Hibiscus Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 I'm playing around with a recipe I came up with and was just wondering if soap has to go through the gel stage or not? I made a batch of something and it never gelled and it still looks quite creamy and put it to bed ( I guess that's the term) around 10pm last night and its looks very soft still...smells nice..LOL so does it have to gel? should I sit it on a heat pad to force gel or just leave it alone? I want to try another batch today....this is supposed to be cp soap:rolleyes2 Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryinCary Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 I have batches that don't gel and they turn out just fine. They tend to be more opaque than the ones that gel but I like that. There was a post on The Whisk by someone (can't remember who) avoids the gel stage on every one of her batches so it must not be uncommon. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibiscus Posted June 4, 2006 Author Share Posted June 4, 2006 Thanks and yes it is opaque and yes I do like that about it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 No, soap does not have to gel to become soap. I avoid gel on all of my milk soaps by putting them in the fridge after I have poured them. They tend to take just a tad longer to cure and harden up, and they might be a bit stickier (i've heard the sticky part from others, but my non-gelled soap have never been stickier longer than my gelled soaps, I'm just throwing that out there as a maybe situation) but they will be fine without the gel stage. Lots of soapers avoid gel on all of their soaps all the time. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meridith Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 I also don't let my gm soaps gel - or should I say try not to. I think they are much creamier when they don't gel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giedre11 Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 I think that allowing your soap to gel promotes faster saponification? Sort of like cooking your soap. I've heard others say that their soap is able to be used more quickly than non-gelled soap, but I may have gotten that wrong. I think there are pluses and minuses to both sides. Personally I prefer the appearance of non-gelled soaps as they are much creamier looking if that makes any sense, however I like the texture of gelled soaps as they seem to feel smoother. Guess it's just a matter of personal preferance. What makes me crazy is when I get only partial gel, and the middle of the soap bar is darker than the outermost edges! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawaiiansun Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 I just made a batch and after 90 minutes it still looks the same as when I poured it. I put a box over my mold and covered it with towels.What causes it not to gel? Is it the pouring temp or tracing to early or late? It's so white my pics won't come out LMAOThanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryinCary Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 I've read (somewhere) that if your mold is heated before pouring your batch in your chances of gelling are more likely. I never heat my mold but I do insulate with towels and blankets and still will not get gell all of the time. I might try heating the mold (it's a wood one) just to see if I do actually get a gell stage, but it's not important to me if I do or not. Something else to play with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibiscus Posted June 5, 2006 Author Share Posted June 5, 2006 I made another batch this evening and this one is gelling and it looks quite yucky doing that and I wish it had not gelled now..LOL because I'm afraid it won't go back to that creamy white yellow color...it seems that when I did my first batch I played with it longer and it cooled so much faster and that's why I didn't get a gel stage but it looks fine and I am going to take it out tonight. The second one traced faster than the first. I did add another another oil to the recipe I wonder if that changed it. I am so happy I didn't run into any issues with my FO's in either of them. I used Black Code and Ocean Mist. Um I tried to swirl both of them and they look verrrrrrry special...lol:shocked2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.