Temperature for cold processing

[fsanderson]

Good morning,

I have been making hot process soap for about 6 years now. I'm attempting cold process soapmaking. I made a batch this week...the oils were around 95 degrees and the lye at 90 degress. Because my soap has a bit of a top, I didn't insulate it and it partially gelled and got soda ash. I read that I can easily steam off the soda ash.

Is there a best temperature for oil/lye to soap at? How do you insulate a high top soap that is above the mold? Or is not insulating ok?

Thank you so much!!

 

[cmzaha]

If I do want to gel, I put my mold in a shallow plastic storage container and put the lid on the container, covering with a blanket if necessary. I use the shallow containers since I want heat to stay inside. My other method is to take another mold, if you have a matching mold and cover with the other mold

 

[Susie]

I turn another mold upside down over the top of the soap to protect it. Or you could use an ice chest (AKA cooler) turned upside down over it, or a cardboard box, or anything that will not touch the top of the soap. A small ice chest solves both the protection and the insulation issues. And it is reusable an infinite number of times.

Your oil and lye temperature depend on your colors and swirling. The cooler they are, the longer you have unless you are using lots of hard oils, then you get to start worrying about false trace if your house is cooler than 76F.

 

[fsanderson]

Thank you ladies...great ideas!! I will try that.