As crazy as this may sound, I can't soap with gloves, so I don't wear them. I've gotten raw soap on my hands and when I feel the burn, I just rinse it off (I have a bucket of hot soapie vinegar water, nearby, where I put my utensils, as I use them). Anyway, I did a salt bar batch, yesterday, and I cut it while it was hot and soft. I took the extra pieces, left over from crinkle cutting and smooshed them all together in my hands so that I could smoosh it into individual molds. I had a cut on my finger and I was able to handle that raw salt soap with hardly any burn at all. I started to feel it pretty good, in my cut, after I got everything smooshed into the molds. I then washed my hands in the bucket and again in the sink. I have no idea exactly where saponification starts and ends, but I think it is somewhere around trace and after. I can usually start using my soaps on day two, if I choose.