Mold issue

[amal]

I am collecting info here and i have seen a complain from having a silicone mold however soap queen uses them ,so what type of molds is better to use ?
and for a 500gm batch, how can I calculate the mold size? ??

 

[Lin19687]

https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/how-to-figure-how-much-oil-for-mold.2909/

 

[shunt2011]

I love my wood molds with silicone liners. I've not had any issues using them.

 

[cmzaha]

I on the other hand hate silicone molds and love my hdpe molds even though I have to line them. It becomes a matter of preference not what is better

 

[dibbles]

Wood molds with silicone liners are my favorite.

 

[amd]

My dislike of doing dishes means that I use wood molds with freezer paper liner. I dream of someday getting silicone liners that fit my homemade wood molds, but truth be told... I don't want to wash them so it will probably never happen.

 

[earlene]

It's really personal preference, amal. Mostly I use silicone or freezer paper lined molds (various types of exterior). What works best for me and my recipes in my environment might not work as well for someone else and their recipes in their environment.

 

[dixiedragon]

Each type of mold has it's plus sides and it's downsides. IMO there is no perfect mold that has all of the pluses and no minuses. It just depends on your preferences.

Plastic molds
- Pros: inexpensive, lots of pretty shapes
- Cons - fragile, wear and tear, may be difficult to unmold, can't OP.
HPDE
- Pros - dishwasher safe, can OP, smooth straight sides
- Cons - somewhat expensive, not flexible, soap really sticks to it (you must line or grease)

Wooden mold with paper liner
- Pro - reasonably priced, can OP, paper liner is disposable
- Cons - must fold liner. may leak and stain wood over time. Can't put in dishwasher.

Silicone mold (without wooden support mold)
- Pros - smooth sleek size, can put in freezer, can put in dishwasher. No lining, but a bit of greasing can help.
- Cons - may bow out, sometimes hard to unmold, may smoosh soap trying to unmold.

 

[Alfa_Lazcares]

I have individual silicon molds and the big ones. The individuals are easier, I feel its easier to unmold the soap on those. The big one i like but i have to check several times the soap to see when is it that i can unmold perfectly. If the soap is still too soft it will get a bit squished.

 

[amal]

I love my wood molds with silicone liners. I've not had any issues using them.

You mean lining the mold from the top with silicon or complete linig the inner part???

My dislike of doing dishes means that I use wood molds with freezer paper liner. I dream of someday getting silicone liners that fit my homemade wood molds, but truth be told... I don't want to wash them so it will probably never happen.

I don't mind washing them actually ,but i think its more easy having silicone one, I am just afraid of wooden one and I don't know the quality of freezer papers, how to get it ,how it would act ,and the wooden mold it self,it's difficult to get ,iam very afraid of that ,thats my problem ,but if the silicone ones are good, let's start with it

It's really personal preference, amal. Mostly I use silicone or freezer paper lined molds (various types of exterior). What works best for me and my recipes in my environment might not work as well for someone else and their recipes in their environment.

It's very hot new in Egypt earlene, what you advice me then?

Each type of mold has it's plus sides and it's downsides. IMO there is no perfect mold that has all of the pluses and no minuses. It just depends on your preferences.

Plastic molds
- Pros: inexpensive, lots of pretty shapes
- Cons - fragile, wear and tear, may be difficult to unmold, can't OP.
HPDE
- Pros - dishwasher safe, can OP, smooth straight sides
- Cons - somewhat expensive, not flexible, soap really sticks to it (you must line or grease)

Wooden mold with paper liner
- Pro - reasonably priced, can OP, paper liner is disposable
- Cons - must fold liner. may leak and stain wood over time. Can't put in dishwasher.

Silicone mold (without wooden support mold)
- Pros - smooth sleek size, can put in freezer, can put in dishwasher. No lining, but a bit of greasing can help.
- Cons - may bow out, sometimes hard to unmold, may smoosh soap trying to unmold.

Very helpful comment, thank you sweety ,i will consider all of these info❤❤❤

I have individual silicon molds and the big ones. The individuals are easier, I feel its easier to unmold the soap on those. The big one i like but i have to check several times the soap to see when is it that i can unmold perfectly. If the soap is still too soft it will get a bit squished.

Yes, I like to have these individual one so i can get the shape that i want easily without cutting or things like that,or what you mean by individual molds?

 

[Alfa_Lazcares]

Yes, I like to have these individual one so i can get the shape that i want easily without cutting or things like that,or what you mean by individual molds?

Mine are small silicone molds ment for making cupcakes. I found some cute ones shaped as hearts, you can see a picture of the soaps i made using those on the photograpy subforum here under “heart shape molds”. I used them for salt bars since they get super hard and difficult to cut. Whith those molds i just poured the soap and unmolded. Really practical.

 

[shunt2011]

My silicone mold fits inside my wooden mold. Here's what I have and use most frequently.

https://nurturesoap.com/collections/loaf-soap-molds/products/7-5-pound-basic-mold

I realize you probably don't have access to these though. I have lids my husband made to fit them as well.

 

[earlene]

Here is an example of a wooden mold with a silicone liner. There are also metal holders that hold some silicone molds (here is one), and there are silicone molds that have no outer box. Some silicone is very thick and some are very thin. The silicone liner in my first wooden mold (bought used from another soaper) is so thin that it could not be used without an outer box. I have others that are very thick and don't need an outer box for support.

Below is a video showing how to make your own silicone liner for any existing mold. The one in this video is about as thin as the one in my wooden mold I mentioned above.



Below is a picture of a wooden mold that I line with freezer paper. It's actually a box I bought at a second-hand shop that would have originally been sold as a card file box. It's perfect for one pound of soap. You mentioned not knowing about quality of freezer paper. As far as I am aware, or at least here anyway, there is only one choice of quality, although I have seen it in two different sized boxes. The difference is how wide the paper is, not quality per se. I buy freezer paper at the grocery store in the same area as plastic wraps and aluminum foil and plastic baggies are sold.

Other molds I use for smaller batches are pictured in my SMF album here.

I have several individual molds (one bar of soap per mold cavity) in various shapes, such as cars and trucks, hearts, a frog, flowers, etc. Below is an example of soaps made with the vehicular molds. After cure, I hand painted the autos using mica colorants.