Rebecca_IA

You'll be fine using the lid for your mold and wrapping it with saran wrap prior to using it. Just make sure that you wrap the saran wrap tight around the lid and tape it in place, and that it is wrinkle free and there is not air trapped between the lid and the saran wrap. The saran wrap itself does not cause air bubbles. When you place the saran wrap on top of the soap, you need to lay it down so you don't trap air under it or smooth it from the center to the edges so you can remove the trapped air. What leaves the air is how you apply the saran wrap. If your soap includes an over-heater, I wouldn't use the lid at all, just a layer or saran and maybe a towel.

I've used my martha molds in the oven before and have not had any permanent issues. I only put my oven on 175 for an hour and then turn it off. The times I did get some mis-shaping, it was one of the middle pieces. To straighten it out, I filled the entire mold with hot water (very hot) and after a few minutes, bent the mis-shaped piece back to where it should be and started running the cold water again. Re-shaped just fine, but it was too much of a pain, so I quit using the oven. Also, you don't need to line if you don't want to. Mineral oil, just a light layer inside, will make it very easy to get the soap out. Make sure it's a light layer of mineral oil. Fill mold, leave for 24 hours or more, turn upside down on clean parchment paper, and gently press bottom of the mold and it comes out for me.

heather, FYI, when lye sits around out in the air, it will absorb moisture. So that's all that happened to your lye while it was sitting out. it was still okay to use, as you found out. Don't get bummed. One more batch under your belt. Think of the experience you gained.

I use to do the plastic shoe boxes, but that effected all of my soaps, without regard to what the soaps were made of. I do not think it allows the soap to breathe enough. I know store what I have in boxes, shoe boxes or other small boxes, like postal boxes.

I've only done 2 practice batches with HP but don't generally do this method. It is my understanding that HP soap can be used right away. Please correct me if I am wrong about that and if HP soap does need to be cured too. If you did your HP correctly, you can use it right away, but I wouldn't sell it right away. Generally, IME, it's still pretty soft for a few weeks. The softer the bar is, the faster it gets used up. Give it a few weeks to 2 months and let it harden really good. My question is this: If you cp or cpop a batch and then rebatch it right away, what does the rebatching do for the cure time? After rebatching, you have essentially the same end result as HP, so your cure time is shorter, but that also depends on how much liquid you add to the rebatch. If you add too much, that in itself may lengthen your cure time, because you do not want to sell a bar of soap to the customer that is safe to use but will be gone in 7 showers. IMO, I also find that too soft of a bar inhibits the lather. Play around and do some experimenting and see what you find out for yourself. You can rebatch 1 pound at a time and if you screw it up, your not out that much money, but the knowledge you gain is priceless.

Yes soap will become more mild over time. Let it sit aside for a month (after it was made) and try it again. You made a true castille. IMO, that soap is not at it's peak until it's cured for 6 months. Less slimey. If you don't like it now, don't give up on it. Set it up on a shelf and forget about it then try it again. I do not like castille soap until it's been aged for at least 4 months. Another thing to check is the accuracy of your scale. You are making a fairly small batch of soap, if you are mismeasuring that lye, because of an inaccurate scale, your batch could potentially be lye heavy, and that would never been good for your skin, unless you rebatch and add more oil. Small batches could have a very small mismeasurement of lye and that is enough to make it lye heavy. Bigger batches, a small mismeasurment can be absorbed without effecting the soap too much. Also, with this small size batch, you'd have more accurate measurments if you measured in grams, not ounces. Safer because more accurate.

For Crafts Sake has one. That's the only place I know of off the top of my head.

Yes you can. All forms of vegetable oil are some type of oil, and what type they are can be found on the label, under ingredients. If there are more than one type of oil making up the vegetable oil, you'd need to know the percentages. You'd have to contact the maker to find out, sometimes you'll get an answer, sometimes not. When you figure your recipe, run the oils through a lye calculator. Oils can't be used interchangably.

I think you are referring to Cold Process soap (CP). I would suggest reading www.millersoap.com. Her website is loaded with information on CP soap making.

Callie, I sent you a PM. Did you already pay for your registration? Rebecca