I have to ask about temperture

[Kamela]

I have read numerous books on soapmaking...some say temperture is important and others say it really isn't. Now I know it is when making a "special" soap like goats milk and such but if you are just making a regular soap, how important is the temperture? One book said soap at 90 degrees and others say 120 degrees and higher. I'm sure it just depends on the recipes, right?

 

[judymoody]

I am relatively new to soapmaking so take this with a grain of sodium hydroxide. My impression is that if you are using a high proportion of oils, butters, waxes that have a high melt point you should soap at higher temps so you don't get a false trace. So stuff like beeswax, cocoa butter, maybe babassu or PKO.

For what it's worth, I soap mostly at around 105 for oils, lye in that general range plus or minus five degrees.

 

[carebear]

the exact temp isn't important - but finding the RIGHT temp is.

with formulas high in solid fats you need to soap a little warmer than otherwise. but when using formulas or fragrances that accelerate trace you need to soap cooler. so it's a bit of a balancing act.

I used to soap only at room temp. I'd mix and melt my oils and let them cool down; same with my lye solution. Then combine. then soap away with time for swirls and such. But I've found that I actually get better results if I soap warmer. And now that many of my batches are as high as 100% solid fats I NEED to soap warmer else they solidify LOL.

you do not need to match the temps of the oils and lye. I prefer to have the lye a bit warmer than the oils to avoid "false trace" where the mixture thickens not because it's saponifying but because the cool lye cause dthe oils to solidify. but once you get some experience you learn how to evaluate what is going on.

 

[MissMori]

I always soap at 95 to 100 degrees. Doesn't trace too fast, so swirls etc are no problem and the temp isn't so high that I have a problem with troublesome fo's. I posted a couple days ago about my experience with room temp oils & lye. IMHO 95 to 100 for me is the temperature that gives the best texture and hardness to the soap. Over the years I've tried higher temps, but didn't like the final soap.