New soap maker

[Poowong soaper]

Hi, I've recently started soap making, so far I have made 7 batches using different oils etc. The most frustrating thing is waiting for the soap to cure. I read you can reduce the amount of water to speed up the curing. How much water reduction can be made? I was calculating water as a percentage of oils, but then read it should have been against the lye, so altered that but this method reduces the amount of water by about 2 oz. Which method is best? Sorry 2 questions.

 

[lsg]

As soap ages it does lose water to evaporation, reducing the water does not really speed up the cure. Curing is not just about getting a harder, solider bar. As soap cures or ages it gets milder and gets better. Castile soap needs several months curing to be at its best.

 

[CatahoulaBubble]

Curing is more than the evaporation of liquid. Curing is the changing of the crystalline structure of the soap itself.

 

[Zing]

Part of soaping is cultivating patience! My solution is to soap often so that something is always done curing while I wait for others to cure. Welcome!

 

[Relle]

Waiting for soap to cure is part of the process. Patience comes with time, put them away and before you know it, the 6 wks will be up. .

 

[Poowong soaper]

Thanks for your responses. I've been reading up and you can cure in the oven. Does this effect the soap product?

 

[Todd Ziegler]

Thanks for your responses. I've been reading up and you can cure in the oven. Does this effect the soap product?

Your are not really curing the soap when you put it in the oven. All you are doing is putting the soap through a gel phase in the oven. There really is no way to speed up the curing process unless you do the HP (hot process) soap making. Then and only then will you get a faster cure time.

 

[shunt2011]

Thanks for your responses. I've been reading up and you can cure in the oven. Does this effect the soap product?

You cannot cure it in the oven. You are getting wrong information somewhere. People force gel/saponification in the oven it does not cure it. Curing takes 4-6 weeks and sometimes longer depending on the recipe. Soap needs time to be it's best. There's more to it than evaporation of water/liquid. Curing allows the PH to drop a bit, allow structure change for a milder soap and also makes it longer lasting. Soap can be used as soon as saponification is complete and no zap however it's not the best it can be and won't last long.

 

[CatahoulaBubble]

Your are not really curing the soap when you put it in the oven. All you are doing is putting the soap through a gel phase in the oven. There really is no way to speed up the curing process unless you do the HP (hot process) soap making. Then and only then will you get a faster cure time.

HP doesn't actually speed the cure time. In some cases it can take longer because HP typically uses more water.

 

[Todd Ziegler]

HP doesn't actually speed the cure time. In some cases it can take longer because HP typically uses more water.

Thanks for the correction. I didn't mean to say that but from brain to typing, something got lost. Lol