should I unmold?

[sandra]

Newbie question. I went to unmold my soap today. I poured it yesterday morning (24 hrs). The mold still feels pretty hot on the sides. Should I leave it alone for awhile longer? Does the heat mean it's not finished doing it's thing yet?

 

[jcandleattic]

It's probably still gelling or just getting done gelling. I would leave it in the mold until it's cool to the touch.

 

[SoapMom]

I agree. I would wait until its cool

 

[Etelka]

After pouring I put mine in the oven 60C (140F) for one hour, this gives me complete gel, which means total saponification has taken place. Then I remove from oven and lightly cover, the next day I cut it, sometimes it is still warm to the touch, but only slightly, it doesnt have to be stone cold to cut

 

[ChrissyB]

Etelka, I do exactly the same thing as you. It is the only way that I can guarantee full gel, otherwise I end up with partial gel, even when I try to stop it by putting in the fridge.
The only time I have successfully avoided gel, is when I use small individual moulds.

 

[xyxoxy]

I almost always wait close to 48 hours to unmold. I know many people do it much sooner but I have had pretty consistently good results.
When I check it sooner I'm never confident about the consistency and usually decide to wait it out.

I've only done CP and plan to try HP very soon so I don't know if that will change my mind on the subject. I don't put mine in the oven as I've not had trouble with partial gels... but it's certainly not a bad idea and I see nothing to lose.

 

[Etelka]

I almost always wait close to 48 hours to unmold. I know many people do it much sooner but I have had pretty consistently good results.
When I check it sooner I'm never confident about the consistency and usually decide to wait it out.

I've only done CP and plan to try HP very soon so I don't know if that will change my mind on the subject. I don't put mine in the oven as I've not had trouble with partial gels... but it's certainly not a bad idea and I see nothing to lose.

I am not a HP-er prefer the look of CP, but if you do HP then I believe you can unmold as soon as the soap is set or hardened up, it can be within a few hrs depending on the size of the batch.