Like others have said, they both have their pros and cons. I use both methods, depending on what FO & colors I want to use. CP produces a much smoother prettier bar of soap, but requires a 4-6 week cure time. It can also cause some of the fragrances and colors to morph, due to the active lye in the curing soap. And you have to be careful about using metal pans for CP soap molds (like a muffin or loaf pan), because lye + aluminum is a very bad idea. HP does tend to have a rougher surface texture, but it's great for tricky FO's, since all the lye is cooked out of the soap. Another cool thing about HP is that it's safe to use right away, even though the lather continues to improve with a week or two of cure time. It is more difficult to swirl with this method though, because you're working with a vaseline like consistancy once the soap is cooked. I noticed that my colors look more unique with HP, because the finished bar of soap looks kinda marbled and at times slightly translucent, whereas CP is more creamy. When I first started soaping, I tried HP in mini loaf pans twice, then swore it off due to the "ugly" texture... But a few years later, I gave it another shot, and now I actually like it. I use a log mold and just trim off the rough texture on top, and it looks almost as smooth as CP.