Just can't stay away from my soap!

[Purplerain]

OK. 5th ever batch coming up and I'm loving it (so far - it's not even two hours old). It's a two colour in the pot swirl using charcoal and cocoa and bay rum fragrance. Looks and smells stunning so far but I have previously experienced cracking (too hot I guess - was able to smooth over and soap seems ok as it cures); partial gel, (too cold? - I think the soap will be ok but it could be prettier) so, I'm like an anxious Momma. Is peeking every half hour or so to nip problems in the bud going to cause any issues? It's got Saran Wrap on top because all my soaps seem to have developed ash so far, is in a wood loaf mold with cardboard on top and wrapped in two thicknesses of towel.
I'd post a picture but I can't figure out how from my iPad. Is it possible?

 

[Saponista]

Press reply in the top left. Then there's an icon that looks like a photo with mountains and a sun. Click that to get to your camera roll then just pick the photo you want to add and press upload. (Top right).

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

If you're using the app, there should be buttons above the keyboard section - one of them is a camera, the next one a grey square with mountains and the sun. These let you upload images.

In general though, I would say that you should expect to have batches that don't meet your expectations. Because you're expecting too much!

It can take time to work out that sweet spot of of gelling that lies between partial gel and overheat. Every time you change something in a recipe, you move this goal and need to find it again. For example, using a certain towel for a certain amount of time might give you a perfect gel with one recipe. Change the recipe and the same towel and time combination can result in a partial gel or overheating, just because the recipe is different.

Make a lot of notes about temperatures and timings and so on, so that you can tweak it to find this sweet spot

 

[Susie]

^What Effy said!

This is the learning process of soap. Notes, notes, and more notes are the answer. You need to sit down before making every batch and go through those notes to figure out commonalities and differences.

My answer to over heating was every time I use sugar or anything else that causes heat, I use a thinner towel and a little closer watch during the first 4 hours. If I am using more than 1 heater, I stick it into the freezer if I don't have time to watch it.. But these were the answers for my soap. Your answers will be different than mine.