I think CPOP hates me! PICS ADDED in update.

[RikRaks]

I have such success with HP and a few batches of CP that I have been satisfied with.

I plopped in a batch of strawberries n cream in oven at 170 about an hour ago, and I peeked through the outside of the door through the window and there seems to be a pool of some sort on top..... Not sure if it is an oil pool or what, the pool is like in the middle and not all the way out to the sides..... Will this batch survive?

 

[carebear]

it's overheating. take it out!
then let it sit. the oil might absorb back in. if it doesn't, you can blot it with a paper towel but wait a week or so before trying that if you can manage that.

when you unmold cut it, do so on a dish or in a non-aluminum pan in case there are lye pockets inside. If there are, you can try to rebatch it if the mood so strikes you.

 

[GoddessMama]

Usually when I do CPOP I will let my soap do its thing on the counter top and cut as you would for normal CP. I cut it and then I put my soap back in the oven, and turn it up to 350 and when the oven alarm dings to tell me its reached the 350 degrees I turn it off and let it hang out in the oven till its cool. This way I can do anything you could normally do with CP, but you get the benifit of being able to use the soap right away. I do however like to let it cure for at least 2 weeks beyond this. I like nice hard bars as I have naughty kids who leae their soaps sitting in the tub. Just to add I live in a desert climate where there is very little humidity, so your results may vary. HTH

 

[RikRaks]

I got it out of the oven as of your last post carebear I dabbed the oil off, but the loaf looks ugly on top and real liquidy..... I am not doing these special soaps no more until I get more expirience Will see tomorrow if I will have to rebatch it or not, lookin' lik it so far...

Thanks Ladies!

 

[ChrissyB]

Your oven is too hot.
I turn my oven onto the lowest setting possible (so it's just on) while I melt oils/prepare lye solution/prepare moulds, colourants, fragrances, then when my oils are melted, and I'm waiting for them, and my lye solution to cool down, I turn the oven off. You just want it barely warm, not stinking hot.

 

[agriffin]

I got it out of the oven as of your last post carebear I dabbed the oil off, but the loaf looks ugly on top and real liquidy..... I am not doing these special soaps no more until I get more expirience Will see tomorrow if I will have to rebatch it or not, lookin' lik it so far...

Thanks Ladies!

You probably should not have dabbed the oil off- you'll need that if you rebatch. But you might still be okay...just for in the future.

If I were in your place and this happened, I would have tossed it into a crock pot and HP'd it. I tell new soapers all of the time...keep a crock pot handy.

I hope it turns out!

 

[RikRaks]

Oh it is real nasty.....

Not even rebatch worthy.... It's black at the bottom and flaky looking, then there is a holey line all the way around the loaf.... and 3 it stinks real bad YUCK.... That is going in the trash!

All 3 batches I did last night where a complete failure.... 2 CPOP and 1 HP, how the heck do you screw up HP???? lol......

The other CPOP batch had a hole right through thte center of the whole loaf with this goo in it.

The HP soap crumbled to piece when I unmolded it!

Tonight soap better come out or I might scream, I think I need to slow down and stop trying to get to creative with my soaps just yet.

 

[dagmar88]

Sounds interesting, can you post pics?

IMO, you're trying to pull off things that are above your current skill level.
Making a uni colored batch with a nice scent can be hard enough
Just take the time to get to know your molds, recipes, fragrances, colorants, additives, one step at a time...

 

[RikRaks]

Here's the 2 CPOP ones.........

second one

this is embarassing!

 

[agriffin]

:shock:

 

[dagmar88]

Oh, no, it isn't! It's very helpful for other people and helps te determinate what went wrong.
I'm thinking your temps are way too high... The first one really looks burned somehow.
Maybe you could try to do some room temperature cp next time.

It took me quite some time to find what process suits me best.
Anything hot (HP/CPOP and even gelling) is not my cup of tea and never turns out the way I want it to

 

[RikRaks]

Is it posted somewhere how to do CP without gelling???? I would LOVE to learn

 

[dagmar88]

I just soap at room temperature (let the oils and lye solution cool down before you mix them).
Sometimes I even put the pitcher with my lye solution in a larger mixing bowl with ice when I'm lacking patience
Stickblend through as usual, pour in the mold, wrap with plastic, put in the fridge/freezer.
I usually let it set there over night, take it out in the morning and wait with cutting untill it has hardened up enough.

You should give it a try, maybe RTCP is more your thing...

 

[RikRaks]

You can do this with hard oils? Coconut 76 etc?

 

[dagmar88]

Yeah, sure!
Maybe for some extra security you could post your recipe the day before you plan on making your next batch.
I'm sure you'll get loads of tips and will learn a lot that way.

 

[kommon_sense]

I didn't see mention of this, but if you are doing cpop, be sure to get an oven thermometer so that you can see the real temp. That way you can just open the door when needed to help cool things off.

