artisan soaps
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How soon do you use it?
- Thread starter artisan soaps
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This is one of those questions where you'll get ten different answers and they'll all be right! 
That's because different people have different skin sensitivities and what feels great for Person A might not feel very good for Person B.
When I first started soaping, I did tests on my soap by using them at varying times over the days and weeks after unmolding, and this is what I found from my tests:
-My soap that was only a few days old did not lather near as well as it lathered weeks later. The bars also didn't last very long either.
-Even if my soap didn't zap early on, it still felt more drying to my skin when I used it then as compared to when I used it weeks later.
- Some of my fragrances smelled better and more true weeks later as compared to when freshly cut.
- I found that 4 weeks was the defining benchmark where I felt my soap to be at it's earliest best to use. Six weeks is even better, but 4 weeks is good enough to go.
-Although many see curing as mainly time for water to evaporate, I personally believe from my test resultss that more is going on behind the scenes at the micro level than just evaporation. My soap really does mellow and get milder as time goes on, as Artisan said.
IrishLass
That's because different people have different skin sensitivities and what feels great for Person A might not feel very good for Person B. When I first started soaping, I did tests on my soap by using them at varying times over the days and weeks after unmolding, and this is what I found from my tests:
-My soap that was only a few days old did not lather near as well as it lathered weeks later. The bars also didn't last very long either.
-Even if my soap didn't zap early on, it still felt more drying to my skin when I used it then as compared to when I used it weeks later.
- Some of my fragrances smelled better and more true weeks later as compared to when freshly cut.
- I found that 4 weeks was the defining benchmark where I felt my soap to be at it's earliest best to use. Six weeks is even better, but 4 weeks is good enough to go.
-Although many see curing as mainly time for water to evaporate, I personally believe from my test resultss that more is going on behind the scenes at the micro level than just evaporation. My soap really does mellow and get milder as time goes on, as Artisan said.
IrishLass
artisan soaps
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Bubbles Galore
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I agree with what the others have said about soap going through changes and improving with age.
For normal cold pressed soap that didn't gel - after about 2 or 3 days, I cut off an end about the size of a motel soap and I will test this on my hands when it is a week old, sometimes sooner. I need this gratification fairly quickly. :wink: I sit that little soap on a plastic tag at the kitchen sink and I test it periodically. I write the date and what it is on the plastic tag. This way, it's always in front of you and you DO notice the improvement in the soap over time.
With cold processed soap that I gel in the oven - I cut that after 24 hours and test it straight away if I want to.
I made my first batch in the crock pot the other day. That was awesome because I could test it straight away. (From go to whoa was only about an hour). All the left over scrapings got squisherated together and formed into a shape that I could hold.
How many batches have you made Deb?
For normal cold pressed soap that didn't gel - after about 2 or 3 days, I cut off an end about the size of a motel soap and I will test this on my hands when it is a week old, sometimes sooner. I need this gratification fairly quickly. :wink: I sit that little soap on a plastic tag at the kitchen sink and I test it periodically. I write the date and what it is on the plastic tag. This way, it's always in front of you and you DO notice the improvement in the soap over time.
With cold processed soap that I gel in the oven - I cut that after 24 hours and test it straight away if I want to.
I made my first batch in the crock pot the other day. That was awesome because I could test it straight away. (From go to whoa was only about an hour). All the left over scrapings got squisherated together and formed into a shape that I could hold.
How many batches have you made Deb?
Bubbles Galore
Well-Known Member
debsmad said:
Embarrassed ... why? Did you make them all in one day? * I'm kidding and giggling remembering how many batches I had to make when I first started *
I love the goat milk soaps. :wink:
debsmad said:
I made different kinds of batches, waited until fully cured, and then tweaked from there.
debsmad said:
I know what you mean.
There's no avoiding the waiting with CP, though. Just keep your batches small, at least 1 lb., and make a handful of different recipes to compare. After cure, take your favorite ones and start tweaking away until you get them to where you really like them.If you find that the waiting is just too much to bear, you can always do HP. The method is different than CP, with the main challenge being that it's more difficult to get tthe batter to a smooth enough consistancy at pour (difficult but not impossible), and as a result the texture of the soap is more rustic looking than CP. But the waiting time is shorter. I wait at least 2 weeks for my HP. You can use it sooner than that, but the soap lasts much longer if you wait.
IrishLass
ohsoap
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I understand what you are going threw. I have been reinventing my base recipe. I have been playing with butters, and trying to make it more conditioning, playing with GM and WD, and in the past month have made probably 7 batches.
I'm learning that patience is bliss. I was VERY disapointed with my first GM, my lather was almost gone, and even though the bar itself felt nice, it felt like a whole different recipe. I tried it 2 days after cutting... I used a sliver because that was the only part hard enough to try. After trying to figure out what I did wrong (only thing that was different was the GM in this batch) and nearly giving up and rebatching it, I used the other end sliver today, and it is already better... still not as good as my original recipe, but it is improving. I'm going to wait from now on, as frustrating as that is for me. I would LOVE to just HP them and test, but I'm also learning to swirl my soaps, and would miss that experience if I did HP.
I guess what I am trying to say is you are not alone, I know exactly how you feel!
I'm learning that patience is bliss. I was VERY disapointed with my first GM, my lather was almost gone, and even though the bar itself felt nice, it felt like a whole different recipe. I tried it 2 days after cutting... I used a sliver because that was the only part hard enough to try. After trying to figure out what I did wrong (only thing that was different was the GM in this batch) and nearly giving up and rebatching it, I used the other end sliver today, and it is already better... still not as good as my original recipe, but it is improving. I'm going to wait from now on, as frustrating as that is for me. I would LOVE to just HP them and test, but I'm also learning to swirl my soaps, and would miss that experience if I did HP.
I guess what I am trying to say is you are not alone, I know exactly how you feel!
dagmar88
Well-Known Member
Once the soap has hardened up enough to be cut I zap test. When it doesn't zap I put some leftovers from cutting near the kitchen sink and use those. But even though that's o.k. soap; it's not comparable with the feeling after it's had a good long cure.
That 'perfect' recipe will take a pretty long time to form; look at it as an ongoing process Even the ones that have made countless batches and have been adjusting their recipes for years are still looking for improvement.
I have a basic recipe that I love, but that's the one I don't use often cause I'm experimening a lot.
So, just make everything you want to with affordable ingredients and let's see how it turns out!
debsmad said:
That 'perfect' recipe will take a pretty long time to form; look at it as an ongoing process
Even the ones that have made countless batches and have been adjusting their recipes for years are still looking for improvement.I have a basic recipe that I love, but that's the one I don't use often cause I'm experimening a lot.
debsmad said:
So, just make everything you want to with affordable ingredients and let's see how it turns out!
dagmar88
Well-Known Member
Well, while you might not like every batch you've made, it sure is the best way to learn :wink:
