Prevent gel

[new soaper]

How do I prevent my cp gm soap from gelling?
And do I wrap my gm soap in towels or put in fridge??

 

[seven]

You can put your mold in the freezer first prior to molding to help keep the temp down. Then after molding, stick it right back at the fridge for 24 hrs.

I soap real cool (room temp) when i do gm. That works for me.

 

[Ruthie]

I also soap at room temperature. I freeze my GM and add the lye a little at a time so it is just thawed when I add the last bit. I measure and melt my oils beforehand and let them cool back to room temp. After my soap is made I pour it in the mold and refridgerate immediately. I usually leave a GM soap there for 48 hours.

 

[new soaper]

I guess I don't understand why with lye and water we wrap and keep warm and with gm and lye we keep so cool. Is it the lye that turns it into soap or the heat from the lye.

 

[houseofwool]

I guess I don't understand why with lye and water we wrap and keep warm and with gm and lye we keep so cool. Is it the lye that turns it into soap or the heat from the lye.

Saponification is a chemical reaction between the lye and the oils that is exothermic, meaning it gives off heat.

There are times that trapping that heat around the soap is beneficial. Gelled soap tends to be ready to unmold more quickly than ungelled and colors can be brighter.

However there are times when gelling has other consequences. When I create this particular soap, I prevent gelling because otherwise, the milk doesn't stay creamy, it turns a tan color.



If I am using an essential oil with a low flash point, I also tend to soap cool to try and preserve the scent as much as possible.

 

[Lin]

The sugar in milk soaps increases the heat, and so they can burn more easily than other soaps. So most people prevent gel in milk soaps. I've done what Ruthie says, I soap at room temp using frozen goat milk and adding the lye slowly (sitting outside in the cold too, but thats mostly to keep lye fumes outside), have my oils ready to go at room temp or just above due to hard oils, then I stuck my mold in the freezer for 24 hours followed by the fridge for another 24 hours. Though I did stick a small slab mold of goats milk only in the fridge figuring being a slab mold it will let off heat easily.

You wrap the mold to help encourage gel, because if the outer sides of the soap are letting off too much heat you can end up with a partial gel. The most heat is going to be generated in the center because in the center its not losing off heat into the surrounding. But a soap mold left at room temperature and not insulated is going to lose its heat around the edges to the lower temperature air. There is also cpop, cold process oven process soap where the mold is placed in a warm oven after pouring to encourage a full gel.

Soaps that could overheat may have gel prevented, if you're going for a specific coloring gel could give you better results so you may encourage gel (or vice versa), if you are using essential oils which can burn off easily in high heat you may want to prevent gel... Its both personal preference and tailored to the specific batch of soap.

 

[new soaper]

Ok so does gel eventually get hard and last in the shower? I just made my first recipe on my own from soap calc... Would anyone want to look at my reciepe to tell me if I'm on right track?

 

[seven]

As far as i know, the gel-un gel options are only for aesthetic reaaons. It does not affect the quality of your soap. Cmiiw

And yeah, pls do post your recipe so others can look at it.

 

[MoonBath]

I guess I don't understand why with lye and water we wrap and keep warm and with gm and lye we keep so cool. Is it the lye that turns it into soap or the heat from the lye.

As far as I understand, the heat is a by-product of the chemical reaction which causes soap; soap is created when the sodium in sodium hydroxide (lye) bonds with the triglycerides in the oils. Soap is actually a form of salt. It's the heat, however, that's responsible for the gel phase, which is why we keep it cool if we want to avoid that and insulate when we want to encourage it.

That's a very rudimentary explanation; I was an English major who never made it to chemistry.

 

[new soaper]

I needed the rudimentary lol. Ok I kept temps around 80 and after I got them in molds I set them outside on porch, it's 25 degrees out there. How long should I keep them there. And thank you all for your help. I want to make sure as I begin my new hobby that I make it safe for my family.

 

[new soaper]

Ok for those that don't mind seeing my reciepe here it is. I'm going for a nice soap that suds, cleans and a little moisturizing. Here goes.
Olive oil- 17.6oz
Co- 10.56
Lard-7.83
Castor-4
Shea-4
Gm-13.5 frozen cubes
Lye 6.12
Ty