lin19687]

I add all SF at begining.
I add Yogurt after cook to help with Fluidity
Can't be bothered with adding after cook, then yogurt then FO/EO, you might just run out of time because you are hurrying trying to get it into the mold before it becomes too hard.
HAHA

 

[Zany_in_CO]

The only HP I make in my crockpot is castile with oats and honey. No reason other than that's the way I learned to make it.

ETA: One thing that's worth mentioning is that with CP you can easily pour the batch into the mold at the emulsion stage vs. HP that generally gets glopped into the mold and tapped (or pounded) on the counter to get air bubbles out and to settle the soap. TIP: Mixing in an oz or so of superfat oil like sunflower at the end makes the soap a bit more fluid and easier to pour.

 

[DianaMoon]

Thanks for the Kevin Dunn heads-up - reading him is quite informative. He explains why certain things can't be done in CP/HP here:

http://roberttisserand.com/2011/06/essential-oils-in-soap-interview-with-kevin-dunn/

Know your ingredients. Know the process. It's like cooking.