Yall are killing me

[seaysoap]

I need to know more about this RTCP method of making soap with aloe juice. I hope it's not a trade secret cause I am all about saving time with three daughters 9 and below. Like I said before, I see my soap making knowledge is only ankle deep.

 

[pjb31apb]

Nope no trade secrets here! If you are familiar with the RTCP method, then all you have to do is sub aloe juice for your H2O. I believe that Soapmakerman's method is to keep a premade 50/50 lye/aloe juice on hand and then he dilutes it further. The very best price I have seen on aloe juice is at http://www.vitacost.com/Lily-of-the-Desert-Aloe-Vera-Juice. I don't use it though so with some research, you might find an even better price. HTH

 

[Guest]

RTCP just means Room temp CP. It simply means you soap with your oils and lye at room temp. You may see it referred to as master batching as well on other boards and books. Mater batching is simply mixing several batches of your oils and storing them for later use. You can also master batch your lye solution if you have a safe place to store it. Because everything is mixed well ahead of time - you are working with room temp ingredients.

I masterbatch my oils but not my lye. I generally make up 12-15 lbs of oils at one time if it's a tried and true recipe. It's nice to have them all pre-mixed and waiting for me. When I am ready to soap -I mix my lye with frozen liquids whether that be milk or water or tea and some soapers use aloe juice.

 

[Guest]

Mar hit it right on the nail head. Simply mix up your lye/liquid and your oils and use both at room temp without heating.

You can even mix your lye/liquid up several days in advance.

It's a pretty awesome technique, and I highly suggest you give it a whirl. Paul was the one who got me started on it and now i'm hooked !!! That's the only way I'll make soap.

It makes it much faster since you don't have to worry about oils cooling.



I also make my lye/liquid with aloe juice for an extra boost. Aloe juice can be found at wal-mart for about $7.50 a gallon. It's in the laxative section.

But when I make it I put it in a BALL plastic freezer jar. You don't ever want to use glass for mixing your lye/liquid into. Yes even pyrex has been known to shatter from the extreme heat. It may not happen the first time, but with repetitive applications it will weaken the glass structure. I like using the ball jars because they are a heavy duty plastic and can take the heat. (I use the 16 ounce size) And they have a screw on lid. So after I screw on the lid I wrap it with electrical tape because I also have little ones. Then I put them into a plastic box and put it on top of the fridge. Out of the way of little hands.

The ball jars can be found at wal-mart and other similar type stores, and even grocery stores may have them. And they are not expensive either.

Then I mark my batches by writing on a piece of paper and taping it to the lid to keep track of what is what.


Good Luck and if you have more questions PLEASE DO ASK !!!!

 

[seaysoap]

what if your oils are solid at room temp like the coconut oil I use?

 

[seaysoap]

or do you mix and heat oils and they stay liquid?

 

[Guest]

no just cream them as you would sorta like when you make cookies and you cream the butter and the sugars together.


When you cream your liquid oils with your solid oils you get sorta a slurrie mixture. That isn't a true liquid but it's not a solid either.

If your using all or mostly hard oils/butters you could heat 1/3 or 1/2 of them to a mostly liquid state but not heated super warm. And once mixed with your other oils they will become more of a room temp temperature.

Once they are well blended together then start adding in your lye/liquid mixture and continue.

 

[Guest]

LOL- I accidentally added twice as much CO to a masterbatch one time and it got pretty solid. Not hard - but solid.

If you stick to the 60%/40% hard/soft oils ratio - it will stay liquid. You wouldn't HAVE to stick to that ratio by any means though. If your recipe should solidify more - give it a really good stir. Sometimes the oils can separate. Once you've stirred and it's still pretty solid you can add your lye when it's still hot to melt them again. then carry on as you normally would.