I'm new to cpop. However I've had good results with the following procedure :

- Set oven to 170 (lowest temp on my oven)
- Follow normal CP procedure (lye, oils, blending, etc.)
- Pour soap into mold (used wooden mold, will try silicone mold next time)
- mold into stove for 1hr
- after 1hr, turn stove off, open door to let most of the heat out, and close door
- Come back 10-12hrs later. Unmold, cut, etc.

Last batch I did stayed warm for over an hour after I removed it from the oven. Next time, I will try cutting down oven heat time to maybe 30-45mins. I noticed the soap (cocoa/shea/etc.) appeared to gel about 30mins into the process.

 

[Sibi]

I too soap at room temperature. I get my lye water ready then put that aside. In the meantime I measure all my oils, put them together (melt the hard ones and add to soft ones), add my fragrance to the oils, then go sit for about 1/2 hour. By this time both lye water and oils are about room temp and ready to go. When everything is done mixing I pop the mold in the fridge (to avoid ash!!). I've made 3 batches in the last few days and had no problems doing it this way. I'll post pics in a couple of days.

Don't give up.....you'll do just fine. You'll learn as you go

 

[lngrid]

Oh it is real nasty.....

Not even rebatch worthy.... It's black at the bottom and flaky looking, then there is a holey line all the way around the loaf.... and 3 it stinks real bad YUCK.... That is going in the trash!

All 3 batches I did last night where a complete failure.... 2 CPOP and 1 HP, how the heck do you screw up HP???? lol......

The other CPOP batch had a hole right through thte center of the whole loaf with this goo in it.

The HP soap crumbled to piece when I unmolded it!

Tonight soap better come out or I might scream, I think I need to slow down and stop trying to get to creative with my soaps just yet.

Hey, don't get discouraged, RikRaks. And if someone makes a comment to you that seems less that completely encouraging, they must not have meant it that way. Because you have what it takes to succeed at this. You're brave enough to be truly creative. Sure, some of your soap has failed, but people who never fail have never pushed their own personal envelopes. Only failures think failing is a bad thing. Actually, it's just a form of learning. You're turning it into a positive thing by coming here and asking for advice. You're going to find your soaping stride soon and when you do, you'll take off fantastically! I've seen the swirls you can make and your eye for color. You're going to be posting some incredible stuff here soon and the rest of us are going to be drooling! I suspect I'll be learning from you, too, in the near future. You have a talent for this. You just keep going. 'kay?

I wish I had some real advice to give, but I'm still learning stuff like, "Yes, lngrid, those expensive essential oils can make your soap rice, too." and "Don't put ricing soap in the mold anyway, hoping you can stir it into submission in the mold. You may not be able to."

 

[RikRaks]

Oh it is real nasty.....

Not even rebatch worthy.... It's black at the bottom and flaky looking, then there is a holey line all the way around the loaf.... and 3 it stinks real bad YUCK.... That is going in the trash!

All 3 batches I did last night where a complete failure.... 2 CPOP and 1 HP, how the heck do you screw up HP???? lol......

The other CPOP batch had a hole right through thte center of the whole loaf with this goo in it.

The HP soap crumbled to piece when I unmolded it!

Tonight soap better come out or I might scream, I think I need to slow down and stop trying to get to creative with my soaps just yet.

Hey, don't get discouraged, RikRaks. And if someone makes a comment to you that seems less that completely encouraging, they must not have meant it that way. Because you have what it takes to succeed at this. You're brave enough to be truly creative. Sure, some of your soap has failed, but people who never fail have never pushed their own personal envelopes. Only failures think failing is a bad thing. Actually, it's just a form of learning. You're turning it into a positive thing by coming here and asking for advice. You're going to find your soaping stride soon and when you do, you'll take off fantastically! I've seen the swirls you can make and your eye for color. You're going to be posting some incredible stuff here soon and the rest of us are going to be drooling! I suspect I'll be learning from you, too, in the near future. You have a talent for this. You just keep going. 'kay?

I wish I had some real advice to give, but I'm still learning stuff like, "Yes, lngrid, those expensive essential oils can make your soap rice, too." and "Don't put ricing soap in the mold anyway, hoping you can stir it into submission in the mold. You may not be able to."

Ingrid, where have you been my entire life? What a way to wake up in the morning, I just had coffee come out of my nose reading the last lines here! LOL!!!!

Thaniks for the advise and compliments, I sure appreciate it More than you know.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

Thanks for posting those photos as it's a great learning tool. :wink:

I put my oven on (very low) and heat the mould on a tray while I'm making the soap and then once I take the mould out, I turn the oven off. I've learned this after having a few batches of high lye discount soap pooling oil on top and crinkling. :evil